Winterizing Your Smartgyro Stabilizer

As winter nears and boating activities wind down, it's the ideal time to start preparing your vessel for the off-season.

Smartgyro stabilizers are engineered to make winterization straightforward. With just a few basic tools, you can follow the steps below to ensure your stabilizer is protected and ready for when the new season begins.

Tools and Materials Needed

To performing the winterization, you will need these items:

• Set of screwdrivers
• Funnel
• Two 5-gallon buckets
• Marine winterization antifreeze

When it comes to antifreeze, Smartgyro strongly recommends propylene glycol-based solutions, as ethylene glycol is toxic to wildlife, and dangerous to operators. It is important to make sure that the antifreeze you choose is suitable for protecting the gyro system from the coldest temperatures your boat is likely to encounter during winter.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Winterize a Smartgyro Stabilizer

Once you have collected all the items needed, the winterization can begin by following the steps below:

1. Make sure that the gyro is turned off (both DC and AC power supplies).

2. Close the seawater intake seacock that supplies the cooling system.

3. Open the seawater strainer and remove the screen, cleaning both and removing any debris.

4. Drain any remaining water from the strainer before reinstalling the screen.

5. If your system allows, pour antifreeze directly into the seawater strainer body.

Alternative Method: Adding Antifreeze Without Access to the Strainer

If you are unable to pour your antifreeze into your stainer body, you will need to follow these additional steps:

• Close the seawater strainer.
• Loosen the hose clamp connecting the seawater pump’s intake hose to the seacock. Detach the hose and place it into a 5-gallon bucket to catch any draining water. Empty the bucket of collected water.
• Loosen the hose clamp securing the discharge hose from the Smartgyro heat exchanger to the overboard drain thru-hull outlet. Remove the hose from the thru-hull fitting and place it in another bucket of the same size.
• Fill the bucket containing the first disconnected hose (seacock side) with antifreeze. The exact amount will depend on the length of the hoses and the specific installation: it is important that the hose end always remains submerged.

💡Tip: If using a bucket is impractical due to hose placement or limited space, you can use a funnel, by inserting it into the intake hose and slowly pouring the antifreeze directly into it.

• Click on the blue icon (1) to the right of the text “Water Pump Override” to enable override: the red dot (2) on the far right will turn green.

• Now click on the “OFF” button (3). It will turn green, with the word “ON” displayed.

• In these conditions the pump is powered, drawing antifreeze from the bucket, funnel, or strainer.

• Add antifreeze as needed to ensure the hose end remains fully submerged; this prevents air from being drawn into the seawater pump. Continue circulating antifreeze through the seawater circuit until a steady flow of clean, undiluted antifreeze is observed exiting the discharge hose.

• Under these conditions the cooling circuit is fully replenished with antifreeze, and the sea water pump can be switched off, by clicking on the green “ON” button. The button turns red, and the word “OFF” is displayed (toggling functionality).

• If you just used the strainer body to add antifreeze, then simply close the strainer.

• If you removed the suction hose to add antifreeze, then reattach the intake hose to the seacock and tighten the hose clamps. Finally, reattach the discharge hose to your overboard drain and tighten the hose clamps.

• Turn off DC power supply and make sure the seacock valve remains closed during winter.

Exiting the winterization: Preparing Your Smartgyro for the New Season

To get your Smartgyro ready for the incoming season, follow these simple steps to quickly and effectively get your boat back on the water:

• Open the seacock valve.
• Turn on the gyroscope's DC and AC power supplies. Before turning on the gyroscope, pressing the I/O button on the main page of the display, leave the gyroscope powered for about two hours. This will allow the capacitors in the machine's power electronics to fully recover their efficiency.

⚠️ Note: this second operation is only necessary the first time after the winter period.

Need Help with Smartgyro Maintenance?

If you need extra help or have any questions about Smartgyro stabilizer maintenance or winterization, contact your nearest dealer via our Dealer map.