R/v anti freeze

[svwc]

up here in the great white north, where we can see -40 for days on end, the best for your engine is AIR !!!!! it does not freeze, even up here !!
so, I suck up into the engine & heater, 10 galls pink, let it run out the pipes, etc
then drain everything,
on our 2011 SN200, there are 6 valves, and the heater
(double add RV AF down the hose, and blow out to be sure)

[dantheman]

great discussion, and excellent input! The plastic water bottle I used to freeze the pink R/V AF in... froze solid (not slushy), the bottle expanded slightly....There are some non toxic automotive AF's on the market. Wal-mart carries them. I will use this in my boat just like past years. I do flush drain and dispose as much as possible of it before launching in the spring. I have a cold/hot water shower in my ski 196. There are several plastic fittings and tee's in this set-up.....therefore I do not trust the pink R/V AF.

I know alot of people just drain the system, and leave it dry...I would rather have something in my block/passages/hoses/coolers/pumps/etc...etc...not only for the corrosion protection factor but to keep all the seals/rubber wet and lubricated. Just my 2 cents

[bscott]

I use Prestone Low Tox. It's quite a bit more expensive than regular automotive anti-freeze, but I only have to buy it once a year and I don't feel so bad if some of it gets in the water in the Spring.

http://prestone.com/node/414

[jmo]

I use Prestone Low Tox. It's quite a bit more expensive than regular automotive anti-freeze, but I only have to buy it once a year and I don't feel so bad if some of it gets in the water in the Spring.

http://prestone.com/node/414

Here's the fine print for this product: " Disposal of used antifreeze/coolant: Follow local laws and regulations. If required, dispose at facilities licensed to accept household hazardous waste. If permitted, dispose in sanitary sewer systems. Do not discard into storm sewers, septic systems or onto the ground."

What's low tox mean anyways? It's either safe for the environment or it's not.

[SoldTheBayliner]

My engine is currently full of 100% hi-tox, automotive, green, planet-killing antifreeze. No water. It's probably going to get below 0*F a couple of times this winter. Is my engine going to explode?

[TRBenj]

My engine is currently full of 100% hi-tox, automotive, green, planet-killing antifreeze. No water. It's probably going to get below 0*F a couple of times this winter. Is my engine going to explode?

Theres a reason why the manual tells you to mix antifreeze 50/50. Straight antifreeze doesnt have nearly the same freeze protection.



I have seen many PCM manuals call out the 50/50 mix. They are not incorrect. They assume that you are using conventional green (hi tox) antifreeze. I dont know of any official recommendation to use RV/marine stuff. That being said, I have used the red/pink -50F stuff from Walmart for 5 years here in CT without issue. You need to keep that stuff undiluted for full freeze protection, though.

[SoldTheBayliner]

Well, crap.

[jmo]

What makes this more confusing is the fact that the marine AF one buys at the store is effectively premixed, but they don't make it clear. The west marine -100 I just bought in reality is a 60% Propylene glycol blend - hence it has 40% water in already.

I don't mean to come off as the lake police as residual amounts of green AF won't hurt anything, I just think we need to understand what is being flushed into the lake on that first trip out in the Spring if it's not flushed out ahead of time.

Heck, the lake I ski in is a popular destination for local criminals to dump stolen cars as it's really deep, so god knows the pollution coming from that! I just know I'm doing my part to not make it any worse!

JMO

[SoldTheBayliner]

I will definitely drain completely and flush/run at home before hitting the lake in the spring. I don't see why I can't store the stuff and re-use it next winter. I would feel horrible dumping that stuff in the lake!

I know I put 4 gallons of the stuff in there... I might hook the battery back up and try to extract what I can up to 50% with the shower pump, then refill with water. By that chart, if I can get a gallon of it out and be at 75% antifreeze I'm good to go. If I do that, and refill with water using the block-feed hose from the raw water pump, will it/should it mix OK with the antifreeze that's already in there? Does water sink in antifreeze, or vice/versa if it's not 'stirred'? My raw water pump is removed and I don't want to reinstall it.

[AirTool]

Theres a reason why the manual tells you to mix antifreeze 50/50. Straight antifreeze doesnt have nearly the same freeze protection.

You beat me to it. I'm glad I checked page 3 before responding similarly.

I'm wondering, though, about the density of pure MEG as a function of temperature. Water's density (reverses) decreases before it freezes. Our Intelligent Designer made it that way so the ocean systems would function properly. If the pure MEG doesn't expand after freezing, I'd probably just leave it as opposed to improperly mixing it with water. This would be the same feature as discussed about the RV biz.

I did a quick google and don't see it. I may be able to make a phone call tomorrow and have a process guy grab the properties of MEG below freezing.

[SoldTheBayliner]

I'd be curious... Also wondering if (once I got a gallon or so of water in there) I could just put the shower hose into my fill hose, and circulate/mix the whole mess using the shower pump. My hunch is that it will circulate the block, but not get any 'mixed' stuff up into the manifolds, etc? Should cover the V drive and block though, yeah? Better than nothing...

[AirTool]

.... Better than nothing...

I've not decided. But I'm still going to ponder on nothing being better than something.

What is your lowest expected temp?

[SoldTheBayliner]

I will see below zero *F, but we rarely get double digit negatives. It happens though.

In my last boat I just pulled the plugs and left them out, and never had a problem. This is my first time doing the antifreeze. I read something about keeping the seals/gaskets wet all winter and it made sense... I didn't know it had a higher freezing point with no water added. In my weak mind Water = Bad.

Sorry for the hijack, but this is good info!

[GroovyNautique]

I live in Canada and we can routinely get temps below -22F for a few weeks during the winter.

I've used pink RV antirfeeze for 6 years and have never had a problem. I drain the water and then I suck up tons of pink antifreeze through the engine and heater to make sure every nook and cranny has antifreeze in it and the water is out.

[SoldTheBayliner]

OK... I was able to extract 1 gallon using the shower, and another half-gallon from the manifolds using a little tupperware dish to catch it. I figured a gallon and a half would put me right about the 60-65% range for antifreeze/water. Then I hooked a long hose (washing machine hose worked perfect inserted inside) to the block feed hose and elevated that well above the engine. I poured the same amount of straight water in as I extracted in antifreeze (took a while to glug-glug down the hose). Then I fired up the shower again and shot it straight into the same fill tube for a good 5 minutes or so. The shower was faster than the fill tube, so I'd let my funnel fill up and then let the level drop. I'm pretty confident that it's mixed up pretty well...I feel better than I did with straight antifreeze knowing that the temp range could be an issue. We'll see in the spring! Thanks for the input guys. Sorry again for the hijack.