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Potential Freeze Concern


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I figured I should get your opinion on this. Our boat has not been winterized yet and the weather man is calling for an overnight low of 31 on Friday and an overnight low of 29 on Saturday. It will subsequently jump back above freezing for the next couple weeks. Should I make a special trip 4+hrs away to winterize the boat?

I'm was planning on doing the winterization next weekend, but given the forecast I wasn't sure if I should cancel my plans this weekend and go do the winterization. The boat is currently stored inside of a non-insulated barn. We also have a Heatercraft heater installed on the boat (I know these are more troublesome).

Thanks for the advice.

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Don't worry about a few nights around 30. Temp in the boat never gets down to The minimum air temp. It lags. The fact that it's inside also makes a big difference. I've left boats in the pope barn with overnight lows of 25 and not had a problem.

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whats the expected daytime hi's for those days? Your boat is going to spend 12 hours of daylight soaking up that sun. It would way lower then 29 or a length of time at 29, before the engine will freeze.

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Put a light in the engine compartment overnight and you should be fine for cheap insurance. It shouldn't be a problem as is.. you need longer hours below freezing to cause a concern.

Edited by bcoppess23
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The lows usually hit just before sunrise, so just because it might get below freezing doesn't mean it will be there for hours. You should be fine.

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whats the expected daytime hi's for those days? Your boat is going to spend 12 hours of daylight soaking up that sun. It would way lower then 29 or a length of time at 29, before the engine will freeze.

Daytime highs will be 57 and 60

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Inside of a barn, insulated or not, will not freeze if the outside temps are only going to get to 29 overnight. Inside of your engine bay will be warmer still.

I would not cancel any plans I had made to go winterize the boat.

Edited by RTS
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I figured I should get your opinion on this. Our boat has not been winterized yet and the weather man is calling for an overnight low of 31 on Friday and an overnight low of 29 on Saturday. It will subsequently jump back above freezing for the next couple weeks. Should I make a special trip 4+hrs away to winterize the boat?

I'm was planning on doing the winterization next weekend, but given the forecast I wasn't sure if I should cancel my plans this weekend and go do the winterization. The boat is currently stored inside of a non-insulated barn. We also have a Heatercraft heater installed on the boat (I know these are more troublesome).

Thanks for the advice.

You're fine. Highs in the 50's, I bet that barn does not get below 42. Is there a concrete floor? Concrete stores a lot of BTU's, not to mention the overall cubic feet of air.

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What about if you have a heater - it is still under the cover but not as insulated and I am guessing more prone to breaking with freezing temps?

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Even if it does freeze, the volume of water at 30 is not that much different than at 32, so it will not cause any damage. You need to get <25 before it really expands enough to cause damage.

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^^^^^^ Not true. Water density is at its highest point before freezing, when its "slushy", around 39 F or 10 C. After freezing, as it gets colder, it actually contracts a bit, until it gets really cold -50F or so, then it starts to expand back but never gets to the density it was before freezing.

Edited by Simo
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The problem isn't the density of the water while it is not frozen. The water can't flow out when it goes from a liquid to a solid so that is when it becomes an issue.

^^^^^^ Not true. Water density is at its highest point before freezing, when its "slushy", around 39 F or 10 C. After freezing, as it gets colder, it actually contracts a bit, until it gets really cold -50F or so, then it starts to expand back but never gets to the density it was before freezing.

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I guess it all depends on how much you trust the weatherman and how much you care if you have to replace hoses etc in the spring. It's very easy for someone to say "don't worry about it, you'll be fine" when it's not their boat. Your engine isn't what I would worry about, it's all the ballast lines, pumps and the heater and its lines. If it were me, I'd be going to the boat yesterday! But that's just me. Are you sure it's only gonna go to 30? What if a cold snap happens that the weatherman didnt predict and it hits 15F? Just food for thought......and of course, JMO.....

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^^^^^^ Not true. Water density is at its highest point before freezing, when its "slushy", around 39 F or 10 C. After freezing, as it gets colder, it actually contracts a bit, until it gets really cold -50F or so, then it starts to expand back but never gets to the density it was before freezing.

????

Maybe this graph will explain it better. If you're just a few degrees below freezing, the volume (inverse of density), hasn't increased very much.

http://imageck.com/478145003-water-density-vs-temperature.html

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????

Maybe this graph will explain it better. If you're just a few degrees below freezing, the volume (inverse of density), hasn't increased very much.

http://imageck.com/478145003-water-density-vs-temperature.html

The graph is interesting, but it's in kilograms per cubic meter. That's a huge volume and it's about the "density" (packing) of the molecules. It's not really about water freeze/expansion in small spaces, which is what all of our concerns are in an engine that may freeze up. Not sure if the graph explains what we worry about?

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I just woke up and looked at my temperature gauge near the house. 33 degrees! I think they were calling for 29 last night.

Even though I know there was no chance of freezing anything in my engine compartment at that temp for that short amount of time, I put a trouble light in my boat last night for peace of mind and left it on. I'm tempted to go put a thermometer in there, just to see what the temp is at.

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Like others have said, you don't need to worry about anything...It would take days of constant temperatures at or below freezing to do any damage, not a few hours over night.

I too used to put a trouble light in my engine bay whenever temps were predicted to drop overnight. My mechanic told me that "if it made me sleep better, it was a good idea" but that it was unnecessary for a few hours of frigid temps over night. So, my boat is still on the lift and it dipped below freezing by about 2:30am and then down to 29 degrees by 6:30am. As of 9am, it's 39 degrees and heading to 53 degrees. It will be in the 70's and 60's this week with no predicted lows of less than 44 degrees.

Having said that, even though I know that that there is nothing to be concerned about, the fact that I did not put the trouble light in the boat last night sort of gives me an uneasy feeling this morning. So, I guess the trouble light is cheap insurance for peace of mind, even though I know it doesn't matter.

Oh well, I'll be pulling the boat on one of these 70 degree days coming up...

Edited by SkiBumPMC
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It got down to 33 in north west ohio but the lowest my barn thermometer got down to was 50. A couple more cool nights and then a warmup is forcasted, hopefully get out another time or two.

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