Fogging My Engine

[irwin28]

I was thinking of fogging my yanmar and was curious to know is this common practice, and if is, are there any tips?

[Astrid]

You might want to read through this--you did not state whether or not your engine is in board or outboard, petrol or diesel, but the article covers it all pretty much.

Winterizing Your Engine by Don Casey

[irwin28]

Its a yanmar 3hm35f inboard diesel

[Astrid]

Well the article cited above has steps involved for preparing a diesel for over the winter storage, however, since you are in Louisiana, won't you be running it from time to time. If you are, then fogging would not be all that much benefit for the amount of work involved in laying it up.

[jward]

I keep my Watkins 29 just north of you in Madisonville. I've never bothered to winterize because Lake Pontchartrain rarely (if ever) freezes. When we do get a winter blast I use a small electric heater just for insurance. The relatively warm water is usually sufficient to keep my Yanmar free of ice. Now if you haul out, that's a different matter.

[Astrid]

Corrosion is probably your main concern then, or should be, as that is what causes a great deal of wear on diesels (wear through non-use). In said article follow the recommendations for protecting the engine from corrosion and you should be alright.

Protect raw-water passages--raw-water cooled diesel engines only
The raw water circuit must be drained to prevent freezing, but air exposure promotes corrosion. Reconnect the water-pump outlet hose. Insert a funnel into the disconnected discharge hose and pour a 50-50 mix of propylene glycol antifreeze into the funnel until the hose will not accept more. Allow the mixture to remain inside the block for several minutes, then open all raw-water drain plugs and drain the engine. This treatment leaves behind a layer of corrosion protection on the water-jacket, and it freeze-protects any water that might be harbored in low spots inside the engine.
This treatment is also applicable to protecting the heat exchanger on a fresh-water cooled engine.

Remove raw-water impeller
Antifreeze swells some rubbers, so rinse the extracted impeller as a precaution. Some grease the impeller and reinstall it. My preference is to leave it out until spring so the vanes don't take a set.


Fog intake--diesel engines only
Spray fogging oil into the intake manifold and turn the engine over slowly by hand to draw the oil into the cylinders and spread it. Do not use the starter, even with the stop control pulled out; the engine can start on the fogging oil.
Drain muffler canister
The less moisture the engine is exposed to, the less corrosion will occur.
Degrease, derust, touch-up
Maintain all painted surfaces to keep corrosion at bay.

Coat unpainted parts with an anticorrosion spray

Seal all engine and tank openings
Keep moist air from getting inside your engine and tanks. Seal air inlets, crankcase and transmission breathers, exhaust outlets, and tank vents. Fabricate caps from plastic containers and tape them in place with plastic tape to create an airtight seal.
Tighten stuffing box
If the boat will be stored in the water, tighten the stuffing box to eliminate all dripping. Tag it to remind you to loosen it in the spring.

[irwin28]

I appreciate the imput guys, but I'm not winterizing it. I was talking about reving it up and spraying seafoam through the air intake to blow out the carbon and crusty's etc.

[irwin28]

Sea Foam | How to Use Sea Foam Spray

You can also youtube this application as "fogging" and see what I'm talking about".

And astrid, I really appreciate the effort, just learned something new!

[irwin28]

Originally Posted by jward

I keep my Watkins 29 just north of you in Madisonville. I've never bothered to winterize because Lake Pontchartrain rarely (if ever) freezes. When we do get a winter blast I use a small electric heater just for insurance. The relatively warm water is usually sufficient to keep my Yanmar free of ice. Now if you haul out, that's a different matter.

Actually I keep my boat in pascagoula...much better water there and I got sick of pontchartrain lol