Venting ballast bags

I am starting my last ballast project on my '08 Supra. I am adding a seperate vented line for each bag. This will eliminate the air pockets forming in the bags when filling. Especially the front sac. It will also aid in draining them, eliminating the "vaccuum" effect when water is being extracted from the bag. Another plus is , when the bags are full it will allow water to exit and eliminate excess pressure that could cause damage to the bags.

Its a pretty easy project, assuming your bags have an extra capped off port in them. I am adding a quick disconnect in each bags extra port (currently plugged off right now) that will tie into the drain line near the exit hole of the boat. There will also be a one way check valve I install to eliminate water from coming back into the bags while draining them.

I will post some pics when I am finished. Total cost of this project with all 3 bags is about $125.

Sounds like a good fix, I’ve had a the same problem with air pockets. Where do you plan on, or did you, buy the check valves?

Keep us posted on how it goes Travis. As we discussed on the phone, unfortunately most people will not have the available third port on their bags from the factory, so that makes adding the vent line significantly more complicated.


guinsha54- we have 3/4" in-line check valve fittings that will check against both water and air (a huge benefit for this application) if you need some help finding them.

Thanks for the info Jason, I tried to follow your link but the site seems to be down? I'll try again later.

My rear sacs are 750's that have the third hole so I know how to run the vent line on those. Is there a way to do some kind of venting on my front sac. It only has the fill hole and drain hole.

my front sac in my 08 lsv has 3 holes,
2 on the back end (top(fill) and bottom(empty))
1 on the front end (bottom(plug))...

I'm going to try to flip the bag over, and add the vent to the front top (old bottom)...

My centurion has the vent/overflow lines for each bag. They do help alot. We don't have check valves on the vent/overflow lines so our bags dribble out as we ride. some people put in a manual ball valve, but I don't want to turn anything manually.

If you got pics of the check valve, please post em up. I'm looking for a PVC 3/4" spring loaded. Couldn't find it at lowes/hd, just saw the brass flapper valve.

Thx

my supra is a 2003 so I have the old original fat sac that was made from the waterbed material. It is blue and then goes into a gray zip up bag. It only has a fill and a drain hole. My 2 rear sacs are new 750s so they of course have the vent. I guess I will just have to buy a new sac for the front.

By the way have you had any trouble with water leaking in from sun deck and water standing under ballast bags ? I trying to figure out how to fix, mildew !

I take my ballast out when I put the boat up and shop vac the wet cret so it can dry it.

Ill take the bags out and let them dry on the platform when in storage, there is still usually a little water left in the bag so it lays flat and keeps the carpet wet... I also keep the rear lockers open when in storage and damp inside...

has anyone tried to put a seal so the water can't get into the compartments ?

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Originally Posted by Fman

I am starting my last ballast project on my '08 Supra. I am adding a seperate vented line for each bag. This will eliminate the air pockets forming in the bags when filling. Especially the front sac. It will also aid in draining them, eliminating the "vaccuum" effect when water is being extracted from the bag. Another plus is , when the bags are full it will allow water to exit and eliminate excess pressure that could cause damage to the bags.

Its a pretty easy project, assuming your bags have an extra capped off port in them. I am adding a quick disconnect in each bags extra port (currently plugged off right now) that will tie into the drain line near the exit hole of the boat. There will also be a one way check valve I install to eliminate water from coming back into the bags while draining them.

I will post some pics when I am finished. Total cost of this project with all 3 bags is about $125.

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I never have this problem, probably because of my procedure for filling/storing the bags. After each outing, I pull all three bags out of the boat, drain all the water out of them, then fold them for storage on a shelf in the garage (and in the process, get almost all the air out of them). This allows me to put a fan in each rear storage locker which completely dries the carpet and wipe the ski locker dry. Then when we take the boat out, I put the bags back in and hook them up at the boat ramp staging area, right before I put in. I have never gotten any air in them doing it this way nor is there any mildew in the boat. Of course, I store the boat in the garage so that helps a lot.

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Originally Posted by cab13367

I never have this problem, probably because of my procedure for filling/storing the bags. After each outing, I pull all three bags out of the boat, drain all the water out of them, then fold them for storage on a shelf in the garage (and in the process, get almost all the air out of them). This allows me to put a fan in each rear storage locker which completely dries the carpet and wipe the ski locker dry. Then when we take the boat out, I put the bags back in and hook them up at the boat ramp staging area, right before I put in. I have never gotten any air in them doing it this way nor is there any mildew in the boat. Of course, I store the boat in the garage so that helps a lot.

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Yes, you can remove the bags and install them at the dock to help eliminate the air pockets. I remove my bags after each use and dry the lockers out as well. However, its nice to be able to put them back in, load gear on them, and not have any air pockets develop while trailering to the lake. Especially if you are boat camping and dont want to have to pull your bags out every night. The front sac is common for this because air will travel into the exit hole on the side of the boat. Another plus to the vent lines if you overfill the bags it will act as a pressure relief and let the bags drain out.

Personally, I believe the best way to resolve the air pocket problem is to have them properly vented. Not make more work for the boat owner. It just makes sense, and should have been done by Skiers Choice.

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Originally Posted by Ed G

"should have been done by Skiers Choice. "

and it was done by Skiers Choice in the '09 boats.

Air in the sacs is no longer an issue with the new G3.

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That does not do much good for all the '08 and older boat owners.... like I tell everyone who asks about my Supra, awesome boat with a horrible ballast fill and drain system. I finally have the ballast system dialed in, it works awesome, infact, I like it better than the '09 fill/drain system. Faster and more reliable. Problem is I had to spend a lot of time and about $500 to bring it up to this point.

I am amazed how many problems owners have with there '08 and older fill/drain systems with no help from Skiers Choice.... they should offer to upgrade people to a better system, how they kept putting the sprinkler valve system out year after year I cant understand.

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Originally Posted by Fman

I finally have the ballast system dialed in, it works awesome, infact, I like it better than the '09 fill/drain system. Faster and more reliable. Problem is I had to spend a lot of time and about $500 to bring it up to this point.

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Can u fill us in on what you did?

Thx

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Originally Posted by cab13367

Can u fill us in on what you did?

Thx

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Here is my write-up, if you have any questions let me know. As I mentioned, this system puts out an additional 5 GPM over the '09 JABSCO Impeller systems and is more reliable. Best upgrade for this boat if you use your ballast system often.

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread....sunami+ballast