Texas Fishing Forum

Temps and outboards

Posted By: Greg W

Temps and outboards - 02/10/21 10:56 PM

I haven't seen lows in the 5's in 25+ years. I've only owned an outboard for the last 5. Anything I need to be worried about as long as the lower unit has been let down to drain?

I remember once it hit 4 degrees in the 80's and 1/2 my grass died. Need to research that too. [censored] 5 degrees is cold.
Posted By: Dubee

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/10/21 11:34 PM

Nope, lower the motor and you're good. If you care about your speedo working. Disconnect it and let it drain
Posted By: SteezMacQueen

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/10/21 11:47 PM

Originally Posted by Dubee
Nope, lower the motor and you're good. If you care about your speedo working. Disconnect it and let it drain

This.
And the temp doesn’t really matter once it gets below 32, it as frozen and frozen gets.
Posted By: Jman

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/10/21 11:53 PM

If you are really worried about it you can wrap the lower unit with a strand of C9 christmas lights - the clear ones. They produce about 10w each and can produce enough heat to keep plants alive and probably effect the temps 8-10 degrees. I wrap them around outdoor pipes and insert them under outdoor kitchens where there is plumbing and they seem to work great. Not a foolproof method by any means, especially with single digits, but every little bit might help you sleep better at night.
Posted By: J-2

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 12:02 AM

Another option is to wrap the lower with a heated blanket. Not sure what they are called but they look and operate like a heated blanket but are designed to stay at the foot of the bed to cover your feet. Works great for the lower unit.
Posted By: Chris B

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 12:09 AM

No need to wrap the lower unit unless you poured out all the lower unit oil and filled it full of water to the top. Livewell hoses and valves are the bigger concern.
Posted By: David Welcher

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 12:20 AM

Had a tourney on squaw a while back, temp was 6 degrees when we launched, catch the first 1 lb fish, went to put him in live well it was frozen 2" at the bottom, I took my weigh in sack and filled it with the warm lake water, then threw him in, about 30 min later areators started working. So yes check your hoses.
Posted By: Lone_Wolf

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 01:14 AM

Originally Posted by J-2
Another option is to wrap the lower with a heated blanket. Not sure what they are called but they look and operate like a heated blanket but are designed to stay at the foot of the bed to cover your feet. Works great for the lower unit.

That is interesting, never heard that. They are saying now its going to get down to 3 degrees, thats a top 10 all time coldest temps since they started recording around 1899.
Posted By: SteezMacQueen

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 02:29 AM

Originally Posted by Lone_Wolf
Originally Posted by J-2
Another option is to wrap the lower with a heated blanket. Not sure what they are called but they look and operate like a heated blanket but are designed to stay at the foot of the bed to cover your feet. Works great for the lower unit.

That is interesting, never heard that. They are saying now its going to get down to 3 degrees, thats a top 10 all time coldest temps since they started recording around 1899.

Yeh. I saw the “3” for Monday. Looks cold enough for experiments. Haha. Man. I don’t think I have ever experienced 3 degrees in Texas. I have been in some really cold stuff in Canada. But....never 3 degrees.
Posted By: Rube G.

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 03:03 AM

I ran RV Antifreeze thru all of my Pumps today, let the motor down & drain it. That should work...
Posted By: Greg W

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 03:26 AM

When it got to 4, my first house had the washer in the garage and I had pipes out there that would freeze solid. So normally I'd just put a blanket over that area and a 100W light and I'd be good. But at 4, I disconnected the dryer hose and ran it into my little nest I'd made and would run the dryer every 3 hours or so to keep it warm. Worked and it never froze, but I lost almost all my bushes and 1/2 my yard. I was barely out of school and money was tight. Sucked. I'd cover your bushes best you can. Not much here besides hollies are made for this cold of weather. And make sure your sprinkler doesn't come on.
Posted By: Bryan O'

Re: Temps and outboards - 02/11/21 03:52 PM

As said earlier, tilt the motor down and be sure everything drains. If it is stored outside it especially needs to be tilted down. Tilted up, older lower units collected water in the housing behind the prop, and it will freeze and bust the housing. Another concern is the water pressure gauge - mine froze a few years back. It was a combo gauge with the tach and expensive. I'm going to try a clip light on the hot foot shining under the console and hopefully that will keep it warm enough. Also be sure the batteries are charged. This is a good time to leave them on the charger. Before the freeze, I'm going to run the livewell and bilge pumps just to be sure there isn't any water sitting in them. Be sure the drain plug is out as well. Mine is stored in my warehouse, but it still gets cold in there.
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