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TL7
04-11-2009, 03:30 AM
Hey all! I have a question for the gurus of the board.

We have an 07 Outback with Gravity 1 ballast. The fill is fine, no problems whatsoever. When emptying, it will flow for a while then stop. We usually have to fold the bag or "stand" on it to basically force water out. It may start to flow again, then it will stop like it's losing prime. The empty pump has always done this. It has been replaced and still the same results. No kinks in the hoses. I always assumed it was maybe due to air in the sac, but I've completely filled and drained it several times to try and push/suck any air out. It's really frustrating, since one of our reasons for trading in our old I/O for a towboat was to eliminate the manual aspect of the ballast. Having to babysit the emptying process is annoying!

So on to the question. Would it be any better if I did away with the factory pumps and went with a reversible Jabsco instead? If so, would this eliminate losing the prime when emptying? I understand the 09's went to this system. I don't know much about it, other than I've read they are self priming which in my mind would solve my problem. Any thoughts or pros/cons to consider?

moombadaze
04-11-2009, 09:33 AM
Tl, I too am experiancing the same issue with one of the 3 empty pumps on mine, did you replace the rule pump with another rule pump or did you try a different brand? Im in the process of replaceing that pump with a tsunami brand pump-i think they just work better-its on order and hope to have it installed in a couple weeks

VA LSV
04-11-2009, 10:49 AM
Don't know the orientation of the empty port on the sac or the location of the pump on an Outback, but on my LSV the ports are all located facing the rear of the boat and the pumps are lower than the sacs. I let them drain until they suck air, start the boat and drive forward just fast enough to elevate the nose and turn the drain pumps back on. This geta all the water out and sucks the bags completely flat.

TL7
04-11-2009, 03:39 PM
Moomba - the dealer replaced it while still under warranty. I believe they put the same type back in, so maybe you will have better luck with a Tsunami.

VA - I've tried that so many times I couldn't even count, and it's the same result everytime. Part of the problem could be that the drain lines are on the starboard side of the boat, rather than directly in the middle. I have noticed that driving in a circle seems to help, pushing all the water in the sac to the empty side. But I shouldn't have to look like an idiot driving in circles to empty my ballast!

moombadaze
04-11-2009, 04:00 PM
TL,- try this, undue the pump from the bag, then undue the hose that goes from your overboard drain at the pump and try to blow thru the hose -could have something blocking it?

Sled491
04-12-2009, 07:53 AM
Not to be negative, but I believe that is the nature of the beast with the gravity I and the system in the Outback. My buddies 06 is exactely the same.

Razzman
04-14-2009, 03:16 PM
Spencer, are not the Jabsco Ballast Puppies an impellor style pump? I've heard that and that when the impellor goes your hosed literally?

moombadaze
04-14-2009, 03:31 PM
Tl, one more thing to check-see if the hose dips anyplace-like a U, I think that is why mine is having issues.

Limishowman3
04-14-2009, 05:31 PM
Mine does the same thing, I figuired it was b/c the sac was lower than the drain port, or loss of pressure in the bag to force the water to be pumped out. I too drive around in circles or tell everyone to sit on that one side, but I am usually waiting for the trailer to be backed in the water so it looks like im waiting to others i guess.

moombadaze
04-14-2009, 06:55 PM
Spencer, nice to have a ballast guru on the boards to answer questions.

I have a order with you Im waiting on

Loonytik
04-15-2009, 08:32 PM
First question though....how many thru-hulls do you have for your rear bags? One or Two?

Once you let me know that I can tell you what I did to fix this...

deerfield
04-15-2009, 09:25 PM
Loony - Like TL7, I have an Outback w/ one ballast bag under the rear seat. Same problem. Does not completely empty. There is one thru-hull for the rear bag on my Outback. - Deerfield

Loonytik
04-15-2009, 09:36 PM
The first thing to look for is a kink in your empty lines, trash in the pump, lines, or bag opening. These things should be obvious. The next thing to do is check the voltage to the pump. I had two bad switches that were only sending about 10 volts back to the pumps. Obviously this wouldn't be enough to pull the water from the bags. I pulled the pumps out and checked them on a battery outside of the switches and they pumped like a champ. But......

Still not fast enough for my liking..... So.....

I have an LSV and had only one thru-hull for the two empty pumps in the rear of my boat. It was frustrating trying to get the bags to empty after the end of a set. The bag that was furthest from the thru-hull took forever to empty, with lots of help. I decided to drill another thru hull and plumb each bag separately.

Now, I have the right bag empty to the right and the left to the left. They empty in seconds with no pressure backup from one bag to the other. This just made sense and it has been the best thing I have done to my boat.

Hope this helps...

Razzman
04-15-2009, 10:25 PM
I have an LSV with a thru hull for each bag and it still takes forever and they are getting full voltage. Just nature of the beast with what the factory installed.

jasonwm
04-16-2009, 01:17 AM
Would there be enough interest if we offered an upgrade kit to fix/decrease the drain time for a modest price?

moombadaze
04-16-2009, 07:27 AM
Would there be enough interest if we offered an upgrade kit to fix/decrease the drain time for a modest price?


yes, there is a interest

VA LSV
04-17-2009, 06:03 AM
also interested

Sled491
04-17-2009, 09:37 AM
What would also be interesting is a complete plumbing kit for no ballast guys.

jasonwm
04-17-2009, 12:07 PM
yes, there is a interest
Ok, we'll work on putting something together.


also interested
Thanks for the feedback, I'll post when we have something figure out!


What would also be interesting is a complete plumbing kit for no ballast guys.
That's part of the plan, stay tuned for more info!

moombadaze
04-17-2009, 12:49 PM
The 1200gph tsunami pump i have on order-does that come with fittings for the 3/4" hose?. I am upgrading to 1" hose but would like to see the difference in drain times between the two.

TL7
04-17-2009, 03:15 PM
Wow - guess I'm not the only one with slow/no draining bags.

Jason, yes I'd be interested. I'd love to just install a jabsco and be done with it, but I'm not sure of exactly which pump I need and exactly what all I will need to convert everything. To me, flipping a switch and not having to babysit the emptying process is worth a little extra coin. I'm out there to relax, not constantly tell people to push on the bag or whatever. They want to relax too!