Front ballast issue - Supra w/Bertha Ballast

I bought my '04 Supra Launch used last spring and I've never been able to get the front ballast to fill. The shop that dewinterized the boat noticed a crack and leak in the front pump and replaced it, but that didn't address the issue.

I've heard that you need to drive with the pumps running to prime them, but that doesn't seem to work either. This thread says just to keep trying over and over because of the poor design, so maybe I haven't just tried enough times - http://www.supraboats.com/bbs/showthread.php?p=2448.

The back fills fine and I can hear the front pump running, but no water seems to get to the front bag.

I've seen some threads talking about valve issues. How can I check and see if this is the issue or not? Any other thoughts?

Make sure the fill line is not blocked. Remove each end and check for flow.

Wintson your going to want to prime the pump for the front bag. we used to get the boat up to speed around 25 mph and the turn on the front bag only and keep the boat going that fast for a few minutes while the pump is trying to suck in water. this should resolve your issue with the front bag.

I have owned 3 different Moombas and Supras and all of them used one and only one fill pump. They do have 3 separate empty pumps. Supra's pre 2009 that I have seen (including the 2008 that I have) use one fill pump and a manifold with 3 different sprinkler valves to control which bags fill.

If this is the case for the 2004's, there is only one pump for filling and if your rears are filling, the pump is working fine. If it isn't filling, it may just be one of the sprinkler valves going bad.

For my Supra, I actually had the dealer add a separate fill pump for the front so the larger after market bags I am using fill in a reasonable time.

(Message edited by Schmo on April 12, 2009)

(Message edited by Schmo on April 12, 2009)

Same with my 08, one pump. Man - if you've seen
what they did for the 09's - it's MUCH better, but oh well - can't buy a new boat just for the ballast pumps ...

That is basically what I did with my 2008. I had the dealer install a second pump (same as the first one) and wire it up to the center ballast switch. All the switches still work like factory however now it works like this:

Hit center fill switch, second pump turns and center valve opens and has a direct feed to the center ballast bag. (Capped off the manifold where this feed was originally attached).

Hit right or left switch, and the primary pump turns on and the respective valve opens.

Works great and fills faster than the 2009s since these pumps actually do have a higher fill volume, it is just being split among 3 bags. Now I have two of these pumps, one to fill the 1100lb bag in the front and 1 to fill the two 750s in the rear.

Great idea!

Check out this post and scroll down a ways. You will see a post by me with an explanation and picture of what I did. Night and day difference.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/576769.html?1211144451

Thanks Dave,

How did you split the intake?

We didn't. We put a new water scoop intake and shut off valve so there are now two intakes from the bottom of the boat.

Didn't mean to hijack this thread but I think the 2004s had the same one pump intake with 3 valve manifold.

Dave, so you have 3? I am already pretty sure
I have an engine intake, and a separate ballast
intake.

Winston, I've found that the system can be sensitive to air in the sack. Disconnect the fill hose, squeeze all the air out, reconnect the fill hose, and then do what George says.

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll give these a try later this week after the boat has been de-winterized and the northwest weather turns around.

Dave, do you know if the 1100 lb front bag will fit in my '04 if I were to swap out the stock one?