Winter lay up

[Kyle G]

There is discussion on another forum I am on about oil changes for fall decommissioning.  I would like for Tony to weigh in if possible.  Thanks for this Forum BTW.

I have a QSC 8.3 500hp.  I average about 110-125hrs per season.  ( Was advised to to the following from the mechanic that rebuilt a KAMD42 for me) I change my oil after the boat is launched for the season, change at 100hrs during the season, and change again no matter what the meter says just before hauling out for the winter.  Process repeats the following year.

Then I read this, this morning.
the old conventional wisdom of changing your oil just before the winter layup was rooted in the acids that developed in the oil. If left in the engine over the winter the theory was that they could corrode components. The acids were due to sulfur compounds in the fuel. I never saw any evidence of this, but the theory made sense.

But today’s diesel has 100 times less sulfur in it. The old, old specs were a maximum of 5000 ppm sulfur, then the spec dropped to 500 ppm and most marine diesel meets the over the road spec of 15 ppm sulfur. The additives in the oil can easily take care of the acids produced by this low sulfur content.

So I say- change your oil by the hour meter, not the calendar.

 

Thoughts??

Topic

[Tony Athens]

Kyle,

 

I’m on your side…Old school ideas take a long time to go away…..Engine hours, fuel use during those hours versus  Oil Pan capacity are the things that should be used to determine oil change intervals..

Changing oil before a winter lay up would only make sense if you were all ready do for one.

 

Tony

[Rob Schepis]

Sure seems to me like a lot of good oil is being thrown away..

Total gallons of fuel burned needs to be considered when figuring your “change intervals”

[Author]

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