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Well, Sunday I had the chance to experiment a bit with the factory ballast setup on my new to me 99 Super Sport. Before I even tried out the system, I had heard that they were problematic so I went through the entire system right away. Here are some of my findings, observations and theories:
1. I tested the vent line air valves (at the helm) and they worked fine. I could not blow air through the valves when they were closed. I performed this air test from the end of the hose where it attaches to the hard tanks, so I was assured that the hoses were also air tight. No rat holes!
2. I had one faulty sending unit that I replaced with a WEMA 6" all metal sending unit. This is the replacement for the original plastic WEMA 6" units that have been discontinued.
Now on to lake testing...While running the boat at about 25mph, the tanks would not fill so I assumed something was wrong with the fill pump (even though I could hear it running). I gave up and my boys continued to wakeboard (I left the fill pump on and vavles open. Then during the second boarding run I looked down and both tanks said full! Hmm.
I shut off the fill pump and closed the valves. The tank with the original sending unit lost water slowly. Opening the valve and turning on the fill pump quickly filled it back up. The kids boarded a few runs with the tanks full. I have to tell you I need to reprop the boat as it was a dog (had 7 kids in the boat plus me). However, that is another topic. Anyway, I emptied the tanks just fine and it was fast enough. I closed the air valves (left the thru hull open). At boarding speeds, the tanks seemed to stay empty.
Now, at the end of the day, I decided to open her up a bit and headed back to the ramp at about 35 mph. Looked at the ballast tank guages and the tank with the original sending unit was full, the other totally empty (via gauge anyway). Hmm.
So, my theory is that the plastic sending unit is not sealing properly on the tank due to the mounting flange warping when snugging down the screws. By letting air escape around the flange, the tank is able to fill. So, my plan is to replace the original sending unit with the new metal unit ($40.00) and see if it fixes the problem.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share my findings in case others are still running the factory ballast tank systems.
1. I tested the vent line air valves (at the helm) and they worked fine. I could not blow air through the valves when they were closed. I performed this air test from the end of the hose where it attaches to the hard tanks, so I was assured that the hoses were also air tight. No rat holes!
2. I had one faulty sending unit that I replaced with a WEMA 6" all metal sending unit. This is the replacement for the original plastic WEMA 6" units that have been discontinued.
Now on to lake testing...While running the boat at about 25mph, the tanks would not fill so I assumed something was wrong with the fill pump (even though I could hear it running). I gave up and my boys continued to wakeboard (I left the fill pump on and vavles open. Then during the second boarding run I looked down and both tanks said full! Hmm.
I shut off the fill pump and closed the valves. The tank with the original sending unit lost water slowly. Opening the valve and turning on the fill pump quickly filled it back up. The kids boarded a few runs with the tanks full. I have to tell you I need to reprop the boat as it was a dog (had 7 kids in the boat plus me). However, that is another topic. Anyway, I emptied the tanks just fine and it was fast enough. I closed the air valves (left the thru hull open). At boarding speeds, the tanks seemed to stay empty.
Now, at the end of the day, I decided to open her up a bit and headed back to the ramp at about 35 mph. Looked at the ballast tank guages and the tank with the original sending unit was full, the other totally empty (via gauge anyway). Hmm.
So, my theory is that the plastic sending unit is not sealing properly on the tank due to the mounting flange warping when snugging down the screws. By letting air escape around the flange, the tank is able to fill. So, my plan is to replace the original sending unit with the new metal unit ($40.00) and see if it fixes the problem.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share my findings in case others are still running the factory ballast tank systems.