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Old     (corbin)      Join Date: Jul 2009       06-25-2010, 8:37 PM Reply   
These are pictures of my stock balast system that takes forever to fill. You can see in the first picture that I have one inlet that necks down and goes to a green hose up to the pump. The outlet of the pump then comes back down and "T"s into the bottom of both tanks at the same time (second pic). I wish I could pipe it into the top of the tank but I think that would be a large project maybe for the winter time. For now I'm thinking of splitting the inlet and feeding two pumps, one for each tank. Do you think this would solve my super slow fill time? The white 90 degree elbow is 1", would it be enough to support two pumps running at the same time?

I'm thinking I will get rid of the white 90 in the first pictureand put in a brass 90, a valve, a "T" and then split to the two different pumps then have each pump fill its own tank.
Attached Images
  

Last edited by corbin; 06-25-2010 at 8:47 PM. Reason: adding text
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       06-26-2010, 7:49 AM Reply   
I think you should put in another through hull, and add a second pump to that fitting. Then you could run another switch and have each tank seperate.
How big is the pump you have? I would get 2 tsunami pumps as long as you re-doing it.
Old     (Ramble0n)      Join Date: Jun 2010       06-26-2010, 8:21 AM Reply   
i thought this was about doing it when i saw the title.
Old     (corbin)      Join Date: Jul 2009       06-26-2010, 9:41 AM Reply   
I'd really like to stay away from cutting thru the hull. If I can supply two pumps with that one fitting that would be best.

Joe,
Why do you recommend the tsunami pumps? Where would you suggest purchasing them?
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       06-26-2010, 11:03 AM Reply   
I have 6 1100gph tsunami pumps on my boat. 3 fill, and 3 to drain. 500 gallons, or 4000 pounds in 10.5 min.

You could run 2 pumps off the same hole, but it won't be nearly as fast as if each pump had it's own supply. I actually have 3 holes in mine.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       06-26-2010, 11:35 AM Reply   
I forgot to mention. The tsunami pumps are pretty cheap, $40 I think. And there pretty much bulletproof.
Old     (talltigeguy)      Join Date: Sep 2003       06-26-2010, 11:46 AM Reply   
It is hard to tell without being there, but it looks like the 1 inch white elbow after the through hull then has a gray adapter to it that is probably 3/4" and then it narrows down to 1/2 inch to accomodate the green hose, which looks like a 3/4 inch hose ID (internal diameter). So there is a fairly good restriction right there going into the green hose. If that is enough to cause your single pump to go slower, I am not sure, but that looks like the first easy spot to make a difference. I bet if you take out that section and get a 1 inch hose that goes to both pumps, you would be fine.

What kind of pump do you have now?

I would also be leary of your setup without a ball valve. If that green hose pops off, you are going to fill your boat up with water pretty fast. Most ballast gurus would recommend you have a ball valve immediately on the inside of the intake, so that if you break something, you can stop the bleeding right away.
Old     (corbin)      Join Date: Jul 2009       06-27-2010, 4:50 PM Reply   
I think I'm going to replace my pvc with sch 80 and add a valve. It should be strong enough that I won't need to worry about cracking it or it breaking it off. Plus I can do the whole job (both through hull fittings, one is for the ballast and the other for the engine) for about $30 rather than $80. What tubing should I run from the valve to the pump? I would like to keep it 1" diameter if at all possible and I know that it needs to resisted flatening.
Old     (corbin)      Join Date: Jul 2009       06-28-2010, 6:50 PM Reply   
What tubing do you guys use when installing ballast set-ups?
Old     (frosty2469)      Join Date: Apr 2010       06-30-2010, 11:19 PM Reply   
I'm still working on mine, but this is what I am using:

Trident 1" Bilge / Livewell hose
Old     (corbin)      Join Date: Jul 2009       07-03-2010, 2:12 PM Reply   
So I just got back from buying all of my parts to install a valve and get rid of that reduction after the 90 degree elbow. As I started to take it all apart I found that I can't spin the elbow off because it's too close to the exhaust pipe!! AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH. What a bummer. I dont really want to remove the exhaust.. This sucks.
Old     (talltigeguy)      Join Date: Sep 2003       07-04-2010, 12:40 PM Reply   
Bummer.

Looks like you have room for your new stuff because the new elbow is going to be higher off the hull because of the valve. You can just destroy the current elbow with a hacksaw to get it off or whatever tool you have handy.
Old     (tro)      Join Date: May 2009       07-04-2010, 1:30 PM Reply   
$40 Tsunami pumps? holy cow. where's that deal at? i always see them for $99.
Old     (PictureMeRollin)      Join Date: Apr 2010       08-04-2010, 3:24 PM Reply   
what is that u-bend pipe for?
Old     (Matt)      Join Date: Mar 2010       08-04-2010, 7:58 PM Reply   
Wakemakers.com, I just ordered 2 tsunami 1200s today for drains.. or call & ask for Jason.. I have 3 800gpm Tsunami pumps sucking from a single 1" thru hull..
Old     (jacobs0222i)      Join Date: Sep 2008       08-04-2010, 8:26 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by frosty2469 View Post
I'm still working on mine, but this is what I am using:

Trident 1" Bilge / Livewell hose

Come on Frosty, you know this link is less expensive. lol you are the one that posted it last.

http://www.pyacht.com/trident-bilge-livewell-hose.htm

Not sure how much the shipping is. May not be better.
Old     (Preston)      Join Date: Jul 2010       08-04-2010, 8:34 PM Reply   
Another problem could be, if I understand your setup, is the inlets to the tanks being on the bottom. I don't know enough about physics, but it would seem that with the water filling up in the tank it would add resistance to the water coming in, making the pump work harder and probably slower. Did that make sense?

But for sure you need to eliminate all the reducers and run 1" all the way. You never did mention what pump you had. Upgrading your pump could help out your fill times, too.
Old     (PictureMeRollin)      Join Date: Apr 2010       08-04-2010, 9:36 PM Reply   
I believe the tanks are filled from the bottom because the system uses a reversible impeller type pump. Having the inlets on the bottom allows the pump do drain the tanks.
Old     (frosty2469)      Join Date: Apr 2010       08-06-2010, 9:50 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by jacobs0222i View Post
Come on Frosty, you know this link is less expensive. lol you are the one that posted it last.

http://www.pyacht.com/trident-bilge-livewell-hose.htm

Not sure how much the shipping is. May not be better.
Thanks, I didn't have that bookmarked.
mostly because I bought it at defender... and found it cheaper later! grrrr.
Old     (wakeboardin2k4)      Join Date: Sep 2006       08-10-2010, 7:30 PM Reply   
Colin P is probably correct as to why the inlets for the tanks are in the location they are in.

My suggestion would be more pictures, and more information about what kind of pump you have now.

From what we can see and have been told I would agree with what everyone is saying about increasing the size of your tubing to increase your flow. The opening appears to be a 1" hole and you should utilize that space.

You can surely run 2 pumps from a 1" opening. I am running 3 pumps from one 1.5 inch hole and it pumps really well. All are on their own switches.

You could also avoid cutting new holes in the boat and simply open up the existing hole to 1.5" if you are truly concerned.

Lots of options here. You could pimp that ballast system to the point where youre filling in RAPID time
Old     (samhanna)      Join Date: Sep 2009       08-11-2010, 1:57 PM Reply   
Just to chime in with the way these systems actually work. I am a civil engineer and can tell you that you cannot produce a faster flow through the one through-hull.

Flow which we will represent as (Q) is equal to the velocity (V) multiplied by the area (A). Simply Q=V * A. Your area is staying the same since you are not increasing the diameter of the hole that is in contact with the water. So the only way to increase your flow is to increase your velocity. But your velocity will be limited by head loss factors such as a 90 degree bend, hose area, and pump effeciency.

So without getting to far into it you can try to either buy a pump that can provide a faster pumping rate or you will have to increase the area that the water is being conveyed through.
Old     (corbin)      Join Date: Jul 2009       08-11-2010, 9:05 PM Reply   
Thanks for all of the help everyone. I have had to put this project on hold for a bit because I just found a dent in my prop that I think is causing some cavitation/vibration. There goes my ballast money...

Yes the inlet is on the bottom which I really don't understand because although the pump may be reversible, it is not wired to be. The tanks simply gravity drain out the bottom. I would think that moving the fill to the overflow port on the top of the tank might help and then maybe routing a hose from the bottom of the tank where it fills in the stock location up to the vent since it is several inches above the top of the tank. (not sure if that made any sense.)

That U-shaped pipe is the drain fitting, there are two of them. It comes out of the bottom of the tank and runs to a drain fitting on the stern. A switch on the dash simply opens and closes a valve in that line and allows the water to drain out of the tank.

I'm afraid to destroy that white 90* elbow trying to get the reduction fitting out because I probably won't be able to get anything back on because of the location of the exhaust piping. I understand that a valve would raise the new 90* fitting enough to be able to spin it on but I don't think I will be able to spin the valve on because the handle of the valve will hit the exhaust... Is there any way to get the glued in reduction fitting out without destroying the white 90* elbow?

Thanks again for all of the help

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