self draining ballast

[shawn74]

09 rz4,disconnected rear hard tank vents and connected them into inlet on bags I put in rear lockers ,once full after about an hour of riding they keep draining out (not leaking).assuming backlog through fill pumps .added manual valve at inlet of bag and that obviously stopped problem but a hassles . Looking for ideas

[chpthril]

Where on the sac did you attach the vent hose from the sac?

You will need to determine whether the water is flowing back into the tank and thus pushing though the tank's drain pump, or out through the vent from the sac to the original vent thru-hull.

[shawn74]

ReConnected bag vent to original vent thru hull

[chpthril]

Where on the sac did you attach the vent hose from the tank?

You will need to determine whether the water is flowing back into the tank and thus pushing though the tank's drain pump, or out through the vent from the sac to the original vent thru-hull.

ReConnected bag vent to original vent thru hull

Sorry, should read "tank". Where on the sac did you connect the hose thats coming off the tank?

[kko]

You need to put a check valve on the fill hose near the fill pump. Had the same problem on a Z1 we did. It was draining backout the fill pumps.

[shawn74]

bottom of bag

[chpthril]

bottom of bag

I would move it to the top. You may also find it will fill faster as you are not pushing through the weight of the water already in the sac. But, a check-valve in the current location would probably solve it.

[shawn74]

i'll try both and put check at pump discharge. thanks for the help ,i have mad plans on a total ballast rebuild as i am a plumbing contractor and have to try my best to overlook the obvious and ask questions and educate my self with everyones past experiences but my profession takes over and tells me to rip out the insert fittings and under sized piping and replace it with flexible 1 1/4 pipe and fittings and manifolded pumps but i'm walking first

[chpthril]

i'll try both and put check at pump discharge. thanks for the help ,i have mad plans on a total ballast rebuild as i am a plumbing contractor and have to try my best to overlook the obvious and ask questions and educate my self with everyones past experiences but my profession takes over and tells me to rip out the insert fittings and under sized piping and replace it with flexible 1 1/4 pipe and fittings and manifolded pumps but i'm walking first

A check-valve in the discharge pump line would prevent it from draining. If you system is set up like a typical piggy-back system, then it should fill the sac when the tank is full through the tank's vent. When the sac is full, it vents out the thru-hull that the tank used to vent through. To drain, the sac gravity feeds back into the tank as the tank is pumped out.

So, a check-valve in the right place might cure the issue, but in the wrong location, it would prevent the sac from gravity draining back into the tank. Ok, its getting too late, i need to think this through more before posting any more

[chpthril]

Ok, yesterday was a long day! left the house @ 6:30 AM, did nearly 500 miles and made 3 service calls. Made it home around 6:30 PM

So, back to what I originally posted, you need to find the path the water is taking as it passively drains. Its either going back to the tank and then out the tank's drain pump thru-hull, or is coming off the top of the sac and going out the vent.

What sac are you using? When filled, is it above the plain of the vent and drain thru-hulls? If so, then this is a likely path for the water to drain off on its own. Its basically leveling.

Contrary to what i posted above, I believe you do have the piggy-back system plumbed correctly. The tank's vent does need to go to the bottom port on the sac. If it were run to the top, the sac would fill normally, but not gravity-drain back into the tank as it is pumped out by the drain pump. Also, putting a check-valve in between the sac and tank would also prevent he sac from gravity draining.

[shawn74]

a set of vdrive fly high's,not draining through vent ,think it needs check at pump,seems like that would be integral on pump

[chpthril]

a set of vdrive fly high's,not draining through vent ,think it needs check at pump,seems like that would be integral on pump

If the water is being forced out of the drain pump, then this is the same route it would take during draining with the pump on. A check-valve in there would thus prevent the wanted draining.

[shawn74]

wonder if i could use air or partially fill with water on trailer to check fill pump ,or put check on fill pump and high loop on drain ,read about loop ftg in another thread

[chpthril]

wonder if i could use air or partially fill with water on trailer to check fill pump ,or put check on fill pump and high loop on drain ,read about loop ftg in another thread

Even though the fill pump hose attaches to the top of the tank, it may exiting back out the fill hose as the sac could be higher then the fill pump port. In this case, a check-valve in the fill line would stop any passive draining.