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Winterization Help

Black Country Wench

By Black Country Wench
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Black Country Wench Gongoozler

Black Country Wench

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Hi everyone

 

This is our first winter with our narrow boat - Dragon. We do not live aboard but visit Dragon most weekends. She is moored on an offline marina. Do we need to completely winterize or is it enough to lag pipes etc. We have a central heating system with a frost protect mode but would that give us enough protection against pipes freezing etc. Any help appreciated boat.gif

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Sea Dog Veteran II

Sea DogDonate to Canal World

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If your central heating is on you should be ok but if you are a worrier you could turn off the water pump and open all taps in between visits to the boat.

 

Steve

I'd do that (and isolate the fw tank at the first valve) even if I wasn't a worrier! It takes only a minute or two. Keep some space for expansion in your fw tank too - 25% to 50% full gives a decent margin for any ice and causes little inconvenience when you visit the boat regularly. The lower part of your fw tank is under water so unlikely to freeze.

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markgregoryuk2000 Contributor

markgregoryuk2000

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Your heating system and engine cooling should have antifreeze so should not be a problem. always worth checking (bought a car with no antifreeze once!!!)

 

It is the hot and cold water circuits that are at risk, a friend lost his water pump and his gas water heater the first year he had his boat after the water froze. Alright it was a particularly cold winter but it can happen.

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Black Country Wench Gongoozler

Black Country Wench

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Hi everyone, thanks for the advice.... I am a worrier !

 

In response to "ditchcrawler" the heating runs off the diesel but we also need battery power to start it up when the frost protection kicks in and also to run the pump. We will have to keep an eye on battery power and run the engine when we pop down to try and keep it charged up.

 

We have a small solar panel, recently fitted, but that was really only intended to trickle charge the batteries over the winter and we didn't factor in the heating! so might add another panel to boost it a bit, providing we have a bit of sun that it !

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Bugsworth Tippler Community Regular

Bugsworth TipplerDonate to Canal World

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I'm in the same situation as the OP with a new (to me) boat with Webasto Top C diesel heater, radiators and froststat. I'm concerned that the (new) batteries (3 x 135 ah) may be depleted too much if I leave the heating system under the control of the (4 deg C) froststat. I have shore power but no battery charger fitted.

 

I'm thinking of fitting a battery charger or maybe relying on an thermostatically controlled electric heater (2kW)? Comments and suggestions welcome.

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

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We are lucky and only about 10 minutes so a trip over the weekend or even after work is not a problem.

That makes a big difference as if we got hit with a cold spell you could get there within 24 hr and warm the boat up every couple of days if needs be. If I get hit with a bad spell the last thing I want is to drive from Suffolk up past Middlewich in ice and snow, so mine is winterised already

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Neil2 Veteran

Neil2

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I wish I could adopt the approach so many folk do which is just shut off the water and leave all the taps open. Most seem to get away with it. But I think if you are a worrier, best to drain down the water in the pipes and purge as much as you can from the system. Wrap the water pump in insulation and the shower mixer if you have one or remove them from the boat if you're really bothered.

 

 

Having a heating system on board does not assure you of a stress free winter you will just worry about the system remaining functional and what happens if it fails.

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Jess-- Rising Star

Jess--

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for winterising our boat we just run the freshwater tank dry, diaphragm pumps will pump air so run it until air comes from taps (only for a couple of mins at a time though so you don't overheat the pump)

once all the water is out of the pipes (open each tap in turn including the shower) turn the pump off at the power

open all taps (again including the shower)

 

if your shower drain pump has a filter on it's inlet (usually in a clear plastic housing) remove it for the winter

 

engine and heating systems have anti-freeze in them (both drained and refilled in the last 2 years) so we ignore them.

 

an often overlooked one is the pump-out tank (if fitted), try and get it pumped out before winterising, it wouldn't be pretty if it froze and split.

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Pie Eater Experienced

Pie Eater

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If I lived only ten minutes away I would try to fit into my schedule a visit to the boat to run the engine and heater during times of extreme low temperatures. Might be annoying but produces piece of mind.

I tend to do the opposite and run the engine on a warmish day and don't bother to start it in freezing conditions.

 

Steve

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spadefoot Proficient

spadefoot

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so... mross suggested a greenhouse heater or a low powered heater. I would guess that a low powered fan heater would be the safest option on a nb?

 

We should be able to get one with a frost thermostat and run it off the mains.

Well if you have mains, you won't have to worry about flat batteries. Just keep your meter in credit.

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cuthound Veteran II

cuthoundDonate to Canal World

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I have mains power on my mooring. To winterise I leave the water and pump out tanks not more than half full, and fill the diesel tank to the brim.

 

The engine and central heating have antifreeze.

 

I then cover the low level vents with cardboard held in place with blutac, push bath sponges into the mushroom vents. I leave a Meaco DD8L8L dehumidifier permanentry on, and draining into the sink.

 

I isolate the water tank, then open the taps and run the pump until no more water comes out. I then drop the shower hose into the bath.

 

Finally I have two 650 watts oil filled heaters, plugged into extension leads, and fed from a thermostatically conrolled plug, set to 4°C. One is positioned near the calorifier and the other in the galley, by the water pump.

 

I check the boat frequently for problems, but have not experienced a year in 3 winters.

 

Edited to say:

 

I can "de-winterise" and be cruising in the crisp winter sun within 10-15 minutes of deciding to by using the above method. Mooring up again and "re-winterising" takes a similar time.

Edited by cuthound
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pipistrelle Contributor

pipistrelle

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an often overlooked one is the pump-out tank (if fitted), try and get it pumped out before winterising, it wouldn't be pretty if it froze and split.

 

That apparently happened to one of my neighbours in Oxford. I would never consider a boat with a pump out after hearing that!

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mross Influencer

mross

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Posted (edited)

 

That apparently happened to one of my neighbours in Oxford. I would never consider a boat with a pump out after hearing that!

 

I'm not challenging your account but just curious why you wrote 'apparently'? biggrin.png I'm pretty sure that a tank would only burst if it were full or very nearly full. After all ice trays don't rupture, do they? It's only when there's no room for expansion that rupture occurs.

 

edited to try and make this a polite enquiry.

Edited by mross
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Sea Dog Veteran II

Sea DogDonate to Canal World

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That apparently happened to one of my neighbours in Oxford. I would never consider a boat with a pump out after hearing that!

In addition to what mross says above, remember that the (Oddington - now there's a great autocorrect so I'll leave it in!) holding tank is usually below the waterline too, so much less prone to freezing. Actually, much of the content is likely to be alcohol too! I assess the risk of frozen poo tank damage at very low as long as there's expansion room.

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hackenbush Collaborator

hackenbush

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Posted (edited)

I'm afraid I have no advice to add as this will be my first winter on the boat, I just have more questions.

 

I'm living on the boat so everything is in use pretty much daily. I am concerned about the water though. Could a pipe freeze/burst? Is there anything I can do to mitigate against that? Also, there is no stopcock.

I'm afraid I have no advise to add as this will be my first winter on the boat, I just have more questions.

 

I'm living on the boat so everything is in use pretty much daily. I am concerned about the water though. Could a pipe freeze/burst? Is there anything I can do to mitigate against that? Also, there is no stopcock.

Edited by hackenbush
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