ballast question

My system will have a scoop thru-hull and a brass ball valve before a homemade manifold. I would like to avoid the RV waste valve, but at the same time, I won't be able to reach all the way into the bilge to shut off the ball valve each time out. My question is, can I have plastic ball valves (in convenient locations to switch off) on each inlet hose before the sac to block the incoming water? Will water pressure be very high this far up the line where I would need to worry?

I know some people have talked about their sacs filling while underway with scoopers, even with the pumps off. I guess I'm wondering if the water pressure is very high when this happens?

the valves in various locations would help with unwanted fill or drain from the scoop. the ball valve above the scoop is more of a safety valve if something plastic fails.

as far as high water pressure, i'm not real sure what you mean.

what I meant was that even though the ball valve is there for emergencies, it will remain open during operation and the individual platic ball valves would be responsible for holding water back, near the sacs. I was wondering if they will be able to withstand this.

Also, just a thought, will my pumps be ruined from water constantly going in and out of them?

yea! nowhere in your boat is the pressure enough to damage anything. your pumps will be fine too.

If you go with a standard thru hull you don't need to worry about ball valves as long as the hose is run correctly. Otherwise, I suppose you could put the scooper on backwards.

The water pressure is very low and you can certainly get away with plastic ones after the main brass one. Just make sure you get full flowing valves and not ones that reduce in diameter at the valve.

There is nothing that can get ruined with your areator pumps.

call Tige Performance Boats in Arizona. they make a after market ballast system called the Rival Szstem. with that system comes an electronic valve so you just hit the valve switch to open and close it. i don't know it they sell the electronic valve by itself or not. look them up on the tige web site. ask for andy and tell him what your doin.

yeah, some people on here have used them, after you buy the adapter to 1.5" to fit the manifold, it's about $150. I'm just not sure I can justify that over $20 for ball valves in convenient locations. Same reason I'm probably going with a 1.5" thru-hull ($40) instead of a 2" ($115).

Tuneman, since I'm going with a homemade manifold, I think I'm going to need all the help I can get from the scoop to bring in water!

The Make-A-Wake system comes with everything you need to get you moving water.
Daniel
Make-A-Wake.com