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Thread: Ballast Help!
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06-20-2012, 11:14 PM #1Junior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2011
- Location
- College Station, TX
- Posts
- 27
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.02 Mobius LSV
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06-21-2012, 01:11 PM #2
read this:
https://forum.moomba.com/showthread....hlight=ballast
same hull as yours, so it should all fit/work for you
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06-21-2012, 02:06 PM #3
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06-21-2012, 02:14 PM #4
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06-21-2012, 02:18 PM #5
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?
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06-21-2012, 02:42 PM #6
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..Jason
Go Hard or Go Home.......it's MOOMBA time!!
2009 Moomba Mobius LSV
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06-21-2012, 03:04 PM #7I 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.
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.So when is this "old enough to know better" supposed to kick in?
2001 MobiusV - Slightly Modified...
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06-21-2012, 08:39 PM #8
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06-22-2012, 05:39 AM #9
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 TapatalkDavid
2017 Moomba Mojo Max Surf Edition, 2 Pair Wetsounds Rev10s powered by an SD2, 6 pair Wetsounds XS650M and Wetsounds XS12 powered by SD6 all controlled by a WS420. 2 Lumitec SeaBlaze X2 Spectrum underwater lights
SOLD***2008 Mobius LSV, Gravity III , Wake Plate, Z5, Exile SX65c's, Exile XM9s, Exile XI12D, Exile Javelin, Exile 30.2***SOLD
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06-22-2012, 08:38 AM #10
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.