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Barrus shire 45 antifreeze change


Craig1

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Hi all,

 

I know there's a lot of info already about antifreeze.  All I've ever done is topped up the system.  I'd like to empty it, flush it and refill.  But I've no idea how to do this.  My skin tank has a stop cock on it that pisses out water when I'm doing engine service yoga and I know where the calorifier and expansion tank are.  That's the extent of my knowledge on this subject.  I read other posts and it scared me off the job as I had no idea what people were on about!  Can anyone explain to me in terms I understand what it is I need to do?  My barrus manual tells me to top up the system 50/50 with the blue stuff and that's it.  It doesn't tell me how to change all the antifreeze.  If anyone can explain it well enough I'll bake you a cake.  

 

Good deal eh?

 

Cheers all

 

Craig

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Assuming a vertical skin tank.

 

1. Locate the lowest hose on the skin tank.

2. You need to remove one end but its probably easier to remove from the engine and drop it into the bilge and manipulate the hose so it all drains out.

3. Pump and/or sponge the mixture into containers for correct disposal.

Refit hose, fill with fresh water only, bleed skin tank, run engine at fast idle until the top hose has been warm to the touch for say 10 minutes.

4. Drain into bilge as above but this time you can just pump it overboard.

5. Repeat until the draining water runs clear.

6. Refit hose and fill with the antifreeze mixture. As you will have flushed the system it won't matter what antifreeze you put back in, you can use long life if you want. Some advocate using distilled water at this fill (I don't use it).

7. Bleed skin tank topping up as required.

8. Run at fast idle until it has got nice and hot manipulating ther hoses to make sure any loops vent the air that might be in them.

9. Bleed the skin tank and top up.

 

With a bit of luck you won't have to bleed the calorifier coil.

 

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Where are the flow and return connections on you skin tank.? I ask because both of mine come out the top of the tank.  (the return or cooled water) is piped internally. Neater but draining the tank is aright pain involving a Peta vacuum pump.  

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We have a Barrus Shiers 45 I was like you I had doubts about doing it was worried about getting air locks in the system, I had the antifreeze for nearly 2 years before I got round to doing it , all that panic was for nothing piss easy to do , hardest thing was getting the coolant out off the engine bay , not any more though. After I drained the system I modified the pipe work buy fitting a drain off and adding a pump to the outlet, I  flushed the system out five times just pumped it straight into 25ltr drums , I used 5 year antifreeze but the next time i do it will be even easier now I will put a picture on tomorrow how I altered the pipe work 

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Picture of pipe work , all I have to do is take the blue end cap off and attach the pump open vent bleed off , open valve ( only left handle on for picture ) and away you go , once set up takes less than half a hour to empty and fill again 

IMG_0122.JPG

Edited by luggsy
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14 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

A quick tip, if you have a pump out tank, dump the old antifreeze into it. It will clear any limescale/crud hiding in there and disposal into the mains drainage when you pump out will dilute it to a safe concentration.

Really? Doesn't it kill all the good bacteria (for those of us who don't use blue) in the holding tank?

 

My system holds 40 litres plus - that's quite a lot even at the 33% dilution I use.  Do the local water authority approve? 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the photo luggsy, you're engine's looking very tidy.  I've got the antifreeze, now I need time to do the job!  

Thanks for the photo luggsy, you're engine's looking very tidy.  I've got the antifreeze, now I need time to do the job!  

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1 hour ago, Craig1 said:

Thanks for the photo luggsy, you're engine's looking very tidy.  I've got the antifreeze, now I need time to do the job!  

Thanks for the photo luggsy, you're engine's looking very tidy.  I've got the antifreeze, now I need time to do the job!  

Where are you ? 

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15 hours ago, Craig1 said:

Thanks for the photo luggsy, you're engine's looking very tidy.  I've got the antifreeze, now I need time to do the job!  

Thanks for the photo luggsy, you're engine's looking very tidy.  I've got the antifreeze, now I need time to do the job!  

Yes, I am VERY impressed. If it were mine the one mod I would make would be to remove the handle on the ball valve. Sods law says that it will be stood on and/or kicked sometime in the next 5 years and dump your coolant into your engine bilge

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  • 1 year later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Our plumbing is such that both the coolant pipes run forward to the skin tank at roughly the same height (near the top of the skin tank) and then the lower pipe takes a 90 degree bend down to the bottom of the skin tank. So I have to pump it out. I use a Whale Gulper (shower drain pump) and some hose pipe which can be fed inside the 28mm copper pipe, round the bend until it reaches the bottom. I do find I need to slacken the skin tank top copper fitting to let air in (and out again, when I refill it). We have a spare Whale Gulper that I use, but even if you have to temporarily rob the shower Gulper that isn't too hard on most boats (assuming you have a Whale Gulper shower drain pump!).

Edited by nicknorman
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