winterizing A/C

[Reeve21]

I just bought a boat with 2 AC units and no generator, and no desire to add one.


I am a local coastal cruiser, maybe 30 to 40 days a year. 100 per cent of that time is at a mooring or at anchor, no marinas.


So I will not be using these units.


It gets well below freezing here in the winter.


The units will have to be winterized. Since I have no plans to use them for several years, if ever, during my ownership, I'm tempted to winterized them and forget them. Meaning not use them in the summer or re-winterize in the following winters.


Any thoughts on this?

[ranger58sb]

It's usually not difficult.

Basically: Close the intake seacock and run pink (potable) antifreeze through the system, starting at the strainer, 'til you see pink exiting from all the discharge thru-hulls.

There might be some minor details about your particular system. Maybe drain a little pink from the seacock zerk. Or not. Or your system might struggle to get pink flow through one or the other AC lines (so maybe fiddle with connections or plug the flowing one for a few minutes, etc.).

We usually use compressed air to empty the system first, but that's mostly just 'cause I can. Then we use a transfer pump to inject fluid through the system; injection is via a Groco SSC/flush adapter that we added, but you could pull a hose and use that... or if you have Groco strainers, Trac sells a lid adapter.

You can also use the AC pump itself to pull/push pink through, although sometimes that's a bit of a juggling act to get the pump primed and then keep the housing full enough to continue working.

-Chris

[glenn.225]

If you can fully drain the sea cooler section and leave it drained. You shouldn't have to worry.

[Reeve21]

Thank you both for the replies.