Leaking Fatsacs

[Justinkent83]

Hi again everyone,

I'be been getting a good amount of water in my boat and I've tracked it down to leaking ballasts. Definitely the sac in the bow. Possibly others.

A couple of months ago I removed all the ballasts and cleaned them. At that time I noticed the quick connect fittings that lead to the pump looked cross threaded. I suspected this was the source of my water. I removed them and threaded them in carefully. They seemed to be in straight and at least held air without leaking.

Last trip out I filled the ballasts and checked around the quick connections. Water is definitely coming from there. I was thinking of removing them again and using silicone on the threads, it might make the fittings permanent but surely the leak would stop. What do you all think?

If I could seal them somehow without a "permanent" solution, that would be ideal.

Thanks!

[chpthril]

If your boat does indeed have Fly High branded "Fatsacs" then the thread-in fittings seal with an oring.

[Justinkent83]

I'm pretty sure they are, there was definitely an O-ring on the thread in fittings. The problem is that the threads seem to be damaged so when threaded all the way in, they are at an angle which doesn't let the o-ring seat properly. I was able to guide them woth a little force to thread in straight, at which time the o-ring did seat. I think the problem is that when there's pressure from the bag being full, the threads jump and it becomes unseated again.

[Justinkent83]

*Update*

This past weekend I took another look my all three of my ballasts. I found that none of them had slipped the threads again like I suspected. I did notice that the plastic zip-tie like clamps that hold the hose to the fitting were all so loose you could slide them up and down the hose freely. I used a pair of channel locks to tighten them all down. After use I had water coming from the bow, that night I checked and they were loose again. I tightened again bit this time used actual zip-ties (two per hose) to provide some extra tightness.

Believe it or not, after applying the zip ties, no water leakage from the bow area and much less water in the hull when I pulled the plug. At this point I think my ballast leaks were caused by a combination of factors, but for the moment it seems I've addressed them all.

Thank you everyone for your assistance!

[SmartAss]

I had to do something similar on the Fatsacs in my Tige 24V back in the day-- the quick disconnects would sometimes self disconnect it seemed. I used some zip-ties to help secure them and didn't have any more trouble.