End of the season - Page 2

jambo · 25 October 2018, 22:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69cmw

No, in my drive

Wish I could!! My choices are pontoon or covered storage. I’ve never tried keeping it on pontoon all year down here I really doubt I would get a lot of use.

Poly · 26 October 2018, 08:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Last Tango

But why would you......just keep using it......

Ah, now that is a totally different question. But if you are going to ignore the engine for months at a time, especially if it is being stored somewhere that will get cold, then putting it away properly is the right thing to do and I don’t believe any less important for two strokes (etec obviously make this very easy).

Pikey Dave · 26 October 2018, 08:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

? People have been winterising O/boards since long before four strokes became normal...

Yup[emoji106] I used to winterise the Etecs, notwithstanding the fact it was soooo easy with the autowinterising facility, but because they were essentially “open to atmosphere”. I don’t bother with the Suzuki as everything is mostly sealed. There’ll be a couple of valves open which might allow it to breath a bit, but the crankcase is well oiled by design. The boat is kept under a cover under cover, well protected from the weather. I do miss that first start up in the spring & the clouds of blue smoke from the fogging oil though[emoji6]

Poly · 26 October 2018, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69cmw

I’ve had 1 of my engines 20 years since new, 2 stroke V6, never winterised it once, never had an issue yet, plus it’s sat for months between usage. What actual benefit am I missing? [emoji848]

Well when I winterise mine (i never know now whether it will be used in two weeks, two months, or in May! That good weather window may not correspond to time I am available; this may be less of an issue on bigger boats when “good enough weather” is more common), I am draining the carbs to make sure no fuel to gum them up; getting all the water out the leg/head I possibly can (as if it freezes you have Xk59D’ cracked block issue); greasing/lubing moving bits; wiping a lot of it down with an oily rag to help protect from corrosion; and pulling the plugs and putting some two stroke in each cylinder (and turning over) to coat the inside of the cylinders so that condensation does not form rust which could score and kill pistons/cylinders. Probably takes 20 minutes. Might achieve little but I can see that the more thorough I am in October (perhaps finding and fixing a corroded wire, dealing with the slightly sticky steering) the less I have to do in April if it’s been sitting in the shed all year.

I’ll be doing it this weekend.

Bigplumbs · 26 October 2018, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

Well when I winterise mine (i never know now whether it will be used in two weeks, two months, or in May! That good weather window may not correspond to time I am available; this may be less of an issue on bigger boats when “good enough weather” is more common), I am draining the carbs to make sure no fuel to gum them up; getting all the water out the leg/head I possibly can (as if it freezes you have Xk59D’ cracked block issue); greasing/lubing moving bits; wiping a lot of it down with an oily rag to help protect from corrosion; and pulling the plugs and putting some two stroke in each cylinder (and turning over) to coat the inside of the cylinders so that condensation does not form rust which could score and kill pistons/cylinders. Probably takes 20 minutes. Might achieve little but I can see that the more thorough I am in October (perhaps finding and fixing a corroded wire, dealing with the slightly sticky steering) the less I have to do in April if it’s been sitting in the shed all year.

I’ll be doing it this weekend.

Any chance you got a bit of OCD going on

jwalker · 26 October 2018, 12:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigplumbs

Any chance you got a bit of OCD going on

Well that'll make two of us, won't it? I call it BIT.

gpsguru · 26 October 2018, 13:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigplumbs

Any chance you got a bit of OCD going on

No not at all...............

Generally my engines only go into hibernation from late December to mid March ...........but in the past I have always winterized 2 strokes by running fogging through them, greasing , and then spraying the powerhead with duck oil.

As has been said, 4 strokes do not need the fogging treatment, but still require a good spray of duck oil and greasing.