Ballast Pump Flow Comparison

[chpthril]

If you completely flattened the bag ahead of time (as little trapped air as possible), that would permit a reasonable test. The incoming water would not have to displace air, so no vent would be required. You might have to estimate when "full" occurs but it would be only a few seconds of uncertainty during a several minute test - not bad at all.

Problem with that is that my numbers are based on the sac reaching a point to where it begins to vent. If I am using the vent to fill, I cant stop the clock at the same point as I did during the other test. Therefore, I dont have a baseline to gauge off of and will will not know it the Y'd setup improves flow or not.

[IDBoating]

Therefore, I dont have a baseline to gauge off of and will will not know it the Y'd setup improves flow or not.

That's why I said it would be approximate. If it only changes a by a few seconds, it's not worth the extra hardware anyway. If it changes meaningfully, then absolute numbers aren't as important as knowing that it made a difference.

I suspect you'll know when you reach "full" by the sound of the pump. That's close enough to yield useful data.

[chpthril]

That's why I said it would be approximate. If it only changes a by a few seconds, it's not worth the extra hardware anyway. If it changes meaningfully, then absolute numbers aren't as important as knowing that it made a difference.

I suspect you'll know when you reach "full" by the sound of the pump. That's close enough to yield useful data.

If I had an industrial scale, then I could base the cutoff point (baseline fill time) on the sacs actual weight and not when it begins to purge out of the vent (purging is more like a real-world ballast setup, rather then actual weight in a sac), so without that, the numbers would be skewed as compared to the numbers the pump delivered originally. This would lead to a false positive or negative.

[Ewok]

If I had an industrial scale, then I could base the cutoff point (baseline fill time) on the sacs actual weight and not when it begins to purge out of the vent (purging is more like a real-world ballast setup, rather then actual weight in a sac), so without that, the numbers would be skewed as compared to the numbers the pump delivered originally. This would lead to a false positive or negative.

You could use a lever and a bathroom scale like you would to find your trailer tongue weight.

[chpthril]

You could use a lever and a bathroom scale like you would to find your trailer tongue weight.

Too much thinking involved

[IDBoating]

Hey, it doesn't have to be all that complicated. Just run the test and listen to the pump. When the bag appears full and the pump changes sound, call it full and stop the timer. Simple as that.

[Ewok]

Are there any repair kits someone could get to add fill ports to a bag?

[chpthril]

Are there any repair kits someone could get to add fill ports to a bag?

These can be glued in and mate with the 3/4" Fly High female quick-conns.

[IDBoating]

These can be glued in and mate with the 3/4" Fly High female quick-conns.

So there you have it. Two solutions. If you want to do it with a vent, there's a solution. If you want to do it by sight and sound, the sac is already set to go.

Now all that's left is to actually run the test.

[jake's02-22i]

Maybe we should get a simer and a Johnson ultra ballast pump in there too?

the simer is rated at 10gpm and the Johnson is 12gpm.

[IDBoating]

No, let's stick with what chpthril has already used. I'll be thankful if he just uses the existing 800 and 1200 pumps, since we already have data on them. Let's not discourage him from running the test by piling on more and more variations.

[Ewok]

These can be glued in and mate with the 3/4" Fly High female quick-conns.

Thanks, I was just asking so folks would not have to order new custom sacs if they wanted fill or vent ports in different locations.

I don't expect chpthril to add these extra ports to bags he has not sold yet.

[talltigeguy]

To be honest, I think he has proven that there is not a lot of difference no matter what you do. Since the slowest was 5:45 and the fastest was 4:29, I think you are hard pressed to think that saves any of us very much time on the water filling or emptying sacs. Amplify this for a 1200 pound sac and we are still talking a little over 3 minutes difference, which we probably waste that much time before we even decided to turn the pump on.

I predict that there will be very little difference between a Y split into 2 ports and a single 1 inch fitting. If you watch the way a 1 inch drain shoots out water, then there is very little excess pressure, whereas the 3/4 inch ports shoot water pretty good. I have both on my boat and it is easy to see that the 3/4 inch discharge hose on a Jabsco pump shoots about 4 feet from the boat and has a sort of spray to it, whereas the 1 inch discharge has about 18 inches of discharge and has more of a chuga chug sound to it as it falls into the lake. If that makes any sense.

[helmut]

I agree with Tall. I just gutted my ballast system in an 02 xstar and gave all three pumps its own through hull. I am glad I stayed with Ballast Puppy instead of changing out to the aerator style pump. I think with all the possible issues that come into play those styles and extra tubing what you gain in speed you lose in hassle and cost of fittings etc. Even though more expensive glad I stuck with my puppies. I do realize the pumps are $200 bones but seem pretty bullet proof mounted properly.

[cowwboy]

I know this is a old post.
But what about the current limitation of the 2amp charger feeding pumps that require 11.5 amps(water puppy)?
The information is great though.