15-APR-2011
This Came Out of A Boat Stored In Maine
I got a call from a customer who felt his motor was running a little hot in the fall and thought he should address it during the off season. We decided to pop the caps off the heat exchanger, check it out, and take it from there.
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I popped off the heat exchanger caps on a warm Maine winter day, luckily before we'd had any real hard freezes. I found this diluted antifreeze.
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Noticing the very diluted color I took a cup of it home and tested it with my sight refractometer. The freeze point was around 25F. I called the customer to inquire about the "winterizing". The owner had decided to undertake the winterizing himself in the fall, and claimed to have sucked 3 gallons of -50 propylene glycol through the system.
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This heat exchanger could have possibly frozen and developed a leak. A repair like this would cost a fair amount of money, and certainly far more than en extra gallon or two of antifreeze.. RV antifreeze/propylene glycol is not intended to be diluted and should be used full strength. When diluted the freeze and burst points rise rapidly.
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When in doubt suck in another couple of gallons or test it.
15-APR-2011
Testing the Propylene Glycol
Test strips are not my first choice in testing PG antifreeze concentration, but they are ok and can work. I used these test strips for illustration purposes because photographing through a sight refractometer is nearly impossible.
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You can not effectively test PG antifreeze with an ethylene glycol tester. A sight refractometer is the best method but they are pricey. The good thing about a sight refractometer is they are also very, very accurate for testing the specific gravity of a battery so you kill two birds with one stone by owning one.
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I often hear; "I just look for pink out the stern and shut her down."
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While it may "show up" and you may "see pink" what is it's concentration before and after? What is the burst point? What is the freeze point? You may see pink but this does not necessarily mean you are protected against freeze damage.
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Water flow through a strainer, hoses, HX and water lift muffler is not simple complete displacement event. What you pump in gets mixed & diluted with whats already in there. -50F or -60F Propylene glycol should not get diluted or you will drastically raise your freeze and burst points. The -50 products are already heavily diluted and -50 is the burst point NOT the freeze point. The burst points for plastic are usually about 30F higher than for metals. Today many vessels ship with plastic sea strainers.
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Add just a little water, through dilution, and your burst point raises very quickly to ranges we see up North in a regular winter.
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I once watched a strainer while sucking in 5 gallons. The bottom of the strainer was still clear water at 3 gallons and by five gallons it was full purple. And this was at the intake strainer.
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I know from testing that it takes a minimum of five gallons through our 44HP engine and RW circuit to get the same burst points out the stern as what it went in as. I also pre-drain the strainer which holds about 32 oz. The only way to know your burst point is to psychically test what comes out or simply suck more in for added insurance.
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Some engines will take less and some take considerbaly more. I depends a lot on the internal flow characteristics of your engine. We see plenty of freeze problems up North from too little AF used or improper winterizing techniques.
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At $3.39 a gallon it can be a lot less expensive than freezing your strainer, raw water pump or heat exchanger.. Invest in a test kit then you'll know exactly how much your motor takes.
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NOTE: Winterizing raw water cooled engines very often requires the removal of the thermostat for effective freee protection. If unsure consult someone who knows your engine well.
12-APR-2011
Found The Problem
The good news is we discovered that his motor was not safely freeze protected for a typical Maine winter, before it got too cold.
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We also found the cause of his cooling issues, zinc crud. Change your engine zincs often or they can shed and plug your HX..
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Happy Boating!!
