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First of all, sorry, no pictures. My '99 Nautique Super Sport was fitted with factory hard tanks and FCT1. The factory setup does not work well for surfing, so I added a 400lb Fly High sack on the surf side. I did a piggy-back install on top of the factory hard tank by basically just plumbing the sac into the hard tank vent line. I hope it works, but have a few concerns.
My factory plumbing:
1. Fill and empty aerator pumps are installed in-line with each other. What I mean is that the fill pump pushes water through the empty pump and vis versa. This is good because the water cannot short circuit. One pump for both tanks (fill/empty line "T"'ed off the pumps).
2. Vent lines have a one-way valve that lets air/water out, but not back in. Turns out both were stuck closed.
3. Vent line control valve at helm. I understand how this can keep water in the tanks, but not how this system keeps water out without having to close the thru-hull valve.
What I did:
1. Placed sac on top of hard tank.
2. Plumbed hard tank vent directly into bottom of sac.
3. One sac top fitting plugged.
4. Second top sac fitting (furthest from fill line) vented directly to thru hull fitting (no check valve).
So, here is what I was unsure about. Would the fill pump simply fill both hard tanks and then push water out the vent of the tank WITHOUT the sac on top Thus, the sac would not fill? So, I placed a ball valve on the vent line of the hard tank without the sac. So, if my fears hold true, I can valve it off.
Going to test it this afternoon. Any comments good or bad. I want to be prepared so we can ride this weekend. Thanks to all ballast guru's (I am not one for sure).
My factory plumbing:
1. Fill and empty aerator pumps are installed in-line with each other. What I mean is that the fill pump pushes water through the empty pump and vis versa. This is good because the water cannot short circuit. One pump for both tanks (fill/empty line "T"'ed off the pumps).
2. Vent lines have a one-way valve that lets air/water out, but not back in. Turns out both were stuck closed.
3. Vent line control valve at helm. I understand how this can keep water in the tanks, but not how this system keeps water out without having to close the thru-hull valve.
What I did:
1. Placed sac on top of hard tank.
2. Plumbed hard tank vent directly into bottom of sac.
3. One sac top fitting plugged.
4. Second top sac fitting (furthest from fill line) vented directly to thru hull fitting (no check valve).
So, here is what I was unsure about. Would the fill pump simply fill both hard tanks and then push water out the vent of the tank WITHOUT the sac on top Thus, the sac would not fill? So, I placed a ball valve on the vent line of the hard tank without the sac. So, if my fears hold true, I can valve it off.
Going to test it this afternoon. Any comments good or bad. I want to be prepared so we can ride this weekend. Thanks to all ballast guru's (I am not one for sure).
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