Winterizing Volvo FWD

[2018R7Surf]

Hey. Had a R7 surf. Winterized it every year like any other boat before first freeze. I now have an R8 surf we are picking up Friday. With the close cooling system and the “easy drain” is anyone chancing not winterizing their boat and extending its use into the winter months? Love to hear from an engineer or a VP mechanic. It clearly drains all of the water out! Why is everyone hesitant to “risk” using it during winter months. I feel like dealers have created fear, uncertainty and doubt about this feature to keep their winter revenues.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... 0wZbVnPvUa

[dsthomas]

I guess it depends on what you mean by winterize. I was told by our dealer that you absolutely can use it to avoid freeze damage, but that you still need to follow the proper steps to ensure your engine will be ok sitting for a long time without use. Meaning there are other things that should be done for winterization in addition to ensuring against freeze damage. I’ve used the easy drain tech for four years and it has prolonged our season. But I still take my boat in for other “winterization” maintenance.

[Big Block Power]

You still have fresh water going through your system. I would never risk a $250 winterize vs a 20k engine. It's your call. Some yes get away with it but it also depends where you store it. Where are you and where will you store it?

[jhnmdahl]

It's one thing to have the temperature drop five degrees more than expected some night and lose all my pepper plants for the year, and quite another to lose my boat engine to an unexpected hard freeze. I wouldn't feel too bad putting my boat in the water when it was cold if I drained it as soon as I pulled it out, but I don't think I'd be leaving it in the water once it starts getting chilly at night.

[dustinm]

Hey guys he's got a closed cooling system, so the engine itself is pretty safe. The only things that could have issues would be the exchanger, exhaust, and cooling lines.

I have the easy drain and still open up all drain ports as I am a little paranoid. But with the way it is marketed you should only need to hit the blue button. I think a guy could extend his season by doing this but I wouldnt abstain from doing my procedure for the whole winter. There is an external water port in the left side of the gimbal ring that always has raw water in it unless you physically drain it yourself. This is outside the engine compartment so even if you added a heater it would not be protected, with that said it will also be below the water line... This would worry me the most as if it freezes and breaks the blue cap off it would create a leak in your sea water side. Now with all the computer protection devises you probably wouldnt cook the engine but could need a tow back...

[stifflkd]

The Easy Drain will drain from the water pump, heat exchanger and exhaust manifolds. I am concerned of any residual water from the outdrive intake to the pump. I connect an air compressor to the flush port in the engine compartment and open up the port at the gimbal