I had a similar issue with leaky loops. A few wraps of electrical tape on the end of the loop before putting the hose on it fixed it up nicely.
I had a similar issue with leaky loops. A few wraps of electrical tape on the end of the loop before putting the hose on it fixed it up nicely.
Thanks Dan - think I like that idea better than gooping it up. Going to troubleshoot tonight when I get home. The drips aren't hurting anything but I can't have that.
I suppose it's possible the Rule 1100 sucked up a stick or something. Weird that it worked flawlessly in the driveway only hours before hitting the water. I wasn't all that excited to go underneath to inspect though!
One thing I forgot to mention when wiring the rocker switches for the ballast pumps - the wiring diagram included with them was exactly opposite for fill and drain pump leads. At first I thought I was going crazy or had one too many beers helping me out, but after triple checking it that was it. Strange... Easy enough to correct though.
After the problem on the test run I inspected wiring, replaced fuses, and tested my Rule pump it worked perfectly again without actually changing anything. Also strange. Before I hit the water this weekend I may stick my fake-a-lake on the intake and test it. See if water going into the pump was causing it to short out somehow or if possibly I've got a gremlin in there somewhere still. Maybe it was just a stick lodged up in the pump somehow that came out after I trailered it?
Berg, if you are testing the Rule pump in the driveway dry, it is not pulling enough current to blow the fuse because it doesn't have any load on it. Once you try it on the water, it is under load (trying to push water) which increases the current required which blows the fuse. That's my theory anyway :)Quote:
Originally Posted by bergermaister
So I put the fake-a-lake on the intake, turn the hose on wide open, the pump runs and stays on but acts like it's not priming. No water going up the line. The boat was sitting on a bit of an uphill slope so the pump would have been working that much harder to go up to the helm, then up to the vented loops and back down to the bag. Maybe only a water test will work where the pump is sitting below the water line and the boat more level...?
I didn't feel like moving the fake-a-lake over to the other intake with the tsunami 1200's to see if they could prime off it. Sliding around on the wet driveway under the trailer just wasn't appealing to me... Guess we'll see what happens this weekend on the river!
Berg,
I was talking to Jason at Wakemakers yesterday about upgrading one of my T800's to a T1200 and he recommended going to a Rule 1100 instead as it has a 3/4" standard threaded inlet and a 1" outlet. According to Jason, the 3/4" inlet is not a restriction given that it's a short distance to the thru hull intake and there is an infinite water supply. This makes sense to me. So any reason you went with the T1200 instead of the Rule 1100? I know the Rule cost $10 more but you have to buy two $7 adapters with the T1200 which negates any cost savings.
FYI, my current set up is that I have one 1" thru hull intake that tees off into the stock Rule on one leg and into two T800's on the other leg. Everything (the tee and the valves) is 1" up to the pump. The stock Rule fills the surf sac (it's also a 3/4" inlet, 1" outlet BTW) and then one T800 fills the front sac and the other fills the starboard rear locker. I am wanting to replace the T800 that feed the starboard rear locker with a bigger pump as I am starting to have more and more goofy surfers on my crew. The kicker will be whether or not a larger pump will fit in the space where the T800 is now. It's a pretty tight fit as it is.
Thanks,
Al
Well since I was essentially starting from scratch I figured I would not regret going with 1" all the way. I've heard varying opinions on flow drop or restriction going down to 3/4" anywhere in the line. I don't know and didn't want to research it to death so I figured I'd rule that out of the equation.
As for the pumps I was always impressed with the T-1200 handheld I have so figured that would be a solid, economical performer as long as the fitting issue wouldn't be a show stopper. Plus I scored three of the five T-1200's I bought over the winter on eBay for around $25 each. Mid $30's for the other two off Amazon. So buying in volume I guess I saved a little over just a single pump setup. If I'm not mistaken the T-1200's are smaller overall than the Rule which is a bonus in those cramped quarters.
Update from yesterday related to this, I was pretty frustrated with my whole ballast system on the river. You were absolutely right on the Rule pump having a load on it - fuses blew immediately. I did a quick fitting swap and used my handheld to fill it. Sometime soon I will be ripping it out and putting another T-1200 in there I believe.
Also I had issues with draining. I'm guessing the 1100 bags were bunching up too much in the rear and I could not get them to drain! Not very happy bobbing around trying push and pull the bag to get the flow going. Basically an exercise in futility. So I put the handheld on it temporarily and got the bag drained down enough, pushed and pulled and cursed like a sailor and finally got the drain pump flowing.
Replaced the fuse on the center switch and hit EMPTY and only got a trickle out of it like the boat was taking a lazy pee. Once again, pushed, pulled and cursed the 750 bag in the belly to no avail. Got back to shore and messed with it some more and it appeared the pump was airlocked? Flipping the switch on/off a few times seemed to break it free and then it started draining fast like it was supposed to.
This "turnkey" system is taking longer to fill/drain than just throwing bags around and using a handheld because of all the issues. I need to figure out a better way to keep the bags from bunching at the rear and plugging the drain when they get full or I will pull my hair out.
Makes sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by bergermaister
What size fuse do you have for your Rule? I have a 10A on mine and it doesn't blow.Quote:
Originally Posted by bergermaister
On my new switch setup I wired in and ran 5amps for each one. That was the suggestion for the Tsunami 1200's. I suppose I could try a 10amp before I rip the old Rule pump out and throw it away.
Per my email to you, I also sort of resolved my draining issues - just the bags bunching up and a little airlock. I scooted the bags out a little before filling to give plenty of space. I did notice the drain pumps acted a little funny and didn't really want to prime off the full bag. A couple flicks of the switch on and off with a pause in between and then they primed just fine. I wasn't expecting to have that sort of a glitch.
Berg, I did a quick search and found that the Rule 2000 pulls 8.4 amps at 12V under load (probably closer to 10A at 13.6V, i.e., when your engine is running). By comparison, the Tsunami T1200 pulls 4.0 amps at 13.6V (says so right on the pump). So that's why your Rule is blowing your 5A fuse.Quote:
Originally Posted by bergermaister
Yeah, when I start filling my bags, I make sure to pull it out a little ways from the rear wall to make room for the fittings and I've never had any issues draining.
The thing we have to understand is that these systems, although automatic, are not foolproof so we have to do these little things to make sure they work right, as you are finding out :) .
Al