AC Winterize Direction

HawkX66 said:
Wow that's an expensive funnel!
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Yes, but it works and saves time. It's actually a two-part funnel with an inner that screws in to allow using shopvacs to blow out. The snorkel is expensive too for a piece of hose and pvc fitting - but again it worked and I did not have to spend time getting parts and building it. Oh, and they last - I have had mine for many years.

-Kevin
 
Little Ducky said:
I use the device and a shop vac to blow the pink through the AC system until it comes out of the through hull. It works pretty good but you better have a good sealed connection between the seaflush and the shop vac hose before turning on the shop vac or you are going to be wearing some pink. Last year was the 1st time for me doing a complete winterization and I learned the hard way. o_O

Since it was the 1s time doing this I set up my phone to confirm the pink was exiting the boat...... About one minute in the below video.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kPyIVRv0UVZXtyvhedhz2pJl8RyCt08l/view?usp=sharing
Click to expand...

Since I store up on the hard it is much easier for me to access the outlet and pump backwards.

-Kevin
 
KevinC said:
I drain the fresh water tank, drain the hot water heater, bypass heater (connect cold in to hot out with brass nipple). Then I hook up the compress to the shore input and set pressure around 35psi (do not forget to lower or you can blow out your regulator). Then open all faucets until only air runs out and flush the head. Then disconnect air and a gallon or two into the tank. Run through pump until all faucets run pink through hot and cold. Flush the head until pink.

The air clears out most of the water and Pink AF flush is my insurance for any water that may be remaining in the lines. On top of that I open sump and manually pump out as much as possible then I pour pink through the shower drain into the sump until it pumps out then pour pink direct to sump to make sure nothing but pink backflows into the sump.

-Kevin
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@KevinC or those that put pink into the freshwater holding tank ...

I did that last year and in the spring, even after flushing it out, the water was horrible!

It took three or four treatments of the tank to get rid of it.

This year I was hoping to blow out all the lines with compressed air.

For the tank, mine doesn't have a drain so I'd have to run the water pump until it's empty, then disconnect the pump line and whatever small amount of water left in the tank would hopefully not be a freezing hazard?
 
KevinC said:
Since I store up on the hard it is much easier for me to access the outlet and pump backwards.

-Kevin
Click to expand...
I do mine in the water, sitting in the dinghy. Then once on land after being blocked, I open the seacock for the AC to drain that part of the line in case the back flush doesn't get pink down that hose. I don't want a seacock freezing and cracking!
 
Phil S said:
@KevinC or those that put pink into the freshwater holding tank ...

I did that last year and in the spring, even after flushing it out, the water was horrible!

It took three or four treatments of the tank to get rid of it.

This year I was hoping to blow out all the lines with compressed air.

For the tank, mine doesn't have a drain so I'd have to run the water pump until it's empty, then disconnect the pump line and whatever small amount of water left in the tank would hopefully not be a freezing hazard?
Click to expand...

It's part of my spring commissioning - every time I am at the boat I run a tank of fresh water through it. Once the smell of the pink AF is gone you can do a cleaning. Yes, it can take several 5+ tanks.

Also, unless we are traveling and relying on shore water for showers I only use my tank water. In that case I use a travel filter and back at the dock I have a whole house filter at my dock for filling - so only filtered water goes into my fresh water system.

-Kevin
 
Creekwood said:
You will find it hard to get the antifreeze into the strainer to allow the pump to maintain its prime long enough to pump enough it and the pump kicks off if it senses it has no prime.
View attachment 114081
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Yes this is a bit annoying but with a second person you can make it work. When it loses prime I have the other person shut it down for 3 seconds and it backflows enough to prime it and then we restart. Took a couple years to figure that one out.
 
This system is as simple as the fresh water. Compressed air into the side discharge thru hull, open strainer. Done, save your AF for another project.
 
mratlndmrk said:
Yes this is a bit annoying but with a second person you can make it work. When it loses prime I have the other person shut it down for 3 seconds and it backflows enough to prime it and then we restart. Took a couple years to figure that one out.
Click to expand...
I played around for a few years too with different ways, including making an adapter funnel thing that allowed me to fill it from up top (to give some head pressure from the height). In the end, back pumping pink with a hand pump was vastly easier and I can do it alone too.
 
scoflaw said:
This system is as simple as the fresh water. Compressed air into the side discharge thru hull, open strainer. Done, save your AF for another project.
Click to expand...
Yup. Unless you don't have a portable compressor.
 
KevinC said:
It's part of my spring commissioning - every time I am at the boat I run a tank of fresh water through it. Once the smell of the pink AF is gone you can do a cleaning. Yes, it can take several 5+ tanks.

Also, unless we are traveling and relying on shore water for showers I only use my tank water. In that case I use a travel filter and back at the dock I have a whole house filter at my dock for filling - so only filtered water goes into my fresh water system.

-Kevin
Click to expand...
I find that the cold water side flushes out the smell and taste (I don't really use the water at all for drinking, but "taste" is how I decide whether its flushed enough to brush teeth etc.).

The hot water side seems to take many many flushes of the system. That is actually why I use the pink in the HW tank. I think if the smell is staying for so long, there must not be a complete draining of the tank when it is opened. So that means if it is just drained with no AF, there will be frozen water over winter. So why risk it.

In spring, I just open the drain and vent on the HW tank and leave the pump running continuously, topping up the water tank as it drains. Its surprising how long the hot water has a smell of the AF.

And you NEVER want to turn the heater on if there is any residual AF in that tank, even after a couple of flushes. If you do, there will be a smell of scorched AF in the hot water side for a long time no matter how much you flush the system. That was my mistake after my first winter with this boat in spring 2010.
 
Phil S said:
@KevinC or those that put pink into the freshwater holding tank ...

I did that last year and in the spring, even after flushing it out, the water was horrible!

It took three or four treatments of the tank to get rid of it.

This year I was hoping to blow out all the lines with compressed air.

For the tank, mine doesn't have a drain so I'd have to run the water pump until it's empty, then disconnect the pump line and whatever small amount of water left in the tank would hopefully not be a freezing hazard?
Click to expand...

Pour a gallon of (cheapish) vodka into the tank if youre concerned. I did that. Just make sure 80 proof.
Alcohol kills germs too ;)
 
Creekwood said:
In spring, I just open the drain and vent on the HW tank and leave the pump running continuously, topping up the water tank as it drains. Its surprising how long the hot water has a smell of the AF.
Click to expand...

It took me a couple of years to figure this out as well. Just opening the drain of the H/W tank doesn't completely drain it. You need the pump running to force the water/AF out of the drain. It also has the added benefit of winterizing my bilge pump that is where the tank drains.....
 
mratlndmrk said:
It took me a couple of years to figure this out as well. Just opening the drain of the H/W tank doesn't completely drain it. You need the pump running to force the water/AF out of the drain. It also has the added benefit of winterizing my bilge pump that is where the tank drains.....
Click to expand...

I find opening the pressure relief valve helps more water drain out quicker.
 
Phil S said:
@KevinC or those that put pink into the freshwater holding tank ...

I did that last year and in the spring, even after flushing it out, the water was horrible!

It took three or four treatments of the tank to get rid of it.

This year I was hoping to blow out all the lines with compressed air.

For the tank, mine doesn't have a drain so I'd have to run the water pump until it's empty, then disconnect the pump line and whatever small amount of water left in the tank would hopefully not be a freezing hazard?
Click to expand...

Pump all you can out with the FW pump, disconnect the hoses and drain the pump. The little bit of water left in the FW tank won’t hurt a thing.

Bennett
 
I shifted gears in many ways this year.

I ran the FW tank dry through the faucets, head, etc. and drained the HWH with bypass installed. It was left open.

I then blew out all lines with compressed air, disconnected the line from the tank output and stuck it in a gallon of AF to get it through the system.

I left my batteries on board for the 1st time in 20 years.

Signs of aging.
 
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