Ethanol or Propylene Glycol

[byebye]

When winterizing my 2004 155 hp single engine 4-tec, I gravity-feed RV antifreeze thru the water intake in the back.

I was wondering about the following;

1. Anyone have any thoughts about using Ethanol or Propylene Glycol for this? Propylene Glycol is a little more expensive and I read here it can be bad on joints.
http://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/-11059-1.html

2. I used to feed the antifreeze thru with the engine running, but someone told me the motor parts weren't designed for that - so in recent years I've just gravity-fed the ethanol thru (then use forced air to push the ethanol back out leaving mainly air in the system).

Anyone know about this?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

When winterizing my 2004 155 hp single engine 4-tec, I gravity-feed RV antifreeze thru the water intake in the back.

I was wondering about the following;

1. Anyone have any thoughts about using Ethanol or Propylene Glycol for this? Propylene Glycol is a little more expensive and I read here it can be bad on joints.
http://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/-11059-1.html

2. I used to feed the antifreeze thru with the engine running, but someone told me the motor parts weren't designed for that - so in recent years I've just gravity-fed the ethanol thru (then use forced air to push the ethanol back out leaving mainly air in the system).

Anyone know about this?

Aside from toxicity issues, one is an engine coolant & antifreeze while the other is simply an antifreeze, so don't confuse the two in this respect. I don't lose any sleep over consumable items such as joker valves or seawater pump impellers, which should be replaced periodically anyway, and I doubt will last appreciably longer if left unexposed to polypropelyne.

ie: I use polypropylene for winterizing raw water cooling systems as well as potable systems, including any systems which might contain a macerator.

 

[byebye]

Thanks, I won't sweat it then.

Engine running - or engine off - while I put the antifreeze thru?

 

[LouDoo]

I use polypropylene (RV-Marine antifreeze), for winterizing all my toys, SeaDoo's, and also my boat (Mercruiser I.O.), works great, but as Sportster, pointed out it's not a coolent, so it works on raw water cooling systems only. And the real plus it's non-toxic, so next spring you just need to start your boat, and you don't have to worry about disposing of the antifreeze. In your climate I would suggest using the -100, as it will become diluted with the water already in your system.

Lou

 

[byebye]

Engine running - or engine off - while I put the antifreeze thru?

Love the quote, have seen that one before.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Engine running - or engine off - while I put the antifreeze thru?

Love the quote, have seen that one before.

I believe your ski is the type that has a closed-loop cooling system, so in that case it would make no difference if the engine was or wasn't running, IMO. Winterization is a bit more complicated than just winterizing the cooling system though, the fuel system should need attention as well and I recommend changing the engine oil near season end also, so that mildly acidic motor oil isn't left to sit in your crankcase and cause corrosion. The reason is, gasoline contains sulfur which combines with moisture in the air as the fuel is burned, to create trace amounts of H2SO4, sulfuric acid, a small amount of this acid is absorbed into the motor oil as the engine runs, and eventually the oil's additive package becomes saturated/overwhelmed and corrosion protection is lost.

Perhaps if you can get your hands on a copy of the owners manual, the entire storage procedure should be in there. If insufficient, then surely the shop manual should fill in any blanks.

 

[byebye]

I only run my boat maybe 10 hours a season, mainly we hang on the beach. When it's time to put it away all I do is;

1. Flush the system with coolant (as we're discussing above)
2. Add fuel stabilizer & run the motor for 5 min with hose to get it thru the system.

I change the oil maybe once every three years. Boat is a 2004, touch wood I've never had a problem