Hi all,
Does anyone have experience with storing their diesel inboard for a longish period on the hard? I have a volvo d1-30 and have gone through the 3 boat dollar exercise of replacing the heat exchanger housing already when I bought the boat, so looking to avoid somthing like that again. I was thinking about ideas like flushing with fresh water? flushing with vinegar or salt-away? taking the heat exchanger apart to dry the whole lot out?
If anyone has done something similar any ideas would be welcome.
Once the boat is on the hard the engine block and heat exchanger will have the coolant with it's rust inhibitor and antifreeze there as normal. The salt water side of the heat exchanger will just drain away. There will possibly be some salt water behind the saltwater pump and some in the water muffler but nothing is going to go wrong. I would make sure the oil in the crankcase is not too dirty with contaminates and moisture.
Your'e on the right track with a flush through the salt/ raw water side of the system. No need to drain the coolant side unless you are changing the coolant periodically as per the service schedule.
The salt/raw side should be flushed with an acid fresh water mix annually regardless of hard stand storage. It can be done in the water. Pm me if you'd like to discuss how to do that. ( old experienced retired shipwright, cheers.)