Do you run your motor in winter?

[jasper60103]

Do you run your motor in winter? Weather permitting of course. I'm a newbie, but it seems the longer they sit idle the more problems you have. Would it be safe to run it in a bucket/barrel during winter? What's the coldest temp?

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

I personally don't. There really isn't a need to if you've winterized it properly. The fogging protects the internals and the engine should drained of all water, etc so there is no need to.

There shouldn't be any impact of temperature other than the water you need to run the engine may be solid Up here in Canada, it hits the -30s in the dead of winter. I'm not thinking of boating at that point (well I am, but I'm not clearing the several feet of snow of it to run it)

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

jasper60103, where are you???

 

[jasper60103]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

minnesota

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

isn't everything frozen then.

 

[thenotsofreeboat]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

I wouldn't, if all the water fails to drain out and you have it outside it could freeze up and bust the casing or who knows what. Fog, and leave it sit until spring. There will be plenty of time to mess with it when it is warm. Mine is stored in the garage below the rest of the house and is around 60 degrees all year long. I ran it once in the winter and never again as i like being married, not dieing of CO, and it really makes a wet mess no matter how much plastic you put over the Christmas ornaments .

 

[5150abf]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

Drain the carbs and fog it no need to run it.

It is gas sitting in the carbs for a long time that gums everything up, so a carb with no gas would be fine for a long long time.

 

[109jb]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

I live in northern Illinois. I fog it and forget it until the next season. Same for everything else too (Snowmobiles, ATV's, lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc.). I've never had a problem, but I do fog and stabilize the fuel before putting them away.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

I wouldn't try to run my motor if I were you. The best thing to do is to winterize it properly and put it away. As a part of this process, you can do a few adjustments and thoroughly grease the motor. If you have any deferred maintenance and/or repairs to get done, this is a good time to do so. Its an especially good time for repairs if you will have a local repair shop do the work, because mid-winter tends to be their slow period.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

I take my motor to the lake every couple weekends in the winter. It gets a little bit of running time pushing me to my fishing spots......

 

[EJ3]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

I live on the central west coast of Florida, we don't have winter!!! lol I only use the boat for fishing and I can suck up the coldness for that!

Does anyone in Florida winterize??? Just wondering since I don't.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

Hey EJ3,

Here in the sunny south ( about 150 miles from you ) we can't even say winterization - simply call it seasonal lay up. Lot's of the snowbirds go north for the summer and we do a lot of 'seasonal lay ups'. Not nearly as drastic as preparing for freezing temps but long term resting, so to speak.
Maybe some of the guys up near TD might but haven't a clue.
Actually us southern rednecks don't even consider Jacksonville part of Florida - it's south Georgia.

 

[angler53]

Re: Do you run your motor in winter?

I'm here in Central Alafloga. That's the southeast corner of Alabama where Florida and Georgia is walking distance. We sometimes start the day with winter, have fall spring and sometimes summer by nightfall.
I'm to broke to own or fly airplanes anymore. I'm to the age where feeling "rode hard, put away wet" is a good day, so, all I have to do is go to the water. I run my boat every weekend, come rain sleet or shine. When you been married as long as I have, you can't even have privacy in the bathroom anymore. She'll come in there just to ask what I'm doing and to tell me I stink. So, I go to the water when it's to cold for anybody with any sense. WaLa..privacy. Oh, and 101 Wild Turkey is good for fogging when it gets cold.
just kidding