Boat engines

[DeanS]

Winter is coming...temps are dropping.

Boat is in a marina, on shorepower.

I dont need to run the engine for hot water.

I dont need to run the engine till March next year when I plan on cruising a lot.

Do I.....:

 

1. Leave the engine off, till March.

2. Run the engine for an hour a month till March.

3. Run the engine an hour a week till March.

4. Run the engine an hour a day till March.

 

through the cold icy, snowy months....Dec/Jan/Feb

 

 

[Timleech]

Winter is coming...temps are dropping.

Boat is in a marina, on shorepower.

I dont need to run the engine for hot water.

I dont need to run the engine till March next year when I plan on cruising a lot.

Do I.....:

 

1. Leave the engine off, till March.

2. Run the engine for an hour a month till March.

3. Run the engine an hour a week till March.

4. Run the engine an hour a day till March.

 

through the cold icy, snowy months....Dec/Jan/Feb

 

 

 

Whatever you do, make sure you run it long enough to get it fully up to temperature, otherwise you may be doing more harm than good.

 

Once a month should be plenty to keep the cobwebs out.

 

Tim

[simon&jan]

Personally i would leave it ,if you dont need to run it leave it sleeping over winter and keep battery charged up , oh and change the oil try not to leave it stood with mucky oil in it

[ditchcrawler]

Winter is coming...temps are dropping.

Boat is in a marina, on shorepower.

I dont need to run the engine for hot water.

I dont need to run the engine till March next year when I plan on cruising a lot.

Do I.....:

 

1. Leave the engine off, till March.

2. Run the engine for an hour a month till March.

3. Run the engine an hour a week till March.

4. Run the engine an hour a day till March.

 

through the cold icy, snowy months....Dec/Jan/Feb

 

 

As you are living onboard even if you have not used antifreeze it should be safe as the boat will be warm unless its a cruiser stern, if it is make sure the antifreeze is OK and it should all be OK. Think of all the hundreds of boats that only get used for a few weeks every summer.

[GSer]

I run mine up every other week normally, its just become part of my winter routine that i've got used to, it is always run until all the crankcase is fully hot and the oil is up to normal temperature, takes ages!

 

 

I normally change the oil at the end of the season and change the oil & filter at the start of the new campaign. It's hard to say why but i'm happy doing that and always have been, i do the same with my motor bikes as well. Never seem to have premature wear issues.

[jelunga]

I run mine up every other week normally, its just become part of my winter routine that i've got used to, it is always run until all the crankcase is fully hot and the oil is up to normal temperature, takes ages!

 

 

I normally change the oil at the end of the season and change the oil & filter at the start of the new campaign. It's hard to say why but i'm happy doing that and always have been, i do the same with my motor bikes as well. Never seem to have premature wear issues.

Wot he said

[koukouvagia]

I usually start my Kelvin every three or four weeks during the winter. If I leave it longer than this I find that I tend to get air in the fuel lines and it takes quite a bit of turning over until the air bubbles disperse.

The Kelvin manual advises winterising an engine by pouring lubricating oil into each cylinder and turning the engine over a few times by hand. I've never figured how to do this so I simply allow a few squirts of diesel into enter the cylinders.

 

I must admit I never bother to do anything special on the BMC. Once the raw water system and pump have been drained down, it stays like that until the spring.

[Bee]

If its a cruiser stern it needs all the protection it can get, obviously antifreeze etc but I would also wrap it in a blanket and tarp to stop condensation forming all over it, I wouldn`t bother to run it, if its in an engine room it also needs antifreeze and the whole protection thing , I had an engine freeze and crack in bad frost and this was in a lined engine hole with a radiator the other side of the bulkhead, it`s probably not worth running it as most of the wear happens in the first few mins. with stone cold oil and bearing surfaces, wrap it up and leave it.

[nb Innisfree]

Better to leave it than run it at tickover or a slow speed, if you do run it try to put some load on and get the revs up.

[Morat]

I'd check the antifreeze is up to strength, the oil is good and leave it. It's the cold starts that cause wear, not the waiting in between. Obviously, the batteries should be on trickle charge/conditioner if possible.

[wirren]

I turn ours by hand once a month just to move the valve springs to a different position. also give the propshaft a few spins,, keeps bits moving.

Mark.

[blackrose]

As you are living onboard even if you have not used antifreeze it should be safe as the boat will be warm unless its a cruiser stern, if it is make sure the antifreeze is OK and it should all be OK. Think of all the hundreds of boats that only get used for a few weeks every summer.

 

It might be safe from freezing but not having any antifreeze in the engine won't do much good in terms of internal corrosion. When you think that there's aluminium and steel in contact then they might even react galvanically in water. Antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors.

 

If its a cruiser stern it needs all the protection it can get, obviously antifreeze etc but I would also wrap it in a blanket and tarp to stop condensation forming all over it.

 

I have a cruiser stern, but my engine doesn't get any condensation forming over it. I just leave it alone most of the winter. My understanding is that unlike a petrol engine which needs to be run fairly regularly because the petrol strips all the oil out of the cylinder, diesel is more oily so diesel engines can be left for longer.

Edited November 24, 2012 by blackrose

[Biggles]

Why not just use your engine for what it was put in for. Go for a cruise, jaunt, jolly or just down the pub. Just 'cos its winter don't mean its not enjoyable.

 

When I got our current off grid mooring I was a bit worried as I had always been on grid. U'know off grid is really not that much of a problem. OK I don't live aboard but I am there 3-4-5 days a week and I have no problem. In fact it would be easier if I did live aboard as I would have a routine.

 

I realise now that being on grid makes one complacent and lazy about energy use and replacement.

Edited November 25, 2012 by Biggles

[mrsmelly]

Why not just use your engine for what it was put in for. Go for a cruise, jaunt, jolly or just down the pub. Just 'cos its winter don't mean its not enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

Halelujah !! The voice of sense at last prevails. Winter boating is moooocho better than summer boating on a nice cold crispy day. Use the boat to go boating thats what we do, especialy mid week in the winter when its even quieter.

 

Tim

[ditchcrawler]

Halelujah !! The voice of sense at last prevails. Winter boating is moooocho better than summer boating on a nice cold crispy day. Use the boat to go boating thats what we do, especialy mid week in the winter when its even quieter.

 

Tim

I am not sure that Dean is in a position to do summer of winter cruising at the moment, I think its a project in hand.

[onionbargee]

Leave it alone, and find something better to worry about. Standby engines sit for years with no harm done.

[blackrose]

Halelujah !! The voice of sense at last prevails. Winter boating is moooocho better than summer boating on a nice cold crispy day. Use the boat to go boating thats what we do, especialy mid week in the winter when its even quieter.

 

Tim

 

It's only the voice of sense if you happen to prefer winter boating. Personally I don't. I've done enough winter boating to know that I prefer boating in summer and I have no problem doing it with other boats. In contrast to some boaters I actually like other people's boats too.

 

The other thing of course is that with lock stoppages and red boards some people are hard pressed to move anywhere during winter.

 

Mike

Edited November 25, 2012 by blackrose

[Guest]

Leave it alone, and find something better to worry about. Standby engines sit for years with no harm done.

I knew a bloke who built racing motorcycle engines, and used to deliberately leave the cylinders exposed until they had the lightest coating of surface rust. Not sure what his theory was, but I know his bikes were race winners.

[George94]

I knew a bloke who built racing motorcycle engines, and used to deliberately leave the cylinders exposed until they had the lightest coating of surface rust. Not sure what his theory was, but I know his bikes were race winners.

 

Perhaps it was to lull the opposition into a sense of false security.

[DeanS]

I am not sure that Dean is in a position to do summer of winter cruising at the moment, I think its a project in hand.

 

 

The voice of balanced reason

There's nothing more I'd like than to be cruising permanently again. I still need to wire up the leisure batteries, invertor, 12V lights etc...which I'll do by Feb. At the moment, the boat is geared for shoreline only. (XBox, PCs, microwave, elec kettle...need I go on..lol)

[Doorman]

One precaution to take during the winter lull and if you're not able to get to your boat for a lovely winter cruise, is to shove an old carrier bag into the exhaust outlet. This prevents dampness entering any of the cylinders that may have their exhaust valves open during the lay off period. Obviously, when returning to the boat you must remember to remove the bag otherwise it gets jettisoned into the canal or river upon starting the engine.

 

If you have a single cylinder engine, crank it by hand to open the inlet valve then spray some diesel into the inlet manifold after first removing the filter. Then crank the engine over again to bring the piston to the top dead centre position. That way, you are not leaving the bore open to the elements.

 

As a precaution against the cold start effect upon our engine, I bought a three way central heating valve that allows me to pre-heat the cylinder jacket with the diesel heater or Multi-Fuel stove that has a back boiler. The valve that's electrically operated, redirects the flow of heated coolant around the engine prior to start-up. The other benefit is that once the engine is at its optimum running temperature, the valve can then be positioned to utilise the engine heat to warm the central heating radiators. This means that we have three different sources of heating the boat and has proved to be very effective and economical.

Edited November 26, 2012 by Doorman

[nebulae]

Metal components exposed to cold moist air will always atract condensation.Cylinder walls,valve stems etc will form condensation on their surfaces during cold moist weather.No problem with petrol engine.Remove plugs and add a few drops of Redex.Remember,non synthetic oil will drain to the sump.Longer its left,the less oil left on bearing surfaces.However,most people seem to get away with leaving engines for months without long term damage.A paticular problem I have noticed recently is alternators siezing.Personaly,I like to run an engine up to temperature once a month.Bear in mind that the inhibitors in antifreeze have a limmited life.Blue lasts two years,green three years and red five years.

[ROBDEN]

Halelujah !! The voice of sense at last prevails. Winter boating is moooocho better than summer boating on a nice cold crispy day. Use the boat to go boating thats what we do, especialy mid week in the winter when its even quieter.

 

Tim

Oh thanks a bunch. Now you've said that the cut will be full again...like summer.

[jelunga]

Halelujah !! The voice of sense at last prevails. Winter boating is moooocho better than summer boating on a nice cold crispy day. Use the boat to go boating thats what we do, especialy mid week in the winter when its even quieter.

 

Tim

Think you are stuck in the marina now for a say or two at the moment Tim.

We have just come back from a cruise this morning.

 

To the fuel pump and pump out machine, all of 800 yds each way.

 

I knew a bloke who built racing motorcycle engines, and used to deliberately leave the cylinders exposed until they had the lightest coating of surface rust. Not sure what his theory was, but I know his bikes were race winners.

BMW are reputedto have also done this to their sporty engines cylinder blocks in the 60s or 70s as well as having their workers piddle on them. Created micro pores which held oil and allowed the engine to work harder.

It is not sonething you would need to do on a narrow boat engine.

I certainly advocate running engines every month if they are not properly preserved. This was the instruction from the Army. So once a month all vehicles and plant which had not been used for a month were used underload for 1 hour. For lorries and Landies a hour on the road. For gennies an hour on a load lije a kettle. We drank a lot of tea when running the fennies

[ditchcrawler]

The voice of balanced reason

There's nothing more I'd like than to be cruising permanently again. I still need to wire up the leisure batteries, invertor, 12V lights etc...which I'll do by Feb. At the moment, the boat is geared for shoreline only. (XBox, PCs, microwave, elec kettle...need I go on..lol)

Dean following that complement I will just say, if your engine has the correct antifreeze in it, don't worry about it.