Boat Winterizing - Hot Water Tank, Engines, Generator, A/C, Drains & Sumps

In part 2 of our boat winterization prep for winter storage, we'll show how we winterize our hot water tank, engines, generator, a/c and sumps with marine antifreeze on our Sea Ray boat. For the engine winterization we also show how we made strainer covers for easy hose hook-up. This completes our winterization of fresh, gray, raw and black water systems for our boat. ***WATCH MORE BOATING VIDEOS!!: kzbin.info?sub_con...
FOR MORE WINTERIZING...
Watch part 1 where we winterize our fresh water systems & explain why its important for a final pump-out and fuel top off: • Boat Winterizing Fresh...
And Part 3: Preparing the Boat Cabin for Winter Storage - • Boat Winterizing - Pre...
**Products used in this video:
--Marine Antifreeze -50 (water & engine) 6 Gal pack - amzn.to/3koPnEP
--Boat Winterizing Kit for Engines - amzn.to/3jAa4wE
--Expandable Hose - amzn.to/3dNQBqV
Also recommend: Trac Ecological FLUSHcap - amzn.to/2IJDV9i
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[@MyBoatLife]

More help➡️ Our Winterizing Kit & DIY Flush cap - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZKsd4qwgMqYl9k ➡️Winterize Checklist kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYvRkKCgl82Aa7s

[@SeaRay380DA]

Excellent video. I do an extra step and blow out the hose between the strainer and the seacock with a shop vac to remove the water. .

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks! If it makes you feel more confident, but if you run pink through that extra step shouldn’t be necessary. We’ve been doing it this way for 20 years!

[@teresamaynard4138]

Absolutely genius! Best winterization video we have seen! Thank you so much. We fell victim to a poor monetization job last year so this year we are doing it ourselves.

[@MyBoatLife]

WOW thank you so much!! Glad to help you out. You definitely save money doing it yourself and for us we feel more confident it was done right. 👍

[@Spacesprocketz]

Thanks for the information in these videos! This my first year winterizing my Searay and I was a little intimidated at the task but with your videos I'm slowly tacking it! Thanks! I cruise the Chesapeake too, hope to see you out one day.

[@MyBoatLife]

Awesome - so glad to help you out! Just go through everything methodically so you don’t miss anything that may have water running through it (like the wash down - we almost forgot that 1 year!) We’re mostly upper bay - if you see us on the water say hi! 👋

[@johnpiccione9648]

Great video. Also, one thing a lot of people forget about is the windshield wiper sprayer. Great job!

[@MyBoatLife]

Good tip.. thanks! our wipers haven't worked in years so its not usually on our list LOL

[@SuperHockeysniper17]

Great video, I just about finished winterizing all the toys where I’m from!

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks! Yes the countdown to spring begins 😪 luckily we got lots of great summer content to keep putting out vids in the months ahead!

[@gregorynickerson7407]

Thanks for the tips! I am in the process of winterizing my Sea Ray (first year with it) as well I am going to make the strainer cover adapters. I have been looking for pre-made ones before seeing this and not seen any fits for those type of strainers. More convenient than disconnecting hoses in a tight twin engine bay and a better vacuum than a funnel sitting on top.

[@MyBoatLife]

Yep totally! Glad this gave you some ideas and hope it works out well for you! It was well worth making & we use it year after year now.

[@ty530chapmen]

great video i learned so much

[@MyBoatLife]

That’s great to hear - thanks for the feedback!! 👍

[@drewmathies1459]

Very well done!

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks!!

[@quiquecars]

best tutorial videos, thanks for sharing, i just have a question, regarding the holding tank, should i live the vacuum pump activated same with the fresh and raw water pumps, hope you can answer me, thanks again.

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks so much - we really appreciate that! So, we do use our pumps to push pink through the lines while winterizing. One of the first steps for us is emptying our freshwater holding tank and adding about 6 gallons of antifreeze so that we can use the pump to run pink through all the lines. For heads we get a pump out then run pink throughout heads - you have to run pink through head lines to the head tank, so you gotta activate pump (flush). Hope that answers your question but lmk if not!

[@merc9193]

You winterized your engines in your slip, isn't your boat going to be stored on land? how are you getting it to the travel lift, without starting it?

[@MyBoatLife]

Our marina tows our boat over to the travel lift - they never start the boat.

[@MyBoatLife]

And good question btw - would definitely defeat the purpose of winterizing if you had to start your engine to cruise around to the lift! ;)

[@tlteal]

Do you have a quick and easy way you've done to flush/clean the a/c units from all the gunk? I connect up straight to fresh water with using a cap on the strainer but would be interested in hearing how you do it.

[@MyBoatLife]

Fresh water is probably the safest way to clean it out because you never know if a cleaner would damage the system.

[@artisanfoodsnunyabidness332]

Great job, but you didn't pull pink into the toilets by flushing from the tank, just poured it into the blackwater tank. Did you forget or do you not have issues with the feed lines to the toilets?

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks! Yes we did do that - in fact this was like a part 2 for winterizing covering raw water systems- pink in heads was covered in our previous video on winterizing for Freshwater systems, Fuel fill up & final pump out - kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJSkeY2feayio7c

[@atillaismail5411]

Great movie thank you .please i have 5.7 EFI injector carb do i have to put some fogging oil in the injector after the winterize please like the carburetor engine ? Thank you

[@MyBoatLife]

Sorry not sure - we used to do that on our old carburetor engine but it’s been years - may not be recommended with all engine types.

[@atillaismail5411]

@@MyBoatLife Thank you sir

[@jeffzimmerman1517]

Great video! Question though...On the engines, I've always heard that you have to get them up to temp so that the thermostats are open. Is that not accurate? If so, how long after getting them to operating temp do you have to connect and run the pink through the system before that thermostat closes again?

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks, good question too! Big Diesel engines like in our boat featured in this video have closed cooling systems meaning they are full of antifreeze inside already. We are only winterizing the raw water side - thermostat is on the antifreeze side. If you have a raw water cooling system then yes you should get engine up to temp before winterizing so that the thermostat is open.

[@ZippinZim]

@@MyBoatLife got it. Thank you! I imagined it might have to do with being a diesel. But how quickly do the t-stats close back up on gas models? Seems like it would take too long to open the strainer, replace the lid with the adapter, set up the antifreeze, and restart the engine. That’s always been my concern. The 5.7L Inhad in prior years was easy enough just to drain the block. The new Volvo 8.1s seem to be a different story and I’m considering antifreeze with these motors.

[@MyBoatLife]

@@ZippinZim we used to have a raw water gas engine 2 boats ago and we would remove the drain plugs from the block, remove the thermostat housing and pour antifreeze into the hole & let it drain out through plug holes. Frankly it’s been 17 years since we had a raw water engine so maybe check with someone with that type to be sure. Hope that helps!

[@SeaRay380DA]

I really like your hose connection temporary top for the strainer. Looks like a small piece of wood, with two holes filled in it and then a hose fitting, with shelf liner? Can you share the dimensions on the piece of wood, and the distance between the two holes you drilled for the bolts?

[@MyBoatLife]

Thanks - we’ll be doing engines this coming weekend & will try to get measurements

[@SeaRay380DA]

@@MyBoatLife we are trying to get one more trip in then sadly will winterize as well.

[@MyBoatLife]

Hey saw your comment on our new video & then it disappeared? so put measurements in comments - Our Boat Engine Winterizing Kit & DIY Flush Cap We Use ✅ kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZKsd4qwgMqYl9k

[@drousseau5908]

Do you empty the sea strainers for the winter? I'm new to inboards I've always had I/O.

[@MyBoatLife]

Yes we pull the screen out & clean out any debris and we also pump antifreeze in them. You could also pull the drain plug if your boat is out of the water already. 👍

[@michaelmitchell5844]

Quick question cant seem to get the pink to flow through sink faucets ir shower but It is flowing through the wash down on swim platform. Pump is running

[@MyBoatLife]

Sometimes it has to run out water in lines for a bit til it turns pink, but if water pump is on and tank is filled with pink it should eventually run through.

[@michaelmitchell5844]

No pressure in those sinks and shower is the problem just drips

[@MyBoatLife]

@@michaelmitchell5844 sorry hard to say.. doesn’t seem to make sense if pump is getting water to wash down but not sinks. 🤔

[@tlteal]

Very thorough video! Question. On those diesels, are you concerned at all that those diesels don't require a larger line to get the coolant in there to winterize? I have big diesels and they seem to really push a lot of water through the huge 2000gph strainers.

[@MyBoatLife]

It's a fair question. I'm sure the engines can pull a ton of water when at cruising speed, but they're just running at idle speed when we're winterizing. The engine creates a vacuum that sucks that pink right in, emptying a 5 gallon tank in seconds, so I'm confident that my little winterizing jig is delivering the pink plenty fast enough.

[@tlteal]

@@MyBoatLife ok, thank you. I haven't winterized my diesels yet but plan to ASAP since it's starting to get colder here in Maryland. I have the CAMCO kit which looks similar to what you used. Your point about being at idle is valid.. thanks for the input. I just didn't want to potentially burn the impellers.

[@MyBoatLife]

I hear that! My impellors are a bear to replace but I haven't had to replace them in seven years. Even a little bit of liquid will keep them from burning up, but the real trick is to stay away from shallow water to avoid sucking up sand which really tears them up.

[@tlteal]

@@MyBoatLife winterized both engines today. Used the camco kit on one side with a strainer adapter on the engine side. Put in 4.5 gallons the first time and it sucked it down in a few seconds. Put in another 2.5 gallons and started seeing pink. All good here. Was afraid that little hose wasn't going to be enough water but it seems to have worked.

[@MyBoatLife]

Glad it worked for you... sounds like you did a good job! After twenty years of winterizing my engines that way, I'm not sure how else I would do it! ;-)

[@CaptainTodd]

Have you ever heard the engines don't heat up enough to open the thermostat so pink doesnt make it to the other side of the thermostat?

[@MyBoatLife]

Yes but that’s only a problem for raw water cooled engines. If your engine has heat exchangers then you already have antifreeze in the engine and we just need pink to flow through the raw water side. The thermostat doesn’t matter. For raw water cooled engines your best bet is to remove the thermostat before winterizing to ensure that pink flows everywhere regardless of engine temperature

[@CaptainTodd]

@@MyBoatLife Thanks for your response. I just watched your Tollchester video and my friends are in it. I sent it to them, we've been laughing since. They've seen that vid before and didn't notice themselves. We go to Tolchester regularly, love it!!

[@MyBoatLife]

@@CaptainTodd ha ha that’s too funny!! Gotta watch out when we’re on a trip walking around with our GoPro lol!

[@CaptainTodd]

@@MyBoatLife Love the vids, hope to bump in to you next season

[@mikejohnr1315]

Is it ok not to disconnect the hot water heater? Is it ok to run pink through the hot water heater?

[@MyBoatLife]

Your best bet is to drain it, disconnect & bypass it - no pink in the water heater - otherwise you’ll waste gallons of pink & it would be diluted by water in the tank.