First time winterize

[Rich L]

I'm a newbie to boats so here goes. First I drain and refill the lower unit oil piece of cake, then do I fog through the intake with the motor running or do I just spray into the plug openings? Then run fuel stable in the fuel and run it out of fuel, and finally do I need to run antifreeze or not in the engine? Theirs a lot of different opinions out there on this and it sure makes it confusing. BTW my outboard is a 200hp carbed v6 mercury with oil injection.

[Capt. Bob]

Winterize?

[Rich L]

That is what us unlucky dogs have to do up here in the north Capt Bob.

[John Jones]

Sorry but some of us that have had boats all of our lives would not know where to start either because of where we live.  I'm sure some of our northern brethren will chime in after the weekend.

[seabob4]

Move to FL!  But then, we may see 30s here tonight...AND IT'S ONLY NOVEMBER!!!

[wingtime]

Rich I think the your biggest issue is going to be the darn the ethanol fuel.  The best situation is draining all the fuel from the fuel system.  This includes the three float bowls on the motor.  If you can't drain the tanks then see if you can get some non ethanol fuel add some stabilizer to it and fill the tank.  I would run the motor and spray in the fogging oil in each carb until it dies.  Then spray some fogging oil in to each spark plug. Then I would take off the jet access plug on the side of the float bowls to drain the bowls. (assuming you have the two barrel carbs with a single bowl)  I'd also pull the fuel lines to get any fuel in them and the pump drained out.  Draining the lower unit and changing the oil is a good idea.  Of course I'd remove anything that has water in it too.   Or you can just move down here to Florida.  

[gran398]

I live in NC. Gets cold here.  Personally, winterizing consists of adding fuel stabilizer to the tank, running it through....and then leaving the motor in the full DOWN position. The motor drains water off completely. Consequently, won't crack the sleeves when it freezes.

Otherwise, pay the yard big-bucks for draining/fogging/disconnect etc. Then in spring, pay them the same big-bucks for reversal.

Ching-ching.

Unnecessary here. Although their advertising states otherwise.


Addendum: On a nice day once a month in the winter, crank her up on a water hose in the yard. Same as lawnmowers/leaf blowers/etc. Outta sight/outta mind....so put it on the calendar.

[GoneFission]

I'm a newbie to boats so here goes. First I drain and refill the lower unit oil piece of cake, then do I fog through the intake with the motor running or do I just spray into the plug openings? Then run fuel stable in the fuel and run it out of fuel, and finally do I need to run antifreeze or not in the engine? Theirs a lot of different opinions out there on this and it sure makes it confusing. BTW my outboard is a 200hp carbed v6 mercury with oil injection.

Welcome to the site!  You don't have to fog the cylinders unless you are talking about a very long layup.  Put the stabilizer in the gas, run the motor for 5 minutes or so on the earmuffs or in fresh water, then disconnect the gas line and let the motor run until it quits due to fuel starvation.  Leave the motor in the full down position and it will drain completely.  You do not need to put anti-freeze in - in fact, it's not good for the water pump impeller.  Store the motor over the winter in the full down position to prevent any water accumulation in the prop housing or lower unit.  

BTW - I have the same motor as you and keep my boat on a lift so the motor is out of the water and sees pretty cold weather, but I don't winterize it because I use it all winter.  Never had a problem...  

See ya on the water!

[Capt. Bob]

Then run fuel stable in the fuel and run it out of fuel, outboard is a 200hp carbed v6 mercury with oil injection.

 then disconnect the gas line and let the motor run until it quits due to fuel starvation.  

BTW - I have the same motor as you

Not owning a Merc, help me out.

On the Evinrude, the fuel/oil mix occurs before the mixture enters the motor. If you disconnect the fuel line, oil still continues to enter the motor and now you have a "rich" mixture that is, too much oil to fuel in the the areas that the fuel/oil travels (that includes the float bowls). Are the Mercs different, or have you disconnected the oil injection and use pre-mix instead? Or, do you disconnect both fuel and oil?

Even with pre-mix, I never fully understood why one would run the engine dry since the lubrication comes from the oil that's mixed with the gas. I know a lot of people did it then and it appears many do it now (with oil injection/carbed motors). I understand the thought that you are removing fuel from the carbs but are you not still getting oil in the bowl.

[GoneFission]

On the Evinrude, the fuel/oil mix occurs before the mixture enters the motor. If you disconnect the fuel line, oil still continues to enter the motor and now you have a "rich" mixture that is, too much oil to fuel in the the areas that the fuel/oil travels (that includes the float bowls). Are the Mercs different, or have you disconnected the oil injection and use pre-mix instead? Or, do you disconnect both fuel and oil?

Even with pre-mix, I never fully understood why one would run the engine dry since the lubrication comes from the oil that's mixed with the gas. I know a lot of people did it then and it appears many do it now (with oil injection/carbed motors). I understand the thought that you are removing fuel from the carbs but are you not still getting oil in the bowl.

You are right CB -    - the oil and gas are mixed just upstream of the fuel pump, so when you disconnect the gas line, the mixture does go more oil-rich for a few seconds.  Mercury uses a variable oil injection that runs about 100:1 at idle and 50:1 at WOT, so it's not a lot of oil...   But that's why you don't need to fog the cylinders - they actually kinda fog themselves with the richer oil/fuel mixture.     You can expect a bit of smoke at start-up when you do this, as there will be more oil to burn off than usual - of course the old Mercs look like 'skeeter foggers anyway when they start...     Regarding a little oil in the fuel bowls - remember you are only putting gas in the carbs when you squeeze the fuel line bulb to fill the fuel bowls.  The engine is not running, so the oil pump is not working.  IMHO, having a little oil in the bowls from the shutdown is a good thing - otherwise you are starting the motor with gas only and no oil.  This process is debated; and some say do it - some say don't.  I've done it for 30+ years and never had a problem and never suffered a lubrication-related engine failure.  But, as the EPA says, "your mileage may vary..."       FYI-Here's a diagram of the Merc oil injection system: