Preparing for Cold Weather

[OldSailor41]

Just bought a 2014 Ranger 31S and this is our first winter. We are on Lake Washington at a covered slip with AC power and I have a little heater going in the V-berth and another in the engine area. I have drained the fresh water and added some RV antifreeze to the fresh water system and ran it to see the pink stuff coming out faucets, but I did not drain the hot water heater. The holding tank was pumped out but I did not add antifreeze to that system. I am wondering if this is enough or if there is more I should worry about. We are planning to use the boat during the winter, so I am thinking this may be enough. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[BradOwens]

In addition to what you've done, we add RV antifreeze to the bilge to protect the bilge pumps. We also keep our water heater on.

 

[Osprey]

It is helpful to have electric heaters in the boat during the winter season. The heaters used should be the type which provides circulation of warm air. However, I would not depend on such heaters to provide protection from freeze damage. My concern is that in the event of severe winter storm conditions a loss of electric power in not uncommon. I can recall a couple of years back when power was out in some areas for several days. The power loss could be as local as the pedestal to which the boat's cord in connected. I am thinking a circuit breaker disconnect or perhaps the power cord pulled out. I have had both happen.
Water Heater: An important point here is that the freezing point of RV antifreeze increases significantly with water added dilution. There are several gallons of fresh water in the water heater. So the question becomes how many gallons of pink stuff does one need to run through the hot water lines to flush out sufficient fresh water from the heater? Could be 5 gallons , more... who knows? How much depends on how cold it gets. So, for sure, drain the water tank.
Some systems not mentioned in your post which need protection: sump pumps, shower sump, toilet, waste tank macerator, wash down pump and the raw water side of the engine cooling system . In the PNW can you get away with not protecting all these systems? Most years you can, but we do not yet know if the coming winter is going to be as mild as most years. Another point, have you closed the raw water thru hull seacock?
Note that this web site has a Factory Technical Bulletin describing winterizing procedures. Go to: Forum Index, Factory Technical Bulletins, Winterizing Procedures.

 

[OldSailor41]

Thanks to Brad and Osprey for your suggestions.

 

[Intuition]

In Alaska I need to freeze protect everything. Drain everything. I have used RV antifreeze in the fresh water system, but it takes 4-5 full water tank flushes to get it out.
DOES ANYONE BLOW DOWN THEIR FRESH WATER SYSTEM WITH AIR?

 

[Cutwater28GG]

I broke both the galley tap and the outside tap this winter. Both now drip enough to cause the pump to run. $300 later they are replaced :cry: next season 5 gallons of antifreeze and the time to flush seems cheap! Galley tap broke even with heater on!

 

[Irish Mist]

I drain the water tank, drain the hot water tank , connect a by pass to the hot water tank... then remove the supply hose from the water pump and hook it into anti freeze and let the pump pump antifreeze through all the taps until it is solid antifreeze. Then I do the same for the wash down tap, and the toilet... Make sure to dump antifreeze into the shower until it pumps antifreeze out. Also spill into the bilge..

 

[Intuition]

How do you drain the water tank? What is the access to the tank to drain it?

 

[scross]

We simply run the faucets in the galley sink, head sink and shower (placing the shower head into the head sink bowl) until there's no water left. I open the faucets for about five minutes at a time with a couple of minutes in between to give the pump a breather. Drain the hot water tank by cycling the faucets between hot and cold during the drain process.

I use four rounds of flushing in the spring to get the RV antifreeze out of the fresh water system.

I also empty out the fresh water everytime before trailering to get the total weight down. Only takes a little bit of time if you monitor your fresh water levels near the ending of your trip correctly.

 

[Irish Mist]

You never are able to get the water tank completely empty, and the little water that is left will freeze but has lots of room to expand without damage. I have not used antifreeze in the water tank for a long time... I have read posts where others have used cheap vodka instead of antifreeze, just to avoid that bad taste.. I'm guessing it also makes for a good opening day in the spring 🙂

 

[NorthernFocus]

... I have used RV antifreeze in the fresh water system, but it takes 4-5 full water tank flushes to get it out.
DOES ANYONE BLOW DOWN THEIR FRESH WATER SYSTEM WITH AIR?

I worked with a guy that blew his system(different boat) down with air and got along fine. Personally everything is so hard to get to on the R25 if it does break that I consider it cheap insurance to go the antifreeze route.

But you can save wear and tear on the pump (and water if that's important to you) if you use a different method to flush the system.

Let's say for the sake of argument that there is a one gallon heel left in the tank when the pump sucks air. And also let's say you have to run four tanks of water through and on the fifth fill the taste is acceptable. That means it's been diluted down to one part in 24.3M. If you add water one gallon at a time and pump it down by the time you've pumped 25 gallons you're down to one part in 33M and you've saved 75 percent of the wear and tear on the pump. It only takes a few minutes to do. With the galley window open and a hose with valve/nozzle you can stand in the galley and reach it.

Flushing the water heater is easier. By disconnecting the outlet you can simply hook a hose up to the dockside water connection and flush through the water heater as long as it takes to reach your (taste)tolerance level.