Winterizing a Spectra Watermaker

[sweetsailing]

Hi all,

Looking for some guidance and advice about winterizing a spectra watermaker. We have a new to us boat that we purchased this past spring and now are looking to winterize. We have never owned or operated a watermaker, nor winterized one either, so any insights are welcome.

I have read through the manual already. Looked over the system and understand all the moving parts. The unit is currently pickled. My basic questions are this:

1. Given that the watermaker and membrane has, at any given time, between 2 to 2.5 gallons of water in it, how do I make sure when I flush the pink antifreeze through that it is not diluted too much by the existing water in the system? Keep in mind, I am in Minnesota and will want the antifreeze at full strength in order to prevent any freezing issues.
2. On the theme of number 1 above, can you run the watermaker and cut off the intake of water to run it dry so to speak prior to introducing the antifreeze?
3. The product water produced by the watermaker is, of course, routed to the water tank. There is a 1/4 inch rigid black hose that leads to the water tank. It does not appear that I can disconnect this hose from the water tank. I would like to avoid introducing pink antifreeze into the water tank itself. We will instead pump the tank dry. Any ideas on how to avoid the pink stuff in the water tank?

Any other tips or advice that you have in this process are more than welcome. As is usually the case, operational manuals are sometimes less than clear.

[Jimbo485]

Why not buy the Z-Brane gadget from Spectra and then forget all about the pickling, unpickling etc? We left ours alone for a couple of months without pickling, left the Z-Brane on and it was fine. In fact, the Z-Brane has never been turned off around here for almost 2 years. Great invention.

[Badsanta]

Contact spectra they are very helpfull. The pink stuff is cheap I would run alot thru.

[sweetsailing]

Hey there, thanks for the feedback. I checked out the z brane, looks like a great little invention, however it won't do me much good when the boat is up on the hard for the winter.

I agree with ALOT of pink stuff, I figure that is way cheaper than replacing frozen parts on the watermaker.

[chrisjs]

Not familiar with the Spectra -- Tellie seems to be the go-to for those--- but I do know that using the pink stuff is not recommended by DOW/Filmtec, one of the largest manufacturers of RO membranes. Of course if you first remove the membrane(s) or are not concerned about preserving the membrane(s) and only need to protect the pumps, housings, gauges etc, then go for it with the antifreeze.