Winterizing Water System

Post here if you want to discuss a topic specific to the PDQ Altair.
Post Reply
Doubloon
deckhand
deckhand
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 1:31 pm

Winterizing Water System

Post by Doubloon »

Using the pex tubing and Whale connection is was relatively easy to drain all the water lines. My only concern is the water tank itself. It still has what feels to be at least 2” of water on the bottom. This is the amount left below the connection where the pump draws from. Is there another drain somewhere on the tank that I’m not seeing? Or is this amount of water in the tank okay. I’m in the New York area. Any advice always greatly appreciated..
Chris Durbin
Wind & Water
2003 PDQ 32 LRC Altair, #49
James Power
admiral
admiral
Posts: 286
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:30 pm
Location: Georgian Bay

Re: Winterizing Water System

Post by James Power »

Hey Doubloon,

You may be able to pump out more water by pushing the pick up tube further into the tank. Failing that try accessing the tank thru the inspection port, or last resort thru the deck fill fitting with a wet/dry vacuum. Bone dry is ideal, but guessing that less then a 1/2" left in the tank should buckle when freezing and not do any harm.

Hope this helps
James
User avatar
thinwater
admiral
admiral
Posts: 1110
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:08 am
Contact:

Re: Winterizing Water System

Post by thinwater »

Shop vac, or if your forearms are slim, you can bail it out with a cut-down soda bottle within 10 minutes. No, 1/2-inch won't matter. 2 inches, I'm not so sure, so I always emptied it.

I always liked to give it a good slosh around, a light scrub, and then vac it dry. Leave the port open, it would dry within a month. That way, in the spring all I needed to do was fill it up, avoiding any stale water taste. Depending on what the water looks like after you stir it up, you can decide if some filters are needed.
http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2014/ ... rsion.html

Filling the tank through a filter
Image

Bugs can and do crawl in the vent
Image
Writing full time since 2014.
"Rigging Modern Anchors,"Seaworthy Press, https://www.amazon.com/Rigging-Modern-A ... 1948494078
Book Store. http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2017/ ... store.html
Doubloon
deckhand
deckhand
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 1:31 pm

Re: Winterizing Water System

Post by Doubloon »

Thank you both for your ideas. I did end up using a little battery powered pump from HF to get out the remaining water and got it down to less than a 1/2”. Measured what came out to be approximately 5 gallons. So I guess I can assume that 5 gallons of fresh water are unusable in the tank. Good to know for future planning.
Chris Durbin
Wind & Water
2003 PDQ 32 LRC Altair, #49
Post Reply