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Fake a Lake on Boats with depth/water temp sensor next to intake?


cpuwhiz22

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So yesterday I winterized the engine on my 2015 23 LSV for the first time, and I had a hard time getting a good seal on my fake a lake due to the depth/water temp sensor that is adjacent to the water intake on the bottom.  I was able to get it done, but I certainly wasted a lot of antifreeze due to it shooting out where there were gaps on the edge of the plunger that went partially over the sensor.

That said, does anyone have any tricks for this?  Or are there other devices, or even larger plungers that could be used for this?  I know some people disconnect the intake hose inside the hull and pour with a funnel from there, but looks like quite a pain IMO.  What do you all do?

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We already covered this in PM's - but winterizing in that way is dangerous and does not guarantee that you have removed all the water from the block and heater.

1) Drain all the water out of engine, manifolds and heater. (block drains, J pipe, manifold drains and blow out heater lines)

2) (Optional) pour antifreeze in - or puke antifreeze all over using a fake a lake.

So hopefully you did step 1

Edited by oldjeep
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You never have to start the engine, here's what I do.

Drain water from:

  1. J hose (bottom where it goes into the water pump)
  2. port and starboard block drains
  3. port and starboard exhaust manifolds
  4. transmission cooler

Reconnect everything 

Disconnect J hose (top where it goes into the thermostat housing)

Pour antifreeze into J hose until it comes out of the thermostat housing.  Now your engine is filled bottom to top with antifreeze

Reconnect everything and wait for summer

  • Like 2
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I always do step one and step two.  I was just looking for any tricks on using the fake a lake in the intake since it doesn't seal well due to the sensor next to the intake.

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Sorry, just looked and it was some one else pm about this exact thing a couple of days ago.

In terms of a better seal, not much you can do.  It is very easy to just pull a couple of hoses and pour it in without wasting a ton of antifreeze and making a mess.

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20 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

You never have to start the engine, here's what I do.

Drain water from:

  1. J hose (bottom where it goes into the water pump)
  2. port and starboard block drains
  3. port and starboard exhaust manifolds
  4. transmission cooler

Reconnect everything 

Disconnect J hose (top where it goes into the thermostat housing)

Pour antifreeze into J hose until it comes out of the thermostat housing.  Now your engine is filled bottom to top with antifreeze

Reconnect everything and wait for summer

What do you do in the summer then?

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Give up on the "fake a lake" and go with the Perko in-line flush kit:
https://www.bakesonline.com/flush-kit-perko-1-1-4-in-line-with-hose-hook-up.html

I have a 1/4 HP 110v pump that I put in the bottom of a bucket, then run a hose from the pump to the Perko flush kit. I put 2-3 gallons of biodegradeable antifreeze in the bucket (and I have a lid that is cut so my FAE goes through it, with a little extra room. I start the pump and my boat's engine, leaving the engine in idle, and wait for the temperature to come up to 160 F so I know the thermostat is open, this allows the antifreeze to circulate through the engine, including the shower and heater lines. After the engine runs at 160 F for 2-3 minutes I shut everything down and leave it for the winter.

 

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33 minutes ago, mikeo said:

Give up on the "fake a lake" and go with the Perko in-line flush kit:
https://www.bakesonline.com/flush-kit-perko-1-1-4-in-line-with-hose-hook-up.html

I have a 1/4 HP 110v pump that I put in the bottom of a bucket, then run a hose from the pump to the Perko flush kit. I put 2-3 gallons of biodegradeable antifreeze in the bucket (and I have a lid that is cut so my FAE goes through it, with a little extra room. I start the pump and my boat's engine, leaving the engine in idle, and wait for the temperature to come up to 160 F so I know the thermostat is open, this allows the antifreeze to circulate through the engine, including the shower and heater lines. After the engine runs at 160 F for 2-3 minutes I shut everything down and leave it for the winter.

 

I like this idea.  Is there a check valve in there to prevent the antifreeze from simply going down through the intake on the bottom of the hull?  I would imagine so, but wanted to confirm.

 

Also, after losing a ton of antifreeze due to the dripless shaft nut thing that's tee'd off the exhaust hose I kinked it and used a vise grip to stop that.  I was surprised about not reading anything about this in advance though.  What do you all do about this?  I'm thinking about putting in a small quarter turn ball valve there so in the future I can easily close it when winterizing.

 

Also, what are people's thoughts on bringing it up to temp for the thermostat?  I know this certainly couldn't hurt, but with my old VLX this was never done.  I just drain everything and run the antifreeze until it comes out of the exhaust.  My understanding is that it will be pretty tough to even get to temp at idle with a cold water source running through it, and I've heard it doesn't make much difference if you are draining and adding antifreeze.  Though I know it certainly doesn't hurt to do more.  Just curious.

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Here's a better view of the Flush-Pro:
https://www.perko.com/catalog/underwater_hardware/62/flush_pro™/

You can see that there is a check valve built in, my boat also happens to have a 1/4 turn valve at the hull inlet so I'm able to close that as well. I was considering building my own flush kit since I have the 1/4 turn valve and it wouldn't be difficult to add a tee, two hose barb fittings, a NPT to hose thread adapter,, and another 1/4 turn valve... That got complicated quickly, but mostly because of the difference between 1-1/4" NPT and 1-1/4" marine hose. The costs was about $20 more for the Perko unit, but it's all-in-one. I had a Perko unit in my '93, but not my '02; If the new Perko unit happens to crack (some reviews say this is common, but it didn't happen to the one I had in my '93) then I'll replace it with a home-build all brass version.

As for the "dripless" shaft seal, I haven't had the same amount of loss you indicate so I just let it be.

In regards to getting the engine up to temp at idle, I know it's possible in this configuration since the warm exhaust water is being recirculated back in to the engine. If you're just running cold tap water in to the engine and letting it run down the gutter then it would be difficult to get up to temperature since you're always getting cold water.

I forgot to mention that i do have to cover the two small drain holes in the FAE so I don't loose antifreeze on the ground there. I attempt to capture this back in the bucket when I finish the process.

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