I need a drill for tight spots...

[talltigeguy]

Its a 2002 X Star so very early on in the ballast building for boats. When you run 2 or three pumps it starves the thru hull which I think is only a 1 inch. Thats why its a problem. I have had discussions Dom at Fortes he looked at it and its just not built well. I would assume your manifold the through hull is MUCH larger than mine. Others have the same problem with my year model. Most are doing new thru hulls. Was curious since your bypassing the manifold on sending the water out how you were doing that? Would agree Tige owners are much better with stuff like this.

Jason from Wakemakers.com tried to argue with me 1 day that 1 inch was good enough for 3 pumps, but I don't see it that way. My through hull is 1.5 inches. The flow increases exponentially when you increase diameter, so the flow is more than enough.

To get the discharge out the side, you put a T on the output side of the Jabsco pump and a check valve to stop it from going back out the bottom of the boat. YOu will also need a check valve on the discharge hose to stop it from sucking air when trying to fill. SO it requires a T and 2 check valves. Worth it IMO, but certainly provides more opportunities for leaks since I have 7 hose clamps to make it work (2 on each check valve and 3 on the T). Tomorrow I can find a diagram if you need it. Do a search in the ballast section. SBFan usually runs them that way, IIRC. I am sure someone has drawn it out in a legible fashion so you can visualize it.

[Paublo]

Well Tall, I guess that I've got a wussy girl type boat. On my '09 SAN 210 there are 4 holes in the bottom in front of the engine. One is the cooling water intake and 3 for the reverseable ballast pumps. Each intake has a ball valve just above the bottom of the hull. The pumps are easily accessible above and behind the engine. These pumps have electronic timers to turn them off when it should be full or empty. You can over-ride the timer by hitting the switch again. But it just resets the timer so you can't burn them up.

Really is a simple straight forward system if you don't feel like the man-hood of your boat is being challenged. Maybe if the driver takes an occasional moment to relieve himself off the back now and then it will feel more manly.

[talltigeguy]

Well Tall, I guess that I've got a wussy girl type boat. On my '09 SAN 210 there are 4 holes in the bottom in front of the engine. One is the cooling water intake and 3 for the reverseable ballast pumps. Each intake has a ball valve just above the bottom of the hull. The pumps are easily accessible above and behind the engine. These pumps have electronic timers to turn them off when it should be full or empty. You can over-ride the timer by hitting the switch again. But it just resets the timer so you can't burn them up.

Really is a simple straight forward system if you don't feel like the man-hood of your boat is being challenged. Maybe if the driver takes an occasional moment to relieve himself off the back now and then it will feel more manly.

Figuring that my audience was mostly Tige owners, I thought they would like the jab at MC. I hope it did not touch a nerve for you.

The Nautique system sounds very nice and simple. When the boat discharges out the bottom, then you don't know when it is done unless you can hear the change in pitch when the pumps are done or you just rely on your timers.

The MC board seems to have a lot of questions about the timers. That would be the weak link in their current setup. They are especially problematic when you add additional ballast on top of stock. There is a way to reset them, but some guys seem unable to figure it out. Sometimes the MC timers also time out prematurely for no reason.

Nautique probably has a more intelligent timer system, I bet. Sounds like overriding the timers is easy, but you still don't know when the tanks are empty, and that is why I like a visual confirmation.

The newer pumps are supposed to have an automatic shut off protection, so I should be good even without timers when I forget to shut them off or watch for the discharge to stop.

[chpthril]

Jason from Wakemakers.com tried to argue with me 1 day that 1 inch was good enough for 3 pumps, but I don't see it that way. My through hull is 1.5 inches. The flow increases exponentially when you increase diameter, so the flow is more than enough.

To get the discharge out the side, you put a T on the output side of the Jabsco pump and a check valve to stop it from going back out the bottom of the boat. YOu will also need a check valve on the discharge hose to stop it from sucking air when trying to fill. SO it requires a T and 2 check valves. Worth it IMO, but certainly provides more opportunities for leaks since I have 7 hose clamps to make it work (2 on each check valve and 3 on the T). Tomorrow I can find a diagram if you need it. Do a search in the ballast section. SBFan usually runs them that way, IIRC. I am sure someone has drawn it out in a legible fashion so you can visualize it.

I'm actually the one that prefers to have the water diverted over the side, and often recommend it to customers. I have a diagram, but can not take credit for the art work, someone with the proper software drew the diagram, I think it was EKS.

Draining over the side, IMO, is the best as it gives the driver an audiable and visual that the sac is done draining. Drianing out the bottom leaves you wondering, so you have to open up storage doors and look at the sacs.

The Nauties have hard tanks and float gauges, so it's easy to tell when the tanks are full or empty. I believe they use the same timers as MC, and they are prone to getting out of sync and need resetting.

Some people recommend using a scoop. If used in the forward facing position, it will force-feed the pumps and fill the sacs when unwanted. If turned backwards, it will create a vacuum and suck the sacs down when the boat is in motion. For this reason, I have found that I mushroom works best, just my experience.

[talltigeguy]

Chp, that is a perfect diagram.

And I should mention that on my boat the overflow goes off of a separate port on the tank and goes out the side. So I only have 2 check valves and 1 T, not 3 check valves and 2 T's like this particular diagram. Mine came from the factory with separate discharge and overflow thru hulls. So when redoing things, it depends on your threshold for drilling a new overflow in the fiberglass.

[Paublo]

Tall, it would be impossible to hit a nerve with me. I really got a kick out of the male/female boat comparison.

There are a lot of Nautique owners who add bags on top of the hard tanks and pipe in series. So instead of messing with the timers they just turn the pumps on again when they stop- it takes approximately twice as long to fill and empty.

[talltigeguy]

Back to the original intent of this post. Construction has made a huge collapse here economically. We used to be one of the fastest growing counties in the country, now we are the worst in the state of Utah. So I got the bright idea to hit a pawn shop right by my work. Found a good 90 degree drill that is the same brand as my current cordless drill. So I already have batteries for it and all. It came with extra batteries too, so I considered that a nice solution that fits with the tools I already have. It also came with the charger, so I now have 2 chargers, which is real useful also.

The suggestions above have been great...and the ballast discussion has been good too.



I have never heard of someone with an MC just hitting the switch twice. I think maybe it is because the sacs that are piggybacked onto the tanks are more than the size of the tanks and you would have to hit the switch 3 or 4 times instead of just twice.

[chpthril]

Chp, that is a perfect diagram.

And I should mention that on my boat the overflow goes off of a separate port on the tank and goes out the side. So I only have 2 check valves and 1 T, not 3 check valves and 2 T's like this particular diagram. Mine came from the factory with separate discharge and overflow thru hulls. So when redoing things, it depends on your threshold for drilling a new overflow in the fiberglass.

It seems that most manufactures use a separate vent and drain thru-hull. Nothing wrong with it all, just not necessary. Drill one hole, one thru-hull and add a T. Only real downside is that you have more joints, which ='s a possible point to leak, and that the c/v's I use/sell now, are more expensive then a typical PCV c/v. Course they are far better.

There are a lot of correct ways to build a ballast system, as well as a lot of things that just dont work well. Sometimes, you build it on the fly

[talltigeguy]

It seems that most manufactures use a separate vent and drain thru-hull. Nothing wrong with it all, just not necessary. Drill one hole, one thru-hull and add a T. Only real downside is that you have more joints, which ='s a possible point to leak, and that the c/v's I use/sell now, are more expensive then a typical PCV c/v. Course they are far better.

There are a lot of correct ways to build a ballast system, as well as a lot of things that just dont work well. Sometimes, you build it on the fly

BTW, which check valves are you using? I found some swing valves from an online place...PVCsomethingorother.com. I think maybe you recommended them. Now I cannot find them or recall where I got them. I have been planning this for a while and bought the valves 8 months ago or so.

[helmut]

Tall did you switch up your ballast yet how did it turn out?

[talltigeguy]

Tall did you switch up your ballast yet how did it turn out?

I got out Wednesday and it worked awesome. The starboard did not work...but I realized quickly the check valve was on backwards. If I understood the system so well I diagnosed it almost immediately, why did I put it on backwards in the first place? Anyway, was able to switch it on the water and all is good! Now the front goes out the front and the right on the right etc.

[helmut]

Did you do it with the 3 check valves like Mike's diagram?

[talltigeguy]

Did you do it with the 3 check valves like Mike's diagram?

No. I did it with just 2 check valves because I have separate overflow and drain ports out the side of the boat.