More Ballast

[turbonine]

Added 500lb fat sacs on top of the factory ballast tonight. Did this by splicing into the factory overflow/vent line, then route it into the fat sac, then vent the fat sac back to factory vent line. I really like this because it is still all controlled by the factory gauges. Here are a few pics.

Triple checked to make sure that I cut the vent line and not the fill line.
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Splice the new tubing
IMG_2201 (Small).JPG

This was a pain because the vent line was zip tied to the fuel line and vent. After pulling the vent line I was able to reroute it back towards the transom. The tubing that goes up and meets the U-shaped joint is the fill line. It is brought to a high point so the water won't flow back out via gravity.
IMG_2204 (Small).JPG

Finished product. An extra 500lbs in the corner. Will be good for surfing.
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[tigesinaus]

thats genius!!

[talltigeguy]

I have been thinking of doing something like that. The problem I see is it seems that the overflow drainage is not as fast as the intake, once the bag has built up pressure and it forces itself out of the overflow.

For example, my overflow rate is not nearly as fast as when it is filling. That might be a function of using an aerator pump, and a jabsco style pump might overcome that extra resistance to keep the water flowing fast.

Let us know if you have any trouble with the overflow sac filling slowly.

Turbo, What kind of pumps are in there? Aren't they aerator style pumps that Malibu uses? I think that you won't be able to empty the sack.

BTW, for others reading this thread, Turbo has a Malibu, and it has a hard tank under the sac. It might not work the same with a Tige.

[turbonine]

Let us know if you have any trouble with the overflow sac filling slowly.

Turbo, What kind of pumps are in there? Aren't they aerator style pumps that Malibu uses? I think that you won't be able to empty the sack.

BTW, for others reading this thread, Turbo has a Malibu, and it has a hard tank under the sac. It might not work the same with a Tige.

I don't know what types of pumps they are. I wasn't that much of a ballast nut because the factory MLS worked so well, I just never looked into modifying it.

I just wanted to have a more automated system for setting up ballast when surfing and this seemed like a simple answer. A bunch of people have done this over on that "other forum" and have had some good luck with it. (BTW - I have a total of 3 posts over on that board). I think the only problems people have had is with trying to fill 750lb bags back there, because when full the bag can sit higher than the drain line and create a siphon on the bag.

Gravity is what will empty the bags. Since the fat sac is on top of the hard tank, the bag should just empty via the vent line. I understand that there will be an inch or two left over because the fitting isn't at the lowest point of the bag.

I am heading to the lake in 20 minutes and will test it out and see how it works.

[turbonine]

The factory pump seemed to fill the bag fine, draining worked fine, just left an inch or tow of water in the bag like I expected. But I did have a problem filling. This is what I think happened. When filling I think the pressure in the factory hard tank was enough to not only push water out the vent line but also the drain line. Once the water flowed through the drain line a siphon was created which didn't stop. I made sure that the bag was still below the drain line and it was.

This is my solution while on the water. I stuck my finger in the drain hole until the bag was full. Now I had to figure out how to break the siphon. I quickly replaced my finger with my mouth and a lung full of air and blew hard until i heard air bubbling in the hard tank. And it worked The siphon was broke and we had some awesome surfing.

So now the question is; does anyone now how to prevent the flow of water out the drain hose while filling?

[chadster2]

a small hole at the highest part of the hose
or rig a one-way flapper valve inline
let's don't flood the boat

[chadster2]

I think they call it a duck valve on an A/C condensation pump
good luck

Home Depot

[turbonine]

Thanks Chad. I will look into that

Anyone know if one of these check valves also prevent siphoning.

[Matt Garcia]

Hmm...interesting. Thought about doing that method to my existing factory ballast but talltigeguys theory on the overflow rate is what has stopped me from doing this.

How long did it take to fill that bag up?

[chpthril]

Thanks Chad. I will look into that

Anyone know if one of these check valves also prevent siphoning.

Flapper type check valves for like sprinkler apps, are about $10. Check xpjim's ballast install, he found them pretty cheap. I need to swap 3 of my plunger types for the flapper.

[turbonine]

Hmm...interesting. Thought about doing that method to my existing factory ballast but talltigeguys theory on the overflow rate is what has stopped me from doing this.

How long did it take to fill that bag up?

Not quite sure, nothing more than an extra five minutes. The rate that it filled did not seem to be affected because the 250 hard tank, plus the 400(didn't plump it out) in the sac finished a minute or two after my center 500 tank was done.

Wonder how this would work with the hard tanks on the transom of the RZ since the tanks are at floor level? Couldn't use gravity to drain them. You may be able to plumb them in parallel. Split the fill line to both and then join the vent lines before exiting the side.

[rushin]

mcmastercarr.com for swing check valves is where I got mine.