Winterize - run engine every month instead of fogging - is this a good idea?

[maraca]

Winter is coming and many folks will be prepping their skis to idle for a few months. There are a lot of great posts here on how to winterize, and most suggesting fogging the engine to protect internal components against moisture damage. Main idea is to create oil barrier on the cylinder walls, so that moister could not get to metal and corrode it.
What if instead you simply run engine every 20-30 days? Any build-up moisture will be evaporated, oil will lube internal components. Wouldn't this be better than fogging?

[dixon0001]

This is an excellent idea . Do it once a week but make sure you are sat on it and it's in the water

[pro1200]

Wouldn't this be better than fogging?

The short answer is NO, unless you get the engine oil temperature high enough to boil off the condensation. This is not a practical thing to do with a ski since it would have to be in the water with a sustained high load on the engine. Fogging the internals is not that big of a deal and if done properly will protect the engine.

[Thor]

The short answer is NO, unless you get the engine oil temperature high enough to boil off the condensation. This is not a practical thing to ...

To my mind, this is a serious issue as, when an engine is first started (and before it gets up to temp to burn off any condensate) it amounts to a “caustic cocktail” - consisting of water and I imagine acids that will not only remain after the “not truly hot” engine is shut off but, accumulate as this process is repeated each month (or 2-3 weeks). A friend with a classic muscle car in a rental storage unit was doing this (going down and starting it monthly) to keep the battery alive and, in the Spring, a mechanic pointed out, “You realize you may be reaching an original engine to save a $60 battery, right?”

Fogging the internals is not that big of a deal and if done properly will protect the engine.

+1. It would seem to me that, even if I did a piss poor job of fogging the internals (not sure how’d I’d do that) it’d still be better than running the engine on a hose every month ...

[Erierunner]

I agree with the others that you probably wouldn't get it up to temp and if you could, not long enough to get rid of the condensation and any additional condensation when a cold engine is started.

I sold my bought new 2012 VX Deluxe this year. It was stored 6 Winters for 8 months lay up time. My Winters go to single digits. Winterized, engine fogged, and each spark plug removed and reinstalled to give each cylinder a shot of fogging oil. Ski still ran like new, with compression by spec, when sold with 275 hours. I do the same for a 2013 VXR which runs like new.

[Team Bilford]

I fog and then spin the motor once a month without starting it to spread the oil. I have been doing it that way for 25 years.

[maraca]

This is an excellent idea . Do it once a week but make sure you are sat on it and it's in the water

This is my preferred way

Thank you, everyone, for contributing. I like an idea of cranking a motor without starting.

[seabrook]

I don’t winterize i just start it every week for like 10 seconds