Turn the blue handle, Camco, Winterization

Arminius

Arminius

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2019
1,068
Seattle
Boat Info
Bowrider 200 Select, 2003
Engines
5.0L MPI, 260 hp w/Alpha 1 Drive
I'd like to suggest that you pull the bilge plug and turn the blue handle of one-point winterization before you park your raw water cooled boat in anticipation of full winterization. This should drain the water/coolant from your engine. Water expands with metal cracking force if trapped in a cavity.
Last year, the "Texan" anticipated the big freeze but did not drain his block which froze and cracked. He used the camco system in which straight antifreeze is infiltrated into the raw water cooled block in the vain hope that it will all get mixed together and you'll be safe. I tested and found it did not work for me. Perhaps my higher temperature, mpi thermostat had failed to open but one should not gamble with an expensive block when draining is the best first step in winterization.
Mercruiser introduced the one-point drain system with one blue handle to drain the block and exhaust manifolds of raw water cooled engines like my 2003. It alone is not the factory recommended system presently as no anti-corrosives are introduced or one of the drain lines could be clogged.
Nonetheless, turn the blue handle. You can get professional winterization done later. ("Raw water cooled" means the engine has no heat exchanger and is entirely cooled by lake or sea water. This differs from a "fresh water cooled" engine, a section of which is protected by water/antifreeze although other sections contain freezable raw water and need winterization.)
 
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Good post. Don’t know about one-point winterize. When i used to do it, there was 3 drains each side, plus 3 hoses, had to be pulled, then 4 up top that had to be filled. Unless Mercruiser came up with a way to defy gravity i dont see a one point drain.
 
Pirate Lady said:
Good post. Don’t know about one-point winterize. When i used to do it, there was 3 drains each side, plus 3 hoses, had to be pulled, then 4 up top that had to be filled. Unless Mercruiser came up with a way to defy gravity i dont see a one point drain.
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The blue handle is located on top of the engine but has a long shaft down to the bottom of the engine where the valve body for the drain is located. The valve drains the block and also includes octopus tubing from the bottoms of the exhaust manifolds. I pulled a couple of these tubes last year to get at spark plugs and recall them as having a substantial inner diameter of about 5/8". I guess one of these tubes could be obstructed by sand and factory winterization with antifreeze/anti-corrosives would displace the captured water. Just turn the blue handle for starters.
 
There are some engines with a single point drain using an air pump. This works well for a short period of cold weather, but on it's own isn't enough for winterization. There is also a fitting in the raw water loop at the bottom of the engine where sand/water can still collect in a bulbous area of the water loop. Water can freeze and break plastic fitting. Luckily there is also a blue plastic screw-in drain plug in the fitting, and removing that can let the out water to reduce the chance of damage.

I had this situation on a 350 MAG MPI engine. Even with proper winterization that plastic part failed and leaked. Wasn't the worst repair, but after replacing it once I unscrewed that drain plug before the boat got covered.
 
Draining alone does not assure all passages and components are completely winterized. The only certainty is in pumping pink, propylene glycol through the warm engine with an open thermostat or even remove the t-stat temporarily. Closed or raw water systems. You should capture the propylene glycol for reuse. Never use yellow, green or orange, ethylene glycol for this. It is toxic and hazardous.
 
Arminius said:
The blue handle is located on top of the engine but has a long shaft down to the bottom of the engine where the valve body for the drain is located. The valve drains the block and also includes octopus tubing from the bottoms of the exhaust manifolds. I pulled a couple of these tubes last year to get at spark plugs and recall them as having a substantial inner diameter of about 5/8". I guess one of these tubes could be obstructed by sand and factory winterization with antifreeze/anti-corrosives would displace the captured water. Just turn the blue handle for starters.
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Well I’ll be. Never heard of such a thing. As for sand, many times i remove the brass drain plugs nothing comes out. Have to wiggle a philips screwdriver in it then it comes gushing out, important step.
Thats in the shallow Chesapeake raw water cooled, we suck up a lot of sand.
 
Juliery said:
Draining alone does not assure all passages and components are completely winterized. The only certainty is in pumping pink, propylene glycol through the warm engine with an open thermostat or even remove the t-stat temporarily. Closed or raw water systems. You should capture the propylene glycol for reuse. Never use yellow, green or orange, ethylene glycol for this. It is toxic and hazardous.
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Friend told me I didn't need to drain if I just set up a siphon through the muffs of a couple gallons of green antifreeze. Switched the "Y" from the garden hose to the tub of antifreeze and it was all sucked up. Had warmed the mpi engine to T-stat open of 160+. Seemed too easy so I drained the engine to check and got uncolored water in quantity before the green stuff came out. They had not mixed and the engine had not been protected. You gotta drain the engine before you put antifreeze/anticorrosives in. The Texan got a cracked block out of your Camco method if it does not require complete draining.
 
That poor guy, a Texan. As I remember though Dallas got a horrible freeze they weren’t expecting and hadn’t winterize enough for it. Think he cracked his block.
 
b_arrington said:
There are some engines with a single point drain using an air pump. This works well for a short period of cold weather, but on it's own isn't enough for winterization. There is also a fitting in the raw water loop at the bottom of the engine where sand/water can still collect in a bulbous area of the water loop. Water can freeze and break plastic fitting. Luckily there is also a blue plastic screw-in drain plug in the fitting, and removing that can let the out water to reduce the chance of damage.

I had this situation on a 350 MAG MPI engine. Even with proper winterization that plastic part failed and leaked. Wasn't the worst repair, but after replacing it once I unscrewed that drain plug before the boat got covered.
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Fraid you are repeating an obvious lie told to you by Mercruiser. Even the shortest episode of winter can include subzero temps overnight which can destroy a boat engine. Either the engine is freeze proofed or it is not. "short period of cold weather" is a goofy deceit designed to get you in to the dealer where he can run up the tab. My point here is that you should turn the blue handle of single point draining upon laying up the boat. Certainly it is a good idea to see the dealer when he has time for you.
 
Arminius said:
Fraid you are repeating an obvious lie told to you by Mercruiser. Even the shortest episode of winter can include subzero temps overnight which can destroy a boat engine. Either the engine is freeze proofed or it is not. "short period of cold weather" is a goofy deceit designed to get you in to the dealer where he can run up the tab. My point here is that you should turn the blue handle of single point draining upon laying up the boat. Certainly it is a good idea to see the dealer when he has time for you.
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Accusing Mercruiser of lie and deceit. Class. Again, lost!
 
Arminius said:
Friend told me I didn't need to drain if I just set up a siphon through the muffs of a couple gallons of green antifreeze. Switched the "Y" from the garden hose to the tub of antifreeze and it was all sucked up. Had warmed the mpi engine to T-stat open of 160+. Seemed too easy so I drained the engine to check and got uncolored water in quantity before the green stuff came out. They had not mixed and the engine had not been protected. You gotta drain the engine before you put antifreeze/anticorrosives in. The Texan got a cracked block out of your Camco method if it does not require complete draining.
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Again, the green stuff should not be used for this. Use it in the closed system only.
 
Arminius said:
Fraid you are repeating an obvious lie told to you by Mercruiser. Even the shortest episode of winter can include subzero temps overnight which can destroy a boat engine. Either the engine is freeze proofed or it is not. "short period of cold weather" is a goofy deceit designed to get you in to the dealer where he can run up the tab. My point here is that you should turn the blue handle of single point draining upon laying up the boat. Certainly it is a good idea to see the dealer when he has time for you.
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Considering I’ve used that feature in the past and it’s worked well, I’m satisfied it works as advertised. It’s not intended for a hard freeze all winter.

It was a Horizon engine the raw water didn’t pass through the block. The majority drained out the bottom fitting, and was enough to prevent damage in a light freeze when you’re not done boating for the year and haven’t winterized.

And I’d say your credibility to second guess the engineers at Mercruiser is high suspect since you admitted to using highly toxic green coolant antifreeze to winterize the raw water side of the engine. Even a light investigation into winterizing shows that’s bad practice and the wrong material.
 
It's complicated as Susan's Dad who was a dealer in Florida explained to me. Dealers sell boats made by the manufacturers so the factory has to help to keep them in business while still promoting features like single point draining. I felt very sorry for the Texan with the cracked block last year and wished to remind owners who have blue handles to turn them. Service manual #31 addresses "Cold Weather And Extended Storage" at pg 1B-84. and recommends that antifreezes " be used in the seawater section of the cooling system for cold weather or extended storage." Next sentence specifies a rust inhibitor.
Next para commences with a double size and bold "Caution" featuring a bold exclamation point icon and states in bold: "The seawater section of the cooling system MUST BE COMPLETELY drained for winter storage......."It goes on to deny any warranty coverage for freeze damage.
I think the latter paragraph controls in freezing climates. My seller had his boat winterized at the marina of Bill Gates, Martha Stewart and other notables. This was the marina operator's position when I purchased and was handed dewinterization instructions: "Turn the blue handle clockwise till it stops and replace the 2 blue drain plugs found in the bag tied to the steering wheel." As to the glycol recommendations, he just said Mercruiser doesn't recommend that anymore.
Bluntly, it would be idiotic to put liquid back into a block that will be outside at 15 below for weeks or whatever dire weather events the climate crazies can predict and just might happen.
 
Arminius said:
It's complicated as Susan's Dad who was a dealer in Florida explained to me. Dealers sell boats made by the manufacturers so the factory has to help to keep them in business while still promoting features like single point draining. I felt very sorry for the Texan with the cracked block last year and wished to remind owners who have blue handles to turn them. Service manual #31 addresses "Cold Weather And Extended Storage" at pg 1B-84. and recommends that antifreezes " be used in the seawater section of the cooling system for cold weather or extended storage." Next sentence specifies a rust inhibitor.
Next para commences with a double size and bold "Caution" featuring a bold exclamation point icon and states in bold: "The seawater section of the cooling system MUST BE COMPLETELY drained for winter storage......."It goes on to deny any warranty coverage for freeze damage.
I think the latter paragraph controls in freezing climates. My seller had his boat winterized at the marina of Bill Gates, Martha Stewart and other notables. This was the marina operator's position when I purchased and was handed dewinterization instructions: "Turn the blue handle clockwise till it stops and replace the 2 blue drain plugs found in the bag tied to the steering wheel." As to the glycol recommendations, he just said Mercruiser doesn't recommend that anymore.
Bluntly, it would be idiotic to put liquid back into a block that will be outside at 15 below for weeks or whatever dire weather events the climate crazies can predict and just might happen.
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Arminius:
Name dropper!
You're like a spawning salmon...

Always found swimming upstream, against the current.

Draining is fine but it's only step one.
The simple reasons we fill the seawater side with propylene glycol are:
1) It displaces residual water from the system.
2) It displaces air and oxygen from the system.
3) As well as 2) helping, marine versions also contain corrosion inhibitors to further minimize rusting over the winter months.
4) It is non-toxic.

But you do as you will.
 
As to a raw water, trailered boat with a single point drain system, the book states (p. 1B-96), after turning the blue handle counterclockwise, "verify water is draining." Remove blue plug from distribution housing if water does not drain.
If this boat is in the water, p. 1B-92 directs the additional removal of the blue plug from the side of the thermostat housing in a timed sequence.
As the marina did on my boat, I just turn the blue handle counterclockwise and put the 2 blue plugs in a bag attached to the steering wheel. The boat is freeze protected and I don't have to worry about the effectiveness of the ratio of eco-antifreeze to water I might have in the block. My block and heads are cast iron and I have no opinion as to aluminum components.
The biggest problem with your procedure is that it fails to emphasize the importance of fully draining the block before refilling with pet-proof anti-freeze and novices like the Texan and the purchasers of Camco could be misled. Just drain the block and sleep soundly!
 
Arminius said:
As to a raw water, trailered boat with a single point drain system, the book states (p. 1B-96), after turning the blue handle counterclockwise, "verify water is draining." Remove blue plug from distribution housing if water does not drain.
If this boat is in the water, p. 1B-92 directs the additional removal of the blue plug from the side of the thermostat housing in a timed sequence.
As the marina did on my boat, I just turn the blue handle counterclockwise and put the 2 blue plugs in a bag attached to the steering wheel. The boat is freeze protected and I don't have to worry about the effectiveness of the ratio of eco-antifreeze to water I might have in the block. My block and heads are cast iron and I have no opinion as to aluminum components.
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If you only do that, how do you verify that the block and manifolds are completely drained? What if one, or more, of the four small drain hoses are clogged with sand/sediment/etc? Simply turning the blue knob is insufficient and unreliable.
 
Lazy Daze said:
If you only do that, how do you verify that the block and manifolds are completely drained? What if one, or more, of the four small drain hoses are clogged with sand/sediment/etc? Simply turning the blue knob is insufficient and unreliable.
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Precisely!
"You can lead a man to knowledge but you can't make him think." Then, there's the other one "... but you can't fix it."
 
Drain hoses are about 5/8" inner diameter in my recollection from pulling a couple off to get at spark plugs in Spring. This is huge compared to a grain of sand. Hoses were completely clean. You can pull them yourself as part of winterization but this fear seems to be totally groundless. Of greater likelihood might be UFOs or Democrats cutting taxes. Just drain the block with the one point system Mercruiser invented to make it easy. Pull the hoses to inspect for clogging every time you replace plugs as you gotta get a couple out of the way anyway.
 
Arminius said:
Drain hoses are about 5/8" inner diameter in my recollection from pulling a couple off to get at spark plugs in Spring. This is huge compared to a grain of sand. Hoses were completely clean. You can pull them yourself as part of winterization but this fear seems to be totally groundless. Of greater likelihood might be UFOs or Democrats cutting taxes. Just drain the block with the one point system Mercruiser invented to make it easy. Pull the hoses to inspect for clogging every time you replace plugs as you gotta get a couple out of the way anyway.
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Those are the manifold drains with the larger diameter hose.
If the block has drain hoses, they are much smaller diameter, 3/8” if I remember correctly, and mine are clogged EVERY year.
 
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