aerator ballast pump question

Hey guys I am installing my new aerator ballast system and don't know where I am supposed to have shut off valves.

I have the safety shut off valve right after the mushroom but was wondering where I need to put shut off valves in order to keep the water from either filling, or draining out my fat sacs.

Anyone with info it would be greatly appreciated

You will need to have a loop above the sack with a vent in order to keep the water from siphoning back out of the sack.

Mikeski helped me greatly with mine. For actual "shut-off" valves, the only place I use them is at the thru-hull.

One-way SWING check-valves are another story. These prevent water from flowing in both directions.

I have one horizontally just before the sac on the fill allowing water in, and I have one on both the vent line and the drain line because I have my vent and drain plummed into the same thru-hull (only because I liked keeping thru's to a minimum and I think it looks better).

My fill line goes vertically higher than my sac and loops down, and so do my vents/drains.

The most important thing I finally learned was that the orientation of the aerators must be correct. They either need to be relatively perfectly vertical, or if they are horizontal they need to have the output pointing straight up. This to avoid air bubbles and priming problems which I had a lot of.

Since aligning things properly, mine work flawlessly. Fill a 750lb sack in about 6-7 minutes with the Rule 1100's.

Mikeski
I just finished my install. I removed the sprinkler valves in my boat. I replaced them with three individual pumps. I do have three vented loops on my system. The problem that I am having is the bags fill while I am driving. I think I know the problem. I am using scuppers instead of thru hull fittings. I ordered three of them. My question is, "Do I need to add the gate valve so the water does not flow back out the fitting or doesn't the vented loop do that?"

Tazz

You need shutoff valves at the thru hull for emergency situations. You need check valves on the fill line to prevent siphoning.

Eric, where is your mushroom mounted? Have you tested priming your pumps with your current setup?

What do I need to do to stop the bags from filling underway without having to open and close a ball valve? Anything?

John which check valves did you use, do you have a link to where you got them?

The valves I used I got from an aquarium supply shop, then on ebay.

You can find them here: http://www.watergardengems.com/SUBcategory.php?categoryKey=333&side=aquarium&subC ategoryKey=334&subCategoryName=Valves.

I got the 3/4. The key is using the swing - not the spring valves as they do not restrict water flow. They say they need to be perfectly vertical, but I've found them to work fine when not perfectly aligned.

I'm surprised about your bags filling under motion though. On my bags, I have the fill line start at the hull, run to the transom, up the transom (behind the cosmetic divider wall) and to the top of the interior of the boat. Then into the V-locker compartment and back down to the bag. At all times there is a good portion of the fill line above the bag to prevent backflow.

Of course the fill line goes through the aerator pump at the hull as well. I get no accidental filling - it seems like it would be next to impossible going through the pump and up over the bag. I do however only have a mushroom, and not a scoop-strainer.

Jon - is your fill line routed like this into the top of the bag? Or is it routed differently/into the bottom of the bag/etc?

I did read somewhere that folks using a scoop-strainer drilled holes in the back of the scoop strainer so it functioned more like a mushroom. Can't recall if it was for this issue or something else, but that would cut down on the flow.

You could start with a hole or two in the back, add a few more if you still have the problem.

Jon - 12v sprinkler valves have been used for a more automated valve system.

Personally, I put a ball valve on the thru-hull and another on each bag. So I don't have to get into the engine bay to close them off.

Strange as this may sound - my Mastercraft 230VRS - came stock with no valve at all on the engine intake thru-hull...

Sorry for being one of those people who post a question and never come back to it. I have been on vacation with the boat for the last week.

Nacho, I have tried priming my current setup and it works fine pulling the water in, but I didn't take the time to try and fill up a bag and then drain it. I should have but I just never got around to it.

Daylorb- I don't know if any came with an engine intake thru-hull shut off.