Ballast Help!

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06-20-2012, 11:14 PM
txduckman07

Ballast Help!

2 problems and potential solutions.

1. My ballast is self-filling. I have to manually shut the valve if I don't want my ballast completely full after motoring across the lake. I'm picking up some Irritrol valves tomorrow as I understand these eliminate the passive fill problem. Additionally I can't get my bags to consistently fill without driving around to force water in. I recently replaced the pump but the whole system is still not as dependable as I'd like. I had grand plans to do individual pumps/thru-hulls similar to what Berg and others have done, but do to limited bilge space and a poorly placed paddle-wheel, it is just not feasible for me. Is there anything else I can do to speed up and improve the function of this system.

2. I replaced my locker bags with 750s. Due to the poor function of my ballast system, I've never been able to fill them all the way. This weekend, I got them both a little over half full and they started emptying through the drain pumps. Could this be due to worn drain pumps (they are original to 2002)? Or is there something else I need to look for? I plan on replacing them anyway as I already had ordered 2 Tsunami 800s that I no longer have a use for. I am also adding vent lines as the original system didn't have them.
06-21-2012, 01:11 PM
wolfeman131

read this:

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread....hlight=ballast

same hull as yours, so it should all fit/work for you
06-21-2012, 02:06 PM
jmvotto

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfeman131

read this:

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread....hlight=ballast

same hull as yours, so it should all fit/work for you

Drew where did all the pics go? maybe its my work pc
06-21-2012, 02:14 PM
KSmith

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmvotto

Drew where did all the pics go? maybe its my work pc

I can't see the pics either FWIW
06-21-2012, 02:18 PM
wolfeman131

Don't know. I just searched for your thread and didn't even look for the pics.

Don't know what happened, but stinks that we seem to have lost them.

Do you remember if they were links to an online album or attached from your PC?
06-21-2012, 02:42 PM
jpetty3023

Ed snuck thru the firewall and has struck again!! ( sorry, been about a month since I've heard his name so I had to throw it out there-:))

Sent from my home phone..
06-21-2012, 03:04 PM
bergermaister

Quote:

I had grand plans to do individual pumps/thru-hulls similar to what Berg and others have done, but do to limited bilge space and a poorly placed paddle-wheel, it is just not feasible for me. Is there anything else I can do to speed up and improve the function of this system.

Where there's a will there's a way. What about installing more towards your transom?

Or enlarging your existing thru hull, then doing a small manifold off that to your pumps. I've seen some pretty creative setups on other brands of boats on WW made out of PVC. Also noticed on the new Supreme boat at the PDX boat show that the fill ballast pump inlets were going out the transom but that boat is pretty deep and lots of transom to work with.

The cheap/effective route until you have a solution on the self-draining is a couple wine corks stuffed in the exit thru hulls. I used to do that and it works great as long as you don't forget 'em.

On the self filling - do you have a scooper style thru hull? I have heard that can be the culprit and to either cut out the scoops, or replace with a mushroom style.
06-21-2012, 08:39 PM
jmvotto

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpetty3023

Ed snuck thru the firewall and has struck again!! ( sorry, been about a month since I've heard his name so I had to throw it out there-:))

Sent from my home phone..

Sorry my bad, I frigged up my photobucket account. Pics are all there but got re indexed by yours truly......I am such a Dumas sometimes
06-22-2012, 05:39 AM
rdlangston13

How do the aerator pumps work without the scupper through hull? I thought you needed this to prime the system??

Sent from my iPhone newtys droid killer using Tapatalk
06-22-2012, 08:38 AM
MLA

Quote:

Originally Posted by txduckman07

2 problems and potential solutions.

1. My ballast is self-filling. I have to manually shut the valve if I don't want my ballast completely full after motoring across the lake. I'm picking up some Irritrol valves tomorrow as I understand these eliminate the passive fill problem. Additionally I can't get my bags to consistently fill without driving around to force water in. I recently replaced the pump but the whole system is still not as dependable as I'd like. I had grand plans to do individual pumps/thru-hulls similar to what Berg and others have done, but do to limited bilge space and a poorly placed paddle-wheel, it is just not feasible for me. Is there anything else I can do to speed up and improve the function of this system.

2. I replaced my locker bags with 750s. Due to the poor function of my ballast system, I've never been able to fill them all the way. This weekend, I got them both a little over half full and they started emptying through the drain pumps. Could this be due to worn drain pumps (they are original to 2002)? Or is there something else I need to look for? I plan on replacing them anyway as I already had ordered 2 Tsunami 800s that I no longer have a use for. I am also adding vent lines as the original system didn't have them.

Lets start with the easy part, the passive draining. Aerator pumps are free-flowing vain style pumps. This means they will pass water when off. Think of a box fan or a blower motor. Or better yet, the electric radiator fan on a front wheel drive car. Air still flows across the radiator when the car is moving, even with the fan off. So there is nothing in that pump to stop water flow when the pump is off. My gut feeling is that your passive draining is due to the fact that the height of the 750 sac is reaching or exceeding the height of the drain thru-hull as the sac fills. At that point, water will do what water will do, and thats flow down hill. If the height of the sac is above the level of the thru-hull gravity will force that water out.

The best fix, IMO, would be to get some length of hose, and extend the drain lines across the boat to the other side. Simply just swap the two. This gets you some up hill travel as the sac fills and the boat lists.

Passive filling: What type of thru-hull pickup is your system using? Sounds like a scoop type. If so, I would consider replacing them with a mushroom style thru-hull.
06-22-2012, 08:43 AM
MLA

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdlangston13

How do the aerator pumps work without the scupper through hull? I thought you needed this to prime the system??

Sent from my iPhone newtys droid killer using Tapatalk

If the pump is below the water line and the outlet is oriented in a manor that it will allow air to purge out, then the pump will prime when the boat is launched. If the pump is too high in the bilge or the draft of the boat is too shallow, or the pump is not turned so the outlet is up, air will be trapped, thus preventing priming.
06-22-2012, 09:20 AM
bergermaister

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdlangston13

How do the aerator pumps work without the scupper through hull? I thought you needed this to prime the system??

As long as they sit below the water line they pick up enough to prime. Having a scooper potentially helps if it's iffy but only when you are underway.

MLA is right on with the passive movement. That's why the vented loops and criss-crossing to opposite sides of vent/drain lines has become so popular. On mine I plugged my old thru hulls for drain lines that were going out the transom (too low) and drilled new to go out the sides.
06-22-2012, 02:16 PM
rdlangston13

i dont think i could put pumps on mine below the water line