Factory Ballast Woes

[FIC]

As they are saying make sure that all of the pumps are higher than the inlet , next make sure that all of the pumps outlets are faceing up other wise the pumps will not prime due to air pockets , also make sure all vents on those tanks are on an upward angle with no drupes in the hose other wise water gets trapped in the drupe like a sink trap and wont allow the pumps to fill .

[Matt Garcia]

Have 20 hrs on mine and it's been in the shop twice for the same problem. Picked it up from service last Tuesday and took it to Havasu for a long weekend. The work they did (lower the pumps in relation to the tanks and the pickup) helped - but-----. I think some further tuning is necessary.

Wetsand I am curios to know exactly what they did? How did they lower the pumps?

As they are saying make sure that all of the pumps are higher than the inlet , next make sure that all of the pumps outlets are faceing up other wise the pumps will not prime due to air pockets , also make sure all vents on those tanks are on an upward angle with no drupes in the hose other wise water gets trapped in the drupe like a sink trap and wont allow the pumps to fill .

Wait Im confused, the pumps should be lower than the inlet right? The pump outlets are not facing up, rather the pump is standing upright and not at an angle. I am going to try to get some pictures to post so people could see.

FIC, do you know if Tige made any additional modifications or changes since the 07s went in to production?

Emptying is no problem.

Thanks all...

[FIC]

I am not sure if there have been any changes but you can call Andrew, in my opinion the pumps should be higher than the inlet to allow air to run up out of the pumps , if they get any air trapped they wont prime, and as I said before if the vents on the tank are not strait up to the outlets they will keep the pumps from moving water against air pressure . As for the pumps they have to be so the outlets are the high point, otherwise again air will trap and it will loose prime.

[Wet Sand]

From my understanding.. when the factory ballast is full it spits out the side and that is how you know it is full.. I don't know much about how ballast systems work but I'm sure it spits out when full and stops spitting out when its drained.. someone please chime in if I am wrong.

Yes, the factory ballast tanks pump out through overflows when full. The problem is getting them to fill and/or empty when you flip the switches. And when you move after they're filled they syphon or partially empty themselves. Also the placement of the switches down by your right leg bumps them and pumps out.

[wakeboarder247]

So are people w/ RZ2's having more of a problem than those w/ Ve's? (possibly due to a difference in the shape of the transom) It seems that, in this thread, everyone talking about it has an RZ2 but maybe that is just bc it started w/ an RZ2.. Are the ballast problems you guys are talking about on your RZ's to be expected on the Ve's as well?

[FIC]

On the correct crafts there tanks would also siphon because the vents on the tanks were on the back of the tank and do to the angle of the boat would flow out the entire time that we were boarding, so we had to fill after every run , they than added check valves which worked until they would stick open with debre, eventually they moved the vents to the front of the tanks which cured the problem , we also had to move all of the fill pumps to face up to purge air so they would prime , we still do this today on the new ones even after we have told factory that some of are custormers have trouble with the fill.

[Matt Garcia]

I am not sure if there have been any changes but you can call Andrew, in my opinion the pumps should be higher than the inlet to allow air to run up out of the pumps , if they get any air trapped they wont prime, and as I said before if the vents on the tank are not strait up to the outlets they will keep the pumps from moving water against air pressure . As for the pumps they have to be so the outlets are the high point, otherwise again air will trap and it will loose prime.

I will take a look at the vents on the tanks, never thought that would affect it.

Also the placement of the switches down by your right leg bumps them and pumps out.

Yes. Everyone that has ever driven my boat has done this at least once.

[Domsz06]

if the pumps are lower then the inlet, there will be no air, as the air goes out, while the water goes in.

[zad0030]

if the pumps are lower then the inlet, there will be no air, as the air goes out, while the water goes in.

Good observation dom

[FIC]

You mount the pumps as low as you like there is still the possibility when backing off the trailer or depending on where people sit that air will get into the pumps and if they are not angled properly will loose there prime . We have done a lot of testing and found they we have routed them to work the best.

[Domsz06]

Interesting FIC. I would have thought as long as you have them below water, air is gonnna get out. Just basing it on physics ya know.

[Matt Garcia]

Water is definitely getting in the thru hull pickup and in the pumps. Whenever I unscrew the top of the pumps water immediately comes gushing out. Tried it out again this morning with different techniques but nothing worked. The only thing that works is if I unscrew the pump top and screw it back in. It works 100% of the time when I do that.

[FIC]

That makes me think that you have air trapped in the pump and when you open the pump and the water flows in you have now primed the pump again.

[talltigeguy]

I was about to chime in last week with a 'see that is why you should use a gate valve and a bottom scoop' type of thing, but now that my gate valve failed, I won't. You can see my Rival install thread for details.

FIC, very interesting thinking. I am generally thinking that what Dom said would prevent the air trapping. Put the pumps lower than the inlet and let water run downhill into the pump and prevent the problem. It sounds like you have experience in this, so I will resist making fun of you. Remember the taunting Frenchman in the Holy Grail... Especially since I am currently eating crow about my current setup.

[Matt Garcia]

That makes me think that you have air trapped in the pump and when you open the pump and the water flows in you have now primed the pump again.

From what is happening I have no doubt in my mind that is the problem.