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I know it is July, but winterizing...

 

? ?A few questions on winterizing water tanks, and water tanks themselves.

1. Is there a special tool to open the inspection port on the water tank. This a few inch wide red threaded plug on my blue plastic tanks. It has an indented cross in it so you can put something in to turn it. I tried to make a bit to fit in there out of wood with some vice grips, only broke off the wood. Didn't budge the plug at all. Assuming some thread lock. How does one open this inspection port?!?
2. I normally empty the tanks then fill with pink antifreeze and run through. Then spend hours in the spring flushing out the antifreeze so my water tastes just OK. Many still won't drink it. I have a pretty good method of getting the pink stuff out, but the better method is not to put pink stuff in, but rather completely drain the tanks, then blow all the water out of the lines. Has anyone successfully done this on a lagoon that has multiple tanks, multiple faucets, an accumulator, and manifold. My water tanks are in the forward nacelle locker in front of the mast. Almost impossible to get to the main feed line down in there under the tank. Without being able to wet vac out the entire tank, I don't believe by running the water pumps you can really drain the tank so there is no water in tank to go back into the lines.

Anyway, hope for someone to comment on if they have done this method of prepping the boat. For those where the boat never gets into freezing temps, keep smiling.
Rob Hepler
 

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half a gallon of vodka in tank and run it through? ?Catch the flow !!

How cold do you need to protect against?

Or you could add a fitting in your lines and use a little air compressor to blow them empty, like a sprinkler system

Better yet.. never live where water gets hard ;-)

-Rob


On Jul 12, 2018, at 1:34 PM, Scott Jay <jbinbi@...> wrote:

? ?A few questions on winterizing water tanks, and water tanks themselves.

1. Is there a special tool to open the inspection port on the water tank. This a few inch wide red threaded plug on my blue plastic tanks. It has an indented cross in it so you can put something in to turn it. I tried to make a bit to fit in there out of wood with some vice grips, only broke off the wood. Didn't budge the plug at all. Assuming some thread lock. How does one open this inspection port?!?
2. I normally empty the tanks then fill with pink antifreeze and run through. Then spend hours in the spring flushing out the antifreeze so my water tastes just OK. Many still won't drink it. I have a pretty good method of getting the pink stuff out, but the better method is not to put pink stuff in, but rather completely drain the tanks, then blow all the water out of the lines. Has anyone successfully done this on a lagoon that has multiple tanks, multiple faucets, an accumulator, and manifold. My water tanks are in the forward nacelle locker in front of the mast. Almost impossible to get to the main feed line down in there under the tank. Without being able to wet vac out the entire tank, I don't believe by running the water pumps you can really drain the tank so there is no water in tank to go back into the lines.

Anyway, hope for someone to comment on if they have done this method of prepping the boat. For those where the boat never gets into freezing temps, keep smiling.


--
-Rob H
Pacific NW, USA
No sailing vessel at the moment
Rob Hepler
 

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Freeze points - remember vodka is (?) 80 proof (US measure), so 40% alcohol

Anecdotal: we use cheap vodka to wipe down the outside of the freeze container for our compressor-driven ice cream maker - otherwise a little bit of condensation means it freezes into the machine and cannot be removed until your oh-so-anticipated fresh ice cream has melted back to sludge.

Ethanol based Water Solutions Freezing Point

Freezing Point
Ethanol Concentration
(% by?volume)		0102030405060708090100
Temperature(oF)3225155-10-25-35-55-75-110-175
(oC)0-4-9-15-23-32-37-48-59-73-115


and as a graphic:



On Jul 12, 2018, at 2:38 PM, Rob Hepler <rob@...> wrote:

half a gallon of vodka in tank and run it through? ?Catch the flow !!

How cold do you need to protect against?

Or you could add a fitting in your lines and use a little air compressor to blow them empty, like a sprinkler system

Better yet.. never live where water gets hard ;-)

-Rob


On Jul 12, 2018, at 1:34 PM, Scott Jay <jbinbi@...> wrote:

? ?A few questions on winterizing water tanks, and water tanks themselves.

1. Is there a special tool to open the inspection port on the water tank. This a few inch wide red threaded plug on my blue plastic tanks. It has an indented cross in it so you can put something in to turn it. I tried to make a bit to fit in there out of wood with some vice grips, only broke off the wood. Didn't budge the plug at all. Assuming some thread lock. How does one open this inspection port?!?
2. I normally empty the tanks then fill with pink antifreeze and run through. Then spend hours in the spring flushing out the antifreeze so my water tastes just OK. Many still won't drink it. I have a pretty good method of getting the pink stuff out, but the better method is not to put pink stuff in, but rather completely drain the tanks, then blow all the water out of the lines. Has anyone successfully done this on a lagoon that has multiple tanks, multiple faucets, an accumulator, and manifold. My water tanks are in the forward nacelle locker in front of the mast. Almost impossible to get to the main feed line down in there under the tank. Without being able to wet vac out the entire tank, I don't believe by running the water pumps you can really drain the tank so there is no water in tank to go back into the lines.

Anyway, hope for someone to comment on if they have done this method of prepping the boat. For those where the boat never gets into freezing temps, keep smiling.


--?
-Rob H
Pacific NW, USA
No sailing vessel at the moment


--
-Rob H
Pacific NW, USA
No sailing vessel at the moment
 

开云体育

On our Lagoon 421 sailing on the Great Lakes – she goes on the hard for the winter.? For us:

  • First – drain the hot water tank and then bypass it by either moving the hoses or better yet re-plum it so you can just turn a valve.
  • I run the tanks dry
  • I connect compressed air to the deck inlet with appropriate fittings and put in about 20 pounds of air. (We have a craftsman 2-gallon air compressor I bring to the boat for this chore)
  • Open all the facets one by one – a couple of times each till clear air flows
  • But I still go back and run a bit (1/2 gallon) of “red pop” into the deck water inlet, start the water pump, and run it to one facet.? I’m afraid the pump itself, the strainer, the accumulator and manifold could still have a bit of water in them and cause breakage. ?
  • Also, I leave the shower facets lying on the floor, so no water will get caught in the hose.

This has worked well for us.? But you still have a bit of red pop that has to be run out in the spring.? But using that same facet you minimize the amount flowing through the entire system.

After thorough flushing, then remove the hot water by-pass – you don’t want any red pop in the water heater – it will take forever to get it all out then.? (Don’t turn on the hot water heater when its bypassed – surely will kill the heater tube). ?

?

Doug Jackson

Bleu Lagoon L421

1262 Crooked Tree Ct

Westerville, OH? 43081

614-519-6996

doug@...

Wishing you fair winds and following seas

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Scott Jay
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2018 4:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [lagooncatowners] I know it is July, but winterizing...

?

? ?A few questions on winterizing water tanks, and water tanks themselves.

1. Is there a special tool to open the inspection port on the water tank. This a few inch wide red threaded plug on my blue plastic tanks. It has an indented cross in it so you can put something in to turn it. I tried to make a bit to fit in there out of wood with some vice grips, only broke off the wood. Didn't budge the plug at all. Assuming some thread lock. How does one open this inspection port?!?
2. I normally empty the tanks then fill with pink antifreeze and run through. Then spend hours in the spring flushing out the antifreeze so my water tastes just OK. Many still won't drink it. I have a pretty good method of getting the pink stuff out, but the better method is not to put pink stuff in, but rather completely drain the tanks, then blow all the water out of the lines. Has anyone successfully done this on a lagoon that has multiple tanks, multiple faucets, an accumulator, and manifold. My water tanks are in the forward nacelle locker in front of the mast. Almost impossible to get to the main feed line down in there under the tank. Without being able to wet vac out the entire tank, I don't believe by running the water pumps you can really drain the tank so there is no water in tank to go back into the lines.

Anyway, hope for someone to comment on if they have done this method of prepping the boat. For those where the boat never gets into freezing temps, keep smiling.

 

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ah, the old vodka myth. a handle, 1.75l of the cheapest vokda is $10usd. so about $20 a gallon. I can buy the pink stuff for $3/gallon. But maybe it is worth the difference not to have to spend a few hours flushing the anti freeze....


I would like to use the air compressor, that is what my post was about, but I am asking fellow lagoon owners a)if they have ever done that, and b)if so how. You need to make sure the tank is completely empty, I don't know how to do that, and need to essentially get a fitting for the air compressor into the beginning of the line, where it connects to the tank. Was simple to do on my mono.


Needs to be good to -5F.?

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