Wanted to see what everyone else did.

[Tarpon4me]

I was just curious about something. Since time began, i've always winterized my boats and packed them away for the season; never to charge the battery or give them a crank until it gets close to that magical time. However, to contridict this winterizing method, I also know it's bad for a motor to sit, and equally as bad for a battery to sit without being charged from time to time.

Why is it that most people, to include myself, stick them away and forget about them, and drag them out at the end of winter? How come it never seems to hurt the boat motor or the battery sitting? Is it because outboard motors are sealed units and the batteries are deep cycle? Can it cause damage letting a boat motor sit for 4 months without being cranked? If not, is it because the mechanics of the motor are different than your standard gas propelled motorcycle or car motor? What's different that allows them to sit without causing damage? If damage can occur, what type of damage can be expected?

Lets use a newer fuel injected, oil injected 2 stroke 150 for an example. Then lets use a simple mix gas 25 horse 2 stroke. Which one is more likely to be damaged from sitting, or is both safe to sit for 4 months without fear of harm?

I know this is a pisser of a question, and is more philosophical than anything else. I was just wondering what everyone did and what thier reasoning is. I also want to know if packing my boat away for the off season is killing it, or if I shouldn't have anything to worry about. [cool]
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[gdn443]

Good question. I know they spray the cylinders when they winterize and spray the head, so nothing dries out. I too put my batteries down stairs and will give them a charge a couple of weeks before I use them. Some guys leave them in and hook up their trickle charge for the winter. I still get 4-5 years on a battery, so I will still pull them for the winter. Perhaps Tom can shed some info on this.
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[davetclown]

this one is simple,

to winterize a motor includes drainging the fluids from the lower units. this gits rid of the water that has seeped in during the summer. on the way out the gear lube coats every thing. Leaving the fluid in can cause freeze up and split the lower unit.

running fuel with a stabelizer befor the end of winter will help keep the injectors from gumming up over winter. that is especialy important now-a-days because of the fuel mixures we are using which are water base, (alchol)

removing and spraying inside the cylenders with wd 40 then cranking a couple times coats the cylender walls and rings.

doing the aboved mentioned actualy puts the moving parts back in to a state of factory packing. it keeps water condensation from building on the rings and rusting, it keeps the aluminum from oxidizing.

Berrings are packed in thithium there for they are safe and dont realy touch each other.

the one part that is most volnerable is your water pump. it is made of rubber and goes though dramatic changes and many conditions even sucking up sand, it freezes, it gets heated up, it seldom gets a drop of lubricant. and it is not easy to get cilicone up in there to coat in the winter.

now for the battery,
the absolute worst thing you can do is set one on a cement floor. dosnt matter where it is, in the house the garage. a concrete floor will kill your battery. if you must set it on the floor set it on a peice of wood, any kind, ply wood any thing, just get it up off the floor.

being you are using a deep cell battery, it doesnt hurt to be run dead once in a while, a regular battery if you run it dead will drasticaly shorten the life of your battery.

so not charging it all winter even if left out in the garage in the dead cold will not hurt the bettery. thow the charger on it and it will take the load, just use slow charg.
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[tomc]

bryan,you come up with some good topics to debate,lol

to get to the first,to fog or not to fog,that is the question

in my opinion,it is overrated,i am not saying dont do it, but to me all it does is foul out plugs,.over time oil settles down to the bottom of the pistions,and along the top.the best thing is to run the motor once a month for a few min, just to coat the sides

lower end oil,

should be change atleast once a year.more so just befor the freeze.
when you change the oil and you notice it a little milky it should be changed a few times a year,the bearings a gears do not like the water in the oil.

batteries

deep cycle batteries it is ok to drain them down once and a while.but every time you do that you take a little life out of them,the deep cycles have thicker plate than normal car batteries.the more times you draw down the thinner the plates get.
as dave stated,about leaveing them on concrete,is the old way,years ago you couldnt leave them on concrete,the batteries now you can without no ill effect,even partstore now place them on the floor.
in my oppinion is to get a mantainace charger.what that does is turns on and off automaticly when the battery starts losing there charge.i picked up mine at a napa store around 40 buck.i leave it in the boat with an extention cord
water pump
to lubricat,and keep it from freezeing, i use the marine/rv antifreeze.
how i do it,i bought the collapseable 5 gall water jug,made up an adapter to take a garden hose,use about 5 feet cut,put an male end on,and use my motor muffs,run the motor untill the little pisser was the same color as the marine/rv anifreeze.i also use this when running the motor to relube the cylenders.you can buy this setup at any marine store for around 40-50 bucks

gas/carberator/fuel injected

i just use sta-bil every tank,for longer storage i triple the amount,from what the directions call,never had a problem doing this

my answer to your question

i dont see any differance between a oil injected to a standerard mixed gas.they both burn mixed gas.the only differance is how the oil gets into the gas
i have not seen a motor frozen from sitting,a friend of mine has 2 parts motors both a merc 6 cylender.they both are laying on the ground one for 5 the other 3 years.both still turn over
now if we were talking about a inboard or i/o.it would be a total differant ball game
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[Tarpon4me]

You guys are right on. I knew this wasn't going to be an easy question, but who wants and easy question?

I knew about the battery thing. Electricity travels down, and when a battery is set down on the ground or on the concrete, it bad news.

As far as the foot oil, I change mine atleast twice a year anyhow, sometimes more depending on the use. I mostly rock it in the saltwater, so I can't afford to be anal when it comes to maintanence.

My major concern, though I made a big question of it, was letting the motor sit for 3 or 4 months. I ask this because if you check out the photo gallery and have a look see at my center console, you'll notice that the outboard on the back is an Evinrude 150 saltwater series "FICGT" ram injection. The doozy? The spark plugs are around 14 dollars a piece, it takes 6 of them, and the labor bill for having them installed is somewhere around 100 bucks because they have to be installed a certain way. Some type of special champion plug. X-series or something designed specifically for this motor. But, keeping him cranked a couple times a month should do the trick from what you guys are saying. So, i'll have to suck it up and make that happen. Thanks fellars!

Bryan
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