Engine block heater

[Kyle]

No offence to the heater guys but the time it takes to set up a heater with the extension cord and rolling the cord back up time wise, the drain kit would be faster and just as safe.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by milkmania

what about pockets of un-winterized water?
The water passages create too many pockets, and they're not all gravity drained

I use the kit above and never had an issue.

I do many of our club members boats the same way.

Never had a problem.


What pockets are you referring to?

I follow every step in my owners manual accept the real OCD step of greasing the shaft flange between the tranny and shaft coupler. I also do not tape my exhaust flaps down as instructed. My boat is inside a storage facility.

It says to pull lanyard and crank it over to remove any kind of pockets but I don't have a lanyard safety switch. They are ghey so I pull my coil wire.

[milkmania]

I'm just trying to picture the water passages..... if water is going uphill then goes downhill and there's a pocket of water that cannot be purged out, I'd think that it would freeze in there.... and if it was in a location that was tight, the only way for the ice to expand it for something to break.

take for instance the 1/2 inch block plug..... is it at the very bottom of the water passage, or is it an inch above the passage? If it's above, then you've got an inch that'll freeze. then you've got the nose up tilt of the engine block..... what about the water from the plug to the back of the block?

Maybe I'm overthinking it.... but if this were the case, seems like PCM, Indmar, and others would lust have the valves in place to begin with.

edit:
and what about the water at the thermostat housing?

best pic I could find..... but I'd say water will sit in the places indicated....

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Originally Posted by milkmania

I'm just trying to picture the water passages..... if water is going uphill then goes downhill and there's a pocket of water that cannot be purged out, I'd think that it would freeze in there.... and if it was in a location that was tight, the only way for the ice to expand it for something to break.

take for instance the 1/2 inch block plug..... is it at the very bottom of the water passage, or is it an inch above the passage? If it's above, then you've got an inch that'll freeze. then you've got the nose up tilt of the engine block..... what about the water from the plug to the back of the block?

Maybe I'm overthinking it.... but if this were the case, seems like PCM, Indmar, and others would lust have the valves in place to begin with.

edit:
and what about the water at the thermostat housing?

best pic I could find..... but I'd say water will sit in the places indicated....

The ice could expand upwards in your example.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by milkmania

I'm just trying to picture the water passages..... if water is going uphill then goes downhill and there's a pocket of water that cannot be purged out, I'd think that it would freeze in there.... and if it was in a location that was tight, the only way for the ice to expand it for something to break.

take for instance the 1/2 inch block plug..... is it at the very bottom of the water passage, or is it an inch above the passage? If it's above, then you've got an inch that'll freeze. then you've got the nose up tilt of the engine block..... what about the water from the plug to the back of the block?

Maybe I'm overthinking it.... but if this were the case, seems like PCM, Indmar, and others would lust have the valves in place to begin with.

I think you are over thinking things slightly.

When the water freezes it has to go somewhere. Say we use the 1" gap from the drain to were the water catches or in some kind of valley where water sits. When the water freezes it will expand and it will find its way out through the valley or the passage that now is not blocked due to have drained.

If we take a metal dog bowl or say a cattle watering tank and let it freeze. Why does the metal not break or bust. Why do the plastic ice cube trays that you freeze for ice for cold drinks not break?

The water is not under pressure with the block drained. Therefore the passages are not under pressure and the water has somewhere to expand to.


As far as the Tstat, you are supposed to drain the hose running from the tstat housing to the water pump.

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by thatsmrmastercraft

The ice could expand upwards in your example.

I agree with that, but what about any pits or valleys in the casting.... we know it can't be smooth in there, they used sand for the block casting.

I'm just saying that any water that I'd feel comfortable with that stays in the block would be treated water.

I've pulled engines and drained the antifreeze beforehand.... got them out of vehicle and more water comes out, while it's on the ground, loading into truck bed, etc.... it's gotta come from somewhere

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by milkmania

I've pulled engines and drained the antifreeze beforehand.... got them out of vehicle and more water comes out, while it's on the ground, loading into truck bed, etc.... it's gotta come from somewhere

Did you just drain the radiator or did you drain the radiator, pull all of the drain plugs to the block, remove the upper and lower rad hoses?


If you just pulled the rad hose to the pump then yes the engine block will be full of water as well.

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Did you just drain the radiator or did you drain the radiator, pull all of the drain plugs to the block, remove the upper and lower rad hoses?


If you just pulled the rad hose to the pump then yes the engine block will be full of water as well.

good catch

typically, just pulled radiator hoses

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Originally Posted by milkmania

I agree with that, but what about any pits or valleys in the casting.... we know it can't be smooth in there, they used sand for the block casting.

I'm just saying that any water that I'd feel comfortable with that stays in the block would be treated water.

I've pulled engines and drained the antifreeze beforehand.... got them out of vehicle and more water comes out, while it's on the ground, loading into truck bed, etc.... it's gotta come from somewhere

I'm with you on that. When I winterize, I run RV antifreeze through, then drain and disconnect everything to eliminate as many possible spots for freezing as possible. It does get a little cold here from time to time in the winter.

It is truly amazing where all the bonus liquids come from when pulling an engine.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by thatsmrmastercraft

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I'm with you on that. When I winterize, I run RV antifreeze through, then drain and disconnect everything to eliminate as many possible spots for freezing as possible. It does get a little cold here from time to time in the winter.

It is truly amazing where all the bonus liquids come from when pulling an engine.

After seeing the amount of snow that you get I would do it your way as well. My MCOCD would be on HIGH stress seeing my boat covered in that snow. I would be freaking out.


IIRC the OP lives in the Dirty South