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Overwintering - Using Non Toxic Antifreeze


Withywindle

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17 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Maybe so. But the text doesn't make that distinction.

Well, I've now emailed Starbrite about this point and also the ecological people at CRT for good measure, it'll be interesting to see what they say.

 

I obviously don't want to risk damage to the environment. I'm always very careful to use fully biodegradable products for washing etc and wouldn't want to take any risks.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure I'm going to bother with this stuff yet anyway, but it's more about the practicalities around disconnecting the pipes to the hot water tank than anything else. 

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16 hours ago, Onewheeler said:

The only frozen pipes I've had were in the feed to the shower controller. UK controllers have NRVs in the outlet: the only way to empty them may be to suck on the end of the shower head tube. The temperature was around -20 C though.

 

Which is why I installed my shower mixer so I could undo two unions, take the mixer home and the cap the connection point on the boat.

 

I used to drain down, but one winter I did not get around to draining the calorifier. I just pumped all the water out of the tank using the normal water pump and left the taps open (plus removing the shower mixer). That winter was particularly cold and the boat froze solid in the marina. It did not move as  I stepped aboard and moved about, but there was no damage to the plumbing.

 

Instant gas water heaters are another thing all together because they tend to be well above the waterline. On the hire fleet we used to undo the unions   connecting the heat exchanger to the valve assembly and loosen the screws on the diaphragm chamber. We ha done where we thought we had drained the diaphragm via the inbuilt drain, but it blocked. That resulted in a bowed diaphragm housing.

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  • 1 month later...
On 29/09/2021 at 11:31, Withywindle said:

Well, I've now emailed Starbrite about this point and also the ecological people at CRT for good measure, it'll be interesting to see what they say.

 

I obviously don't want to risk damage to the environment. I'm always very careful to use fully biodegradable products for washing etc and wouldn't want to take any risks.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure I'm going to bother with this stuff yet anyway, but it's more about the practicalities around disconnecting the pipes to the hot water tank than anything else. 

I said I'd ask Starbrite and CRT about this issue and post a reply. Here's my message to Starbrite and their reply...

 

Message: Hi, I live in the UK and I'm considering using your Pink Non Toxic (Propylene Glycol) antifreeze to winterise my canal boat drinking water system. Your instructions seem straightforward but a couple of friends have expressed concern that when I flush through the pipes in the spring the antifreeze will end up in the watercourse. I know Propylene Glycol is considered environmentally safe but can you confirm it OK for me to do this?

 

Starbrite reply: Yes this would be perfectly safe, you just want to make sure it is completely flushed out after use.

 

I sent a message along similar lines to CRT and received an acknowledgement but to date they haven't replied to the question. It's been five weeks, so I don't really anticipate hearing anything now.

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8 minutes ago, Withywindle said:

I sent a message along similar lines to CRT and received an acknowledgement but to date they haven't replied to the question. It's been five weeks, so I don't really anticipate hearing anything now.

 

Probably there is no one at C&RT who is competent to answer, so they are awaiting an answer from "Starbucks"

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