Need Ballast pump and setup recommendations

[bergermaister]

I could use some guidance on my winter upgrade project.

Planning to run 2 1100 bags in the rear corners of my boat. Each partially full for wakeboarding, or one side at a time full for surfing. I doubt I'll ever be filling both 1100's full at the same time except maybe to see what it looks like at least once!

Would I be better off to share one Tsunami 1200 to fill the rear bags using a splitter and electric switches or just go with two Tsunami 1200's and skip the valves?

As for switches, wiring, plumbing, etc. it will all be custom as basically nothing exists. For the intake I have room and am not afraid to drill another hole in the hull for the additional pump(s). >>I have a Rule pump in there already that will be used to fill my front bag.<<

Cost on this isn't a real big deal but why spend the money, drill the holes, plumb it, wire it, etc. if I don't really have to? Plus I've noticed it seems like the cost of electric valves is almost as much as pumps.

My thoughts are - simpler is better. Oh yeah, and I only wanna do this once!

Advice and experiences would be much appreciated.

[brain_rinse]

I can go into a lot of detail but I'll try to keep it short for now. I have 4 dedicated Tsunami 1200 fill pumps, one for each bag. It's a great setup and it is FAST! The downfall is that by the time you add drain pumps, vents, loops and check valves, it's a little overcomplicated and expensive if you're starting from scratch.

A much simpler setup is to do the reversible johnson or jabsco pumps and be done with it. Maybe a little more expensive, but probably not if you're starting from scratch. Downfall is that you can't let them run dry for very long or you'll be replacing impellers.

You said "simpler is better. Oh yeah, and I only wanna do this once!" So my recommendation would be reversible pumps.

[bergermaister]

Ha! I should clarify a little. I don't have a real fat wallet...

I have a Tsunami 1200 pump sitting on the shelf waiting to go - so buying a couple more 1200 or 800's is not a huge expense - definitely cheaper than a Jabsco or Johnson!

I have "some" of the plumbing - hose, fittings laying around as well. I would still need to invest in a few pieces, fittings, switches, etc. though. The boat also already has drain and vent lines and thru hull fittings for those up under the rub rail, unfortunately they are out the back though. (I have a 400lb sac on each side at the moment, single fill/drain switch, but those are going away so it's sort of like starting from scratch)

I can see where we would be switching from riding normal to goofy, filling one side while draining the other and it would be nice for that to not take forever.

Are you also draining with 1200's? I have two little Rule pumps right now with my 400lb sacs but have no idea what they are rated for flow. They seem slooooooooooow to me... That's where the cost of a couple extra drain pumps would come in but that's not a big deal.

So basically I'm ruling out the reversible pumps and trying to figure out what to do with multiple pumps.

[saskie99]

For the extra 40 bucks a pump, I am going to dedicate one to each 750 and the use my rule 2000 for the ski locker and bow ballast. They will take a little longer to fill but no worries. I just want to be able to fill a side for surfing as fast as I empty the other one. I may even plumb a valve into the vent line so I can fill one of my extra 400s on the seat.

[Canuckle Head]

I could use some guidance on my winter upgrade project.

Planning to run 2 1100 bags in the rear corners of my boat. Each partially full for wakeboarding, or one side at a time full for surfing. I doubt I'll ever be filling both 1100's full at the same time except maybe to see what it looks like at least once!

Would I be better off to share one Tsunami 1200 to fill the rear bags using a splitter and electric switches or just go with two Tsunami 1200's and skip the valves?

As for switches, wiring, plumbing, etc. it will all be custom as basically nothing exists. For the intake I have room and am not afraid to drill another hole in the hull for the additional pump(s). >>I have a Rule pump in there already that will be used to fill my front bag.<<

Cost on this isn't a real big deal but why spend the money, drill the holes, plumb it, wire it, etc. if I don't really have to? Plus I've noticed it seems like the cost of electric valves is almost as much as pumps.

My thoughts are - simpler is better. Oh yeah, and I only wanna do this once!

Advice and experiences would be much appreciated.

How the heck are you going to fit 1100 lb sacs in your rear lockers? I have 750's and they are a a tight fit already.

[brain_rinse]

Ok, with the addl info I'd say definitely go dedicated tsunami 1200s on both the fill and the drain. Look closely at your costs though... by the time you add vented loops, drain pumps, and associated fittings I'd bet the reversible pumps are only slightly more expensive.

[T100]

http://media.wakemakers.com/tag/jabsco-ballast-pump/

Just to give you a visual of the set up.

[viking]

Downfall is that you can't let them run dry for very long or you'll be replacing impellers.

So how do people ensure they don't burn through impellers? Especially when the bags are hidden from site and there may be other things/sounds in the boat that keeps the ear occupied? Or in the case of myself - just getting old and hard of hearing

[deafgoose]

So how do people ensure they don't burn through impellers? Especially when the bags are hidden from site and there may be other things/sounds in the boat that keeps the ear occupied? Or in the case of myself - just getting old and hard of hearing

You can get fill/drain switches that have built-in timers.

[sandm]

How the heck are you going to fit 1100 lb sacs in your rear lockers? I have 750's and they are a a tight fit already.

I have a 750 on one side and an 1100 on the other. 750 fills up full and still leaves a lot of unused space around the hatch. 1100 never fills completely, but the rear hatch in my boat has every conceivable square inch of space filled. I'm guessing(again a big guess here) that the 1100 side has 150-200lbs more when both are filled up full. does your 750 fill the ENTIRE compartment front to back and from floor to touching the underside of the hatch?

I think this all depends on the boat, as each skiers model has a slightly different rear hatch setup and overall size...