cold weather

[david_r]

'79 115 johnny

is there any chance of freeze damage when on the water or while towing in the middle of winter?

i live in oklahoma so its not extra cold sometimes teens, yes im a diehard fisher, but the wind chill and the fact that hot water freezes faster than cold has me worried.

i have never worried much about fishing in the winter before cause i only had my 2 little alum boats, one with a 9.8 and one with 18, now i have a 115 and dont think i could afford to replace it as easily.

obviously there is no way to put antifreeze in it, any one have any advice other than stay home?

any help would be greatly appreciated!

p.s. sorry if in the wrong forum, its motor related but not repair. didnt know exactly where to put it. mr moderators please move it if its wrong.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: cold weather

Not sure what you're asking, but if you're asking about the engine having a freezing problem while running it in the winter then my answer would be no.

The only thing to make sure of is that you don't have any water in your lower unit, so maybe change the oil in it before winter. Not sure what you mean about hot water freezing before cold water either? Nothing is gonna freeze in your engine when your using it.

I use mine through December and into January in NY, and it sits in the water when I'm not using it. You should have no problem fishing in the winter.

 

[mthieme]

Re: cold weather

'79 115 johnny
...the fact that hot water freezes faster than cold has me worried.

I remember this little experiment in school. It involved making ice cubes.
It took about an hour and half to freeze the water. It was determined that hot water froze 2-3 minutes faster than cold water because "it had more energy (heat) to lose". Not much difference to be practical.

You will have no problem running your motor in winter. The water will drain out when you pull it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: cold weather

the trip is after the use, you allow you motor to drain. put the motor in the running postion, to allow all the water to drain out of the power head. and store with motor in this position. also before the first freeze, change your lower unit oil, besure to use new seals on the drain and vent screws. doing these steps should assure you good boating.

 

[OptsyEagle]

Re: cold weather

As long as your motor does not see temperatures below 32 F (0 Celcius) then you have no worry. Wind chill only has an effect on humans, not machines. The wind chill may get your motor to that temperature quicker but will not lower the temperature below the ambient temperature that exhists.

Also, a quick and short (couple of hours) run below 32F by a couple of degrees over a cool night will most likely not freeze up your motor due to the thermal mass of the motor that will be required to change. In other words if the air goes to 30F for a couple of hours it would most likely take a lot more time or a lot bigger temperature drop to make your motor go to those freezing temperatures (due to the thermal mass characteristics of the motor and any other item you may be heating or cooling).

Just to follow along with the science of wind chill. Machines and other matter feel temperature as a change in the energy that is entering or leaving its molecules. Humans feel temperature as the "rate of heat loss". We want our bodies to be at 98.6F, all the time. Since we have internal energy and other mechanisms to keep us warm, we find air at about 70F will give us the perfect feeling. As the temperature lowers, our bodies heat starts to be removed quicker and we call that "being cold". Add a wind to this situation and the rate of heat loss increases and we call that "being colder". But wind has no effect on your motor except to get it to the ambient temperature quicker.

I hope that helps some people out there. I know my wife will always say things like "bring in the hose, it is going to freeze out there tonight." When I tell her that the temperature is expected to stay above freezing overnight, she will add that the wind chill is supposed to put the temperature below freezing, and then we have this same conversation all over again on how wind chill has no effect on a garden hose.

 

[david_r]

Re: cold weather

thanks for the reassurance guys.

i was worried that bein anchored out, pullin her down the highway @ 65, or setin overnight may give me some grief.

now i can look forward to freezin to death tryin to catch some cats!

thanks again for your help!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: cold weather

Keep the motor in the running position and it will drain properly.