06 Ballast Problems

[radmaster]

G'day Everyone, ok so the boat has arrived, and we've taken it for its first run in, and we've checked everything works however we couldnt get the Port Side Ballast Tank to empty, it would fill however it wouldnt empty. Any Ideas?

[skinautique]

RE: 06 Ballast Problems

the sender calibration could be off or the pump might have burned up. The new pumps drain out of the bottom so you won't see the water going out. However, the pump will shut off when the tank is empty.

[wilcar]

RE: 06 Ballast Problems

I have the same problems in my 06 210, and i have to reset the circuit breakers all the time. I have heard that there was a batch of pumps that was installed in the early 06 models where the impellor was slightly too tight so i would trip the circuit breakers when it was reversed, also heard that if you use it in salt the salt crystalises and jams up the impellor. Not sure whats going on, been tring to contact the local dealer but they're not returning my calls.

[radmaster]

RE: 06 Ballast Problems

Wilcar, where are the circuit breakers? this was on the maiden voyage so i doubt it was the salt crystals, but ours was likely to be one of the early 06's so it could have this problem with the impellor being too tight. We dont have a local dealer over here in West Oz, so its not so easy to take it back to the dealer.

[wilcar]

RE: 06 Ballast Problems

The circuit breakers are located in the rear lockers next to the isloation switch. They are red and will have starboard, belly and port written on it. they stick out but you will feel a click when you reset it. Hope it works out.

[wilcar]

RE: 06 Ballast Problems

Sorry i meant the rear locker port side. PM me if you need more help.

[skinautique]

RE: 06 Ballast Problems

impeller diameter should be no larger than .870 inches. Also, make sure your pumps say "commercial" water puppy instead of "water puppy". If they say water puppy with no commercial attached to it, you need to get the new pumps.

[wilcar]

RE: Ballast puppy fix.....

Thanks for the info mike. I might do the sanding down first and see how that goes. (Cheapest option)

[radmaster]

RE: Ballast puppy fix.....

mike those pics would be greatly appreciated, is it much of a drama to do?

[pjdave]

RE: Ballast puppy fix.....

what model number is on your Jabsco pumps, Wilcar/ radmaster. 4000 or 4001?

[jonfo]

RE: Ballast puppy fix.....

If you are having problems with your Jabsco watter puppy not turning on it is because one or more of these 3 issues:
1) friction - impeller lobes sticking to impeller housing
2) temperature - cold impeller lobes wont bend to change directions
3) power - wired with incorrect guage and length of wire causing too much resistance

To solve the 1) friction problem you can put grease on the impeller, use the same grease you put on your trailer bearings. This will definitely work for the short term and it is simple to remove the 3 screws holding the impeller in place. If the impeller is too wide then go ahead and sand it down, but i am not familiar with that problem.

The 2) temperature problem cannot be controled by the user and is usually enhanced by the 3) resistance problem. If correct craft used the wrong guage and length of wire then they will have a big problem to fix because the wiring is integrated into the boat. Hopefully this is not the issue.

As for the quality of these pumps, they are heavy industrial pumps and i doubt you will be able to burn one out. I have always used them for the last 5 years and have never had a problem except for the 3 things i mentioned above. Somebody claimed 9/10 wont last. They should verify those numbers with 10 instances where 9 failed and exactly how they failed. I bet it was a wiring issue because I have not had problems.

[Mikeski]

RE: Ballast puppy fix.....

My crystal ball tells me that the impeller pump issue is going to be much worse than the flow-rite issue...

[jonfo]

RE: Ballast puppy fix.....

If you look at the wiring instructions for the Jabsco pumps they are very specific about the gauge and length of the wires. I would guess that in those failures they were not wired to the Jabsco requirements. I know this because the first time i installed one i thought i could just run the wires from the battery in the back of the boat up to the helm and back again to the pump, but it wouldn’t work because there is too much resistance to reverse the impeller when it was cold or sticky. I ended up wiring it to their requirements and it worked fine from then on. On my new 2005 nautique i tried to run it through the dash utilizing the shower switch, which again would not work. I ended up wiring without depending on any of the existing boat wiring and it worked perfectly from then on. When i looked at the new 2006 nautiques with 3 of these pumps i did wonder how they solved the wiring problem. From this discussion i gather they did not wire them correctly, or else nobody would be having problems.

[speck]

this is what my dealer responded with when i emailed him that thread, i hope he doesn't mind me posting it, i will keep his personnal info private. i sure hope the problem is fixed on my new boat, i take delivery in two weeks

"This was something that was addressed at the dealer meeting when we were
there. The pump has been custom modified as well as a completely different
and new sending unit is installed in the tank. They are now fool proof for
auto turn off, however the pod accessory button will still blink for 10
minutes if you forget to turn it off. Just a bug that needed to be worked
out, and the problem was addressed before your boat was to hit the
production line. Correct Craft is good for that. If the industries best
product is not good enough for the application, they will modify it or
design their own."

[Rhode]

As someone with an '06 210, but who professes nothing but practical knowledge about what works and what does not, I offer the following andecdotal information: Consistent with Jonfo's reasoning and speculation, one of my ballast pumps (never more than one) would trip the breaker intermittantly when water temp dipped below the mid-60s and consistantly when temp was below the 60s. Perhaps, related to this, my friends and I noticed that the pumps changed pitch and sounded strained when all three were in operation (and especially when draining). We got into the habbit of only running two at a time to fill and empty, which made them sound stronger. Not sure if this was anything noteworthy, but I will ignorantly speculate that the three pumps were too much of an electrical "load" on the system that was rigged with the wrong guage wire. Someone please shoot this down and please let me know if there is anything my dealer can do when taking care of some other warranty work. Frankly, I did not really understand Speck's dealer's e-mail and if it suggested a fix for those of us with the problematic pump set-up. Thanking anyone in advance who can help me understand this better.

Rhode