LakePerson1952
08-22-2011, 11:39 AM
I bought my (new) 2010 Outback about 6 weeks ago. I'm mainly a skier so I hadn't yet tried out the ballast bag but this weekend we were just out riding so I decided to fill it up and had 2 issues - plus a question.
Issue 1: Well ... the pump was on but it wouldn't fill. I didn't have the manual with me but I remembered something about starting the fill with the boat going forward - I tried that going about 12-15 MPH but not on a plane as I now see the manual suggests. Anyway, still no fill. I opened the strainer and water started coming into the bilge (expected) but had to do that twice to get the bag to start filling. The second time I tried it (same trip) in the beginning it seemed to wait quite a while to actually start but it did fill without having to fiddle with it. Is this normal? Could the problems be because I hadn't used it before? Any suggestions? Do most people leave the input gate valve open or closed when not planning to use the bag? The manual says fill time is about 4.5 minutes - I'm sure mine was a good bit more.
Issue 2: OK ... after the bag filled (I turned fill pump off when it overflowed out the through-hull fitting) I switched to empty - the water flow out seemed to be more of a wideangle spray than a bilgepump type of flow but it was initially going out. But only emptied a bit before the water flow stopped - would start then stop but pump was going all the time. Then it reached a point with the bag half full where it would not empty any more until I started massaging the bag. I have trouble believing this is normal. At some point I refilled the bag to the overflow point and allowed it to continue to overflow for quite a while and it emptied better after that but would still stop a while when there was still lots of water in the bag. Also, under the best of conditions it does not seem the bag is emptying to the degree it should. Explanations? Suggestions? Apparently when I bought the boat there was some water in the bag (maybe from a test run or when the boat was loaned to "Wounded Warriers" for a weekend before I bought it) so could that have been the issue? Should the outgoing water be a "harsh spray" or more of the smooth strong flow I normally see from bilge pump outlets?
The manual seems to imply the Gravity I Ballast has 1 top mounted fill hose inlet and 1 bottom mount exit hose outlet. Mine has 2 bottom mount hoses - presumably both outlets.
Question: The manual says to put the rear seat cushion in the "sundeck" position when using the rear ballast. To me, it doesn't seem that the bag is big enough to justify that. What do others do?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Richard
Issue 1: Well ... the pump was on but it wouldn't fill. I didn't have the manual with me but I remembered something about starting the fill with the boat going forward - I tried that going about 12-15 MPH but not on a plane as I now see the manual suggests. Anyway, still no fill. I opened the strainer and water started coming into the bilge (expected) but had to do that twice to get the bag to start filling. The second time I tried it (same trip) in the beginning it seemed to wait quite a while to actually start but it did fill without having to fiddle with it. Is this normal? Could the problems be because I hadn't used it before? Any suggestions? Do most people leave the input gate valve open or closed when not planning to use the bag? The manual says fill time is about 4.5 minutes - I'm sure mine was a good bit more.
Issue 2: OK ... after the bag filled (I turned fill pump off when it overflowed out the through-hull fitting) I switched to empty - the water flow out seemed to be more of a wideangle spray than a bilgepump type of flow but it was initially going out. But only emptied a bit before the water flow stopped - would start then stop but pump was going all the time. Then it reached a point with the bag half full where it would not empty any more until I started massaging the bag. I have trouble believing this is normal. At some point I refilled the bag to the overflow point and allowed it to continue to overflow for quite a while and it emptied better after that but would still stop a while when there was still lots of water in the bag. Also, under the best of conditions it does not seem the bag is emptying to the degree it should. Explanations? Suggestions? Apparently when I bought the boat there was some water in the bag (maybe from a test run or when the boat was loaned to "Wounded Warriers" for a weekend before I bought it) so could that have been the issue? Should the outgoing water be a "harsh spray" or more of the smooth strong flow I normally see from bilge pump outlets?
The manual seems to imply the Gravity I Ballast has 1 top mounted fill hose inlet and 1 bottom mount exit hose outlet. Mine has 2 bottom mount hoses - presumably both outlets.
Question: The manual says to put the rear seat cushion in the "sundeck" position when using the rear ballast. To me, it doesn't seem that the bag is big enough to justify that. What do others do?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Richard