New member winterizing question

[bryank]

Hey all

I just purchased a 2000 1801 cc with a 2000 Yamaha 2 stroke 115 although this is my first post i have been monitoring posts for several months and have greatly appreciated all the great feedback on Parker boats.

I live in Murrells Inlet, SC up till now the weather has been beautiful (sunny mid 60's low 70's during the day and 40's at night) undoubtedly we will have a period of maybe a week at a time where the temperature is below freezing. I dont want to winterize because i plan to use the boat periodically this winter so what can i do to protect the motor in freezing temperatures without completely putting it to bed?

I plan to and have been hooking the motor up to the hose at the house and running the engine for 10-15 minutes every few days or so, I have kept the motor trimmed all the way down (to prevent freezing in the Lower unit) If we are going to have a cold snap i plan to also probably run the gas out of the carbs. The gas has also been treated and is ethanol free.

Any other ideas/thoughts or things to watch for would be greatly appreciated

thanks

Bryan K

 

[DaleH]

I'd just keep the battery topped off and pull it if temps are to go below freezing for days on end. I also would never run fuel out of a motor, as lines full of TREATED fuel is better than not ...

 

[Mokee]

I plan to and have been hooking the motor up to the hose at the house and running the engine for 10-15 minutes every few days or so, I have kept the motor trimmed all the way down (to prevent freezing in the Lower unit)

We used to winter over in Spartanburg. Jeff kept the motor down and hooked up the muffs once a month. I used ethanol and treated the gas with Stabil. We used her a couple times each winter on week long trips on the ICW.

 

[Megabyte]

I plan to and have been hooking the motor up to the hose at the house and running the engine for 10-15 minutes every few days or so, I have kept the motor trimmed all the way down (to prevent freezing in the Lower unit) If we are going to have a cold snap i plan to also probably run the gas out of the carbs. The gas has also been treated and is ethanol free.

Bryan... Outboard motors are self draining. Also, the only way you would have water in the LU is if you had a bad seal and got water intrusion.
Easiest way to check that is to do a drain and fill of the LU. If the oil comes out clean, you are good. If it looks like a milkshake, you have a bad seal that needs repair.
Doing a drain and fill is the best way to know if you have water in your oil, and avoid water damage to the LU during the winter layup.

Drop the motor down while on the trailer and you'll be good to go.
No need to run her every few days as you don't gain anything by doing so.

As for the fuel, as Dale said... If you have treated the fuel with Sta-Bil and Ringfree in the tank already, it's best to leave the carbs full so your seals don't dry out.
The carbs full of treated fuel is better than a motor kept dry.

 

[bryank]

THanks guys for the info. I had a couple people tell me to drain the fuel out of the carbs but have never done it before so honestly i was kinda feeling you out for feedback on that one. As far as the lower unit goes, that was one of the first things i checked when i bought the boat, the previous owner claimed to have changed it repeatedly but not in the last 2 seasons. The oil looks pretty good but i plan to change it anyway in the next couple of weeks. THanks again guys

 

[John_Madison CT]

Even with stabilzed fuel, I would still drain the carbs. Very simple and it can avoid future issues.

 

[DaleH]

Even with stabilzed fuel, I would still drain the carbs. Very simple and it can avoid future issues.

Maybe ... .but here's my reasoning for NOT draining the carbs ...

With properly treated fuel, the fuel can't oxidize or can't oxidize as fast as if when the fuel line or bowl was empty. When it is alleged as 'empty' - there's no way it is totally empty. And yet it is when fuel dissolves that is leaves behind remnants, like varnishes or gummy substances.

That is when you can have problems ... as you dump fresh fuel in and the fresh fuel hits that crap and moves it along in the fuel stream until it either causes a problem somewhere or gets otherwise consumed by the motor.

It's not scientific, but my bros and I and everyone I know treats the fuel well before the end of the season and leaves it in the lines, and we've been running > 10 OBs for the past dozen or more years between us.

Through the many boating boards I frequent, it seems every Spring there are 2 constants ... people with cable steering locked up and then those who have carb issues. We had 2 skiffs from my boatyard this Spring that needed expen$ive carb service as the owners drained them dry. No one else had any problems and we all buy our fuel from the same place, at least when buying it on the water.

I'll agree to disagree with anyone, respectfully, over what is or isn't the best advice, but from my experience ... there's no way I'd ever - or ever advise to - drain a carb and leave it empty to oxidize faster with ethanol-based fuels.

 

[Bryan 2530]

I agree with Dale.

In school here, my students take alot of small equipment apart, doesn't always go back together, but thats a different story.

If you let some of the Carb rubber parts sit out, they srink to the point where they won't fit. On the opposite end if you leave them in fuel out of the carb, they swell up to where they will not fit.

I say treated fuel, leave the bowls full but make sure the fuel gets to where it needs to go for the winter. I like to treat my fuel a few weeks before I decide to pull it since I use the boat less in the fall and there is no question as to the stuff working its way through the system.

Just my observation.

 

[DaleH]

I say treated fuel, leave the bowls full but make sure the fuel gets to where it needs to go for the winter. .

Good advice! I tell you ONE place people forget to treat ... the separate fuel line on carb'd motors where one presses the key switch in to "choke" or add priming fuel to the motor to start it. This typically is a separate line, up to 18" long or more per carb and most forget about it. What I do, once tank is treated, even when running and already started, I'll push IN on the key switch to utilize this line to the carbs. Now on a running motor properly warmed up, this makes it run rich and can choke it out, so just do it every few seconds and only for a second or two - let the motor fully recover.

One Spring a buddy called me from 20+ miles out, whilst cod fishing on the banks ... he was tied up to an offshore buoy and couldn't get the OB started. He said it sounded like it was starved for fuel. I reminded him of these lines. By manually activating the choke he got the OB started up, but wen he got home he had to disassemble and clean out these lines ... yup, all fuel of untreated fuel turned to crap ...

Not a bad diagnosis via cell phone, huh??