Help with winterizing 8-92s on my 52 Sportfish

[Vince]

Good morning all:

It's been a while since I've asked for advice, but that time has come once again!

I've winterized many boats over the years, but this is my first year with the 52. Let me say that I love all things "Hatteras", but I can't for the life of me figure out why the engine strainers are where they are and why they need to be sitting on such a stupid angle! Between the generator on one side and the A/C units on the other side, I literally can barely get a hand on them, not to mention pouring antifreeze into them.

I have to assume that northern owners apply some different tactics or retrofit some type of a winterizing kit. I thought about having special end plates made for the raw water pumps, that have a hose fitting on them. That way, I could pull the impellers and pump antifreeze directly into the pump housing. Maybe down the road, but for right now, I need to get this done.

Any suggestions on getting these beasts winterized without tearing everything apart? Is there a narrative on "dry winterizing" or emptying the raw water side of the cooling system completely?

Please, I could use some advice while I have a day or two to do this.

Thanks in advance,
Vince

 

[Vince]

More to my question.......real engine guys, please!

If I were to make an adapter for the top of the strainers with a hose fitting, can the system be purged with antifreeze without the engines running? I would assume that all passages lead "out". The dump into the exhaust is way down hill.

My reason for asking, is that if I do this with the engines running, the raw water pumps will certainly overwhelm the capability of a smaller hose to keep up, while sucking antifreeze.

Thanks again

 

[rsmith]

In water or on the hard?

 

[Vince]

In the water.

Was going to pull, but so much easier to work on things dockside, and I have a number of projects.

 

[Walter P]

Hi Vince,

Just finished doing a pair of Detroits yesterday. Some years ago I drilled and tapped (3/4" NPT) into the cover plates of the raw water strainers and screwed in a 3/4" Close Nipple. Onto that I installed a 3/4" ball valve, followed by another fitting of 3/4" on one end and 3/4 " Hose thread on the other. To winterize the engines it is a simple matter of shutting off the seacock and connecting a piece of 3/4 " hose with a female hose fitting on each end. One end connects to the new ball valve on the raw water strainer and the other to a 12V pump. If you remove the raw water impeller and re-install the cover plate you only need to turn on your 12V pump and run however much "pink" stuff into each engine as you feel necessary. If you do not remove the raw water impeller, then you need to have someone crank the engine over with the stop button depressed while you pump in the "pink". Entire process should take no more than 10 min per engine.

BTW, after completing the installation of "pink" stuff, be sure to turn off the 3/4 " ball valve and install a cap on the 3/4 " hose fitting.

The 3/4 " fittings should ideally be made of bronze. They are available from marine supply or if you have a lathe or a friend with one, they are easy to make from a piece of old bronze propeller shaft.

Walt

 

[JLR]

Glad to help. No need to retrofit anything special. On mine, I would close the sea cock, remove a zinc plug from the aft most cooler, pour in about 2gallons of pink stuff until it filled the strainer and then, while my funnel was still in the zinc hole, start the engine and pour another two gallons into the funnel while the engine was running. Worked just fine for many years.

 

[Blaine Thorpe]

I made these out of spare covers. I have a larger one for the engines as well.

When I get a chance I am going to change out the pipes and use the Hatteras wash down fittings rather than use the ball valves I have on the hose that connects to the pipe.

I use an old 10 gallon water tank to do the engine and a five gallon bucket for everything else.

 

[captddis]

Vince,

When I bought my 46, I was not able to run it.

I first loosened the raw water cover and let the sea water drain out. 90 percent of the water drained out.
about 3 gallons. Then i removed the discharge hose from the exchanger and rigged a pvc fitting and hose to attach to the exchanger. I hooked up a electric pump then ran about 3 gallons through the raw pump then put the cover back on.

Your engines are the same except for the bigger fuel cooler and I believe you have a raw water trans cooler which needs to be drained.

The fitting on the strainer works too, but make sure the thru hull valve seals tight or you will suck in raw water and dilute the anti freeze. About 80 percent of the engine sea cocks don't shut of completely.

 

[Vince]

Thanks everyone!!!!

With your help, I've started on a flush adapter of my own. Still have to drill for the strainer studs and since I don't have a measurement on the spread, I'll have to do it on site.

Wish I had a machine shop! This is tough going with nothing but hand tools......it's like cobbling it out of granite!

 

[Vince]

Vince,

When I bought my 46, I was not able to run it.

I first loosened the raw water cover and let the sea water drain out. 90 percent of the water drained out.
about 3 gallons. Then i removed the discharge hose from the exchanger and rigged a pvc fitting and hose to attach to the exchanger. I hooked up a electric pump then ran about 3 gallons through the raw pump then put the cover back on.

Your engines are the same except for the bigger fuel cooler and I believe you have a raw water trans cooler which needs to be drained.

The fitting on the strainer works too, but make sure the thru hull valve seals tight or you will suck in raw water and dilute the anti freeze. About 80 percent of the engine sea cocks don't shut of completely.

Thanks Capt. Dave! Hope you're doing well! Good to hear from you!

 

[Walter P]

Excellent remark about the seacock sealing. As far as I can guess there is no easy way to be sure if it's fully closed, especially when the boat is in the water. Do you or anyone else here have any suggestions on how to tell with a fair degree of certainty.

Although I do the "pink" thing, I also have my block heaters on all winter ($) but there is always the possibility of a power failure. We also close off the engine room intakes. Since we usually winter in the water, I believe there is less of a chance of freezing since the water under the boat is well above freezing even when we have a couple of inches of ice on the surface.

Boating in the NE is a mixed bag.....winter layover is a PITA.

Walt

Walt

 

[captddis]

Thanks Capt. Dave! Hope you're doing well! Good to hear from you!

Same here! Think about you guys from time to time. Bet the boat is standing tall.

 

[bobk]

If I understand the system, you can leave the hose on the cap in an upward position so the end is well above the water line, fill the hose with AF and the level will not go below the waterline. That should keep the seacock and strainer full and you can top it up when you visit.

Bobk

 

[TROUBLE]

I dont know if its different on an 8v-53 but there is a 1" pipe plug on the intake side of the raw water pump. I screw a 3/4 hose fitting into the hole and connect a hose to it. Close the intake valve and start the engine. I can actually do it by myself with a 10' section of hose that reaches the bridge deck so i can start and shut the engines down.

Art

 

[saltshaker]

I close the seacocks and use small wet vac with a long hose to remove any water. Remove the zinc plug on the raw water pump and replace with a 3/4" nipple. I attatch a length of hose to that and run it to a tub full of antifreeze. I start the engine and pump about 15 gls through each but that's for 12V92's with underwater exhaust and an eaxhaust bypass system. 7 gls should be fine for 8V92's in a 52C. Once done I shut down engine and pour about 2 gls down each intake hose to make sure there is antifreeze at the seacock just in case it doesn't close fully.