Half a$$ ballast haha

[kx250frider617]

Just like the title says, is there anyway to build a cheap ballast setup. Right now I have 3 bags that are all manual fill and it is a pain to fill all of them up. Is there any way I can buy just one thru hull pump and plumb all the bags to it? I would put in manual vents but I would just like to have all the bags hooked together.

We only wakeboard and we fill all the bags right now with one pump any way. We basically would start filling them as soon as the boat hits the water. Right now I have two bags in the rear and one in the front.

I will probably soon find out that it won't work but I have just been wondering if this could be done.

[Wakeman22]

You could do it just as you said. It may take some time to fill but you wont have to hang a hose overboard. You will have to have pumps to drain however. You could set it up to add pumps as budget allowed.

[skippabcool]

You might be able to get some cheaper pumps, slower, and build a manifold. As was mentioned you would still need additional pumps to drain.

Another option would be to use an impeller pump then attach it to a long hose and take it from sac to sac. With the impeller you could fill and drain through the thru hull. Or you could try to daisy chain them all together like you mentioned and still use the one pump. Might take some time but it meets your money requirement. Don't know how well it would work.

[chpthril]

My first suggestion would be to pick up 2 more manual pumps so you can have all 3 filling at once. Or, just jump in and do a complete integrated ballast install.

But, to answer your question, yes, it can be done. Speed will depend on what size pump you buy, and this will have a bearing on what size bronze you need to support it. This will also effect the cost.

[jason@wakemakers.com]

That can definitely be done, but you'll need to use a reversible pump, which in terms of dollars, will be very close to using individual aerator pumps for each bag.

You could always start with a single pump for all of the bags though, and then add additional pumps as your budget allows. That's a very common upgrade path for our customers.