I/O freezing question

DEJ · 03-24-2010, 08:55 AM

With air temps. predicted around 10 degrees for Friday night, how will that affect I/O's regarding freezing? The water temp is about 39 degrees, is that enough to keep the motor warm enough to prevent freezing?

Dave R · 03-24-2010, 09:02 AM

I would not leave it to chance. That's just too cold to leave a boat unprotected. I'd drain the blocks and manifolds, and use a drop light to heat the engine compartment, if I was forced to leave a boat in the water Friday night. I know there's a risk in using the drop light, but I think it's lower than the risk of freezing.

LIforrelaxin · 03-24-2010, 09:30 AM

This is always the big problem with trying to maximize the boating season. All it takes is one really cold night to cause a major problem. With the water only being 39 or so degrees I agree with Dave, draining the manifolds and the block and coming up with a way to give some heat to the engine compartment.

Incidentally does anyone now how much a closed loop cooling system adds to the price of a motor... I know there are still some parts with fresh water in them but the block is filled with antifreeze which is where the real money is.....

jrc · 03-24-2010, 10:30 AM

You can buy kits for less than $2000 per engine.

http://i-netmarine.com/fwc/fresh.htm

Dave R · 03-24-2010, 12:36 PM

Or less than 1000 per engine:
http://marineengineparts.com/shopsit...l/page141.html

I have heard that it's a bad idea to add one of these to an engine that's been raw water cooled and used in the ocean. I imagine previous lake use would not be a problem.

ishoot308 · 03-24-2010, 05:01 PM

Do I have to worry about this with an outboard?? I plan on floatting the boat Friday and head out to my camp Saturday A.M. Is there something I should do differently because of the cold weather??

Dan

Formula260SS · 03-24-2010, 05:19 PM

I'm going out this weekend as well, I plan to pull the boat out when I'm done. Even with Ice Out I'm not ruling out another snow fall......did I just say that?

With the cold water and the possibility's of some well below freezing nights I'd be carefull

NoBozo · 03-24-2010, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Do I have to worry about this with an outboard?? I plan on floatting the boat Friday and head out to my camp Saturday A.M. Is there something I should do differently because of the cold weather??

Dan

If you keep the outboard Verticle....boat in the water....you will be fine. The water in the powerhead..etc. drains down to water level and the lake water will be above freezing. Not a problem.

If the boat with an outboard is hauled out of the water..the whole unit will drain down as long as you keep the motor Verticle...Again..No Problem NB

BroadHopper · 03-24-2010, 07:37 PM

Some of the islanders already have their boats in the water. Both I/O and outboards. Guess they are not worried about the freeze.

LIforrelaxin · 03-24-2010, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoBozo

If you keep the outboard Verticle....boat in the water....you will be fine. The water in the powerhead..etc. drains down to water level and the lake water will be above freezing. Not a problem.

If the boat with an outboard is hauled out of the water..the whole unit will drain down as long as you keep the motor Verticle...Again..No Problem NB

Outboards are a beautiful things... if I had an island property there is no doubt I would have at least one boat with an outboard..... I miss mine sometimes... of course the fact that it was a 1974 Merc Tower of Power that I couldn't find anyone with the skills to keep running is another story.....but after an estimated 1200 to 1400 hours I suppose it deserved retirement.....

Rattlesnake Guy · 03-24-2010, 08:49 PM

OK. Volvo Penta In/Out.
In the water. Air is freezing. Water is cold.

Drive up or drive down?

chipj29 · 03-25-2010, 06:42 AM

Last night got down to 27 at my house. My Sea Doo PWC, which is on the trailer in the driveway, had about 1/2" of ice on the water in the footwells. I was actually surprised at how much ice there was. Not worried about freezing the block, as it is closed-loop.

Dave R · 03-25-2010, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

OK. Volvo Penta In/Out.
In the water. Air is freezing. Water is cold.

Drive up or drive down?

Always have the drive down in the water unless the depth prevents it.

meredith weekender · 03-25-2010, 07:30 AM

Thanks for the info on outboards, I just learned something new.

ishoot308 · 03-25-2010, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoBozo

If you keep the outboard Verticle....boat in the water....you will be fine. The water in the powerhead..etc. drains down to water level and the lake water will be above freezing. Not a problem.

If the boat with an outboard is hauled out of the water..the whole unit will drain down as long as you keep the motor Verticle...Again..No Problem NB

Thanks NB!

Dan

lawn psycho · 03-26-2010, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

OK. Volvo Penta In/Out.
In the water. Air is freezing. Water is cold.

Drive up or drive down?

Drive down but that's more for your bellows than draining of wafer.
Your block, manifolds, and power steering cooler will not self drain. Only takes 5 minutes to drain everything. I simply wouldn't risk it if it goes below freezing.

Dave R · 03-26-2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawn psycho

Drive down but that's more for your bellows than draining of wafer.

U joints too and upper gears too... I cringe whever I hear someone fire up an I/O with the drive way up. The U-joints rattle like crazy when the engine jumps to life. That just hammers the upper gearset in a VP or Bravo drive.

jsul185 · 04-03-2010, 02:17 PM

Dave R,

Thanks for the info on starting i/o board with the drive up. I was unaware of that. I'm new to this forum and have learned quite a bit trolling the forum for the last hour. I have a 1996 17' sea ray. It's an i/o 6 cylinder mercruiser engine.

Question. I never put the boat in the water until May because I'm afraid the engine bloc will freeze. So how does one know when it's safe to leave your boat on it's mooring for the season?

I glad I found this forum, very informative.

Dave R · 04-03-2010, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsul185

Dave R,

Thanks for the info on starting i/o board with the drive up. I was unaware of that. I'm new to this forum and have learned quite a bit trolling the forum for the last hour. I have a 1996 17' sea ray. It's an i/o 6 cylinder mercruiser engine.

Question. I never put the boat in the water until May because I'm afraid the engine bloc will freeze. So how does one know when it's safe to leave your boat on it's mooring for the season?

I glad I found this forum, very informative.

My pleasure.

Any time the water in the engine block can freeze, you are likely to have damage. No way to predict the safe time of year. I got mine wet in April last year, but there were a couple of frosty nights afterwards that required a drop light in the bilge to avoid freezing damage (my boat is trailered, so it was easy). I think May is gonna be safe no matter what, but I bet there's folks here who drop the boat in for the season earlier than that.

BroadHopper · 04-03-2010, 09:07 PM

Talked to one of the islanders about leaving his i/o in the lake. He claims the boat goes in at ice out and he takes it out when the ice forms around it! I can tell as the boat badly needs detailing and there was lots of trash in the boat. It's an old late 60's early 70's OMC drive. He says he haven't had a problem yet. If it freezes, it's frozen.

Rattlesnake Guy · 04-04-2010, 09:54 PM

Well, our baby is in the lake tonight. Out drive down. Light bulb on a thermostat in the engine compartment. Hopefully that will insure warm weather.

03-24-2010, 08:55 AM	#1
DEJ Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 553 Thanks: 526 Thanked 314 Times in 155 Posts	I/O freezing question With air temps. predicted around 10 degrees for Friday night, how will that affect I/O's regarding freezing? The water temp is about 39 degrees, is that enough to keep the motor warm enough to prevent freezing?

03-24-2010, 09:30 AM	#3
LIforrelaxin Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Texas, Lake Ray Hubbard and NH, Long Island Winnipesaukee Posts: 2,870 Thanks: 1,037 Thanked 892 Times in 524 Posts	This is always the big problem with trying to maximize the boating season. All it takes is one really cold night to cause a major problem. With the water only being 39 or so degrees I agree with Dave, draining the manifolds and the block and coming up with a way to give some heat to the engine compartment. Incidentally does anyone now how much a closed loop cooling system adds to the price of a motor... I know there are still some parts with fresh water in them but the block is filled with antifreeze which is where the real money is..... __________________ Life is about how much time you can spend relaxing... I do it on an island that isn't really an island.....

03-24-2010, 05:01 PM	#6
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 6,231 Thanks: 2,382 Thanked 5,276 Times in 2,050 Posts	Outboard?? Do I have to worry about this with an outboard?? I plan on floatting the boat Friday and head out to my camp Saturday A.M. Is there something I should do differently because of the cold weather?? Dan

03-24-2010, 07:37 PM	#9
BroadHopper Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Laconia NH Posts: 5,570 Thanks: 3,205 Thanked 1,101 Times in 793 Posts	Gledale docks Some of the islanders already have their boats in the water. Both I/O and outboards. Guess they are not worried about the freeze. __________________ Someday may never be an actual day.

03-25-2010, 06:42 AM	#12
chipj29 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bow Posts: 1,874 Thanks: 521 Thanked 308 Times in 162 Posts	Last night got down to 27 at my house. My Sea Doo PWC, which is on the trailer in the driveway, had about 1/2" of ice on the water in the footwells. I was actually surprised at how much ice there was. Not worried about freezing the block, as it is closed-loop. __________________ Getting ready for winter!

03-24-2010, 09:02 AM	#2
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,984 Thanks: 246 Thanked 743 Times in 443 Posts	I would not leave it to chance. That's just too cold to leave a boat unprotected. I'd drain the blocks and manifolds, and use a drop light to heat the engine compartment, if I was forced to leave a boat in the water Friday night. I know there's a risk in using the drop light, but I think it's lower than the risk of freezing.

03-24-2010, 10:30 AM	#4
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	You can buy kits for less than $2000 per engine. http://i-netmarine.com/fwc/fresh.htm

03-24-2010, 12:36 PM	#5
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,984 Thanks: 246 Thanked 743 Times in 443 Posts	Or less than 1000 per engine: http://marineengineparts.com/shopsit...l/page141.html I have heard that it's a bad idea to add one of these to an engine that's been raw water cooled and used in the ocean. I imagine previous lake use would not be a problem.

03-24-2010, 05:19 PM	#7
Formula260SS Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NH Posts: 384 Thanks: 11 Thanked 76 Times in 51 Posts	I'm going out this weekend as well, I plan to pull the boat out when I'm done. Even with Ice Out I'm not ruling out another snow fall......did I just say that? With the cold water and the possibility's of some well below freezing nights I'd be carefull

03-24-2010, 08:49 PM	#11
Rattlesnake Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,254 Thanks: 423 Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts	OK. Volvo Penta In/Out. In the water. Air is freezing. Water is cold. Drive up or drive down?

The Following User Says Thank You to Dave R For This Useful Post:
Rattlesnake Guy (03-26-2010)

03-25-2010, 07:30 AM	#14
meredith weekender Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Meredith / Manchester Posts: 373 Thanks: 87 Thanked 84 Times in 57 Posts	Thanks for the info on outboards, I just learned something new.

The Following User Says Thank You to lawn psycho For This Useful Post:
OCDACTIVE (03-26-2010)

The Following User Says Thank You to Dave R For This Useful Post:
jsul185 (04-03-2010)

04-03-2010, 02:17 PM	#18
jsul185 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Dave R, Thanks for the info on starting i/o board with the drive up. I was unaware of that. I'm new to this forum and have learned quite a bit trolling the forum for the last hour. I have a 1996 17' sea ray. It's an i/o 6 cylinder mercruiser engine. Question. I never put the boat in the water until May because I'm afraid the engine bloc will freeze. So how does one know when it's safe to leave your boat on it's mooring for the season? I glad I found this forum, very informative.

04-03-2010, 09:07 PM	#20
BroadHopper Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Laconia NH Posts: 5,570 Thanks: 3,205 Thanked 1,101 Times in 793 Posts	Glendale Talked to one of the islanders about leaving his i/o in the lake. He claims the boat goes in at ice out and he takes it out when the ice forms around it! I can tell as the boat badly needs detailing and there was lots of trash in the boat. It's an old late 60's early 70's OMC drive. He says he haven't had a problem yet. If it freezes, it's frozen. __________________ Someday may never be an actual day.

04-04-2010, 09:54 PM	#21
Rattlesnake Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,254 Thanks: 423 Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts	Well, our baby is in the lake tonight. Out drive down. Light bulb on a thermostat in the engine compartment. Hopefully that will insure warm weather.