Wakemakers Piggyback - Moaning, hard tanks not emptying

[martymizah]

I was hoping someone would have some input into some issues 'm having with my wakemakers piggyback setup. Maybe this is just 'how it is', but I wanted to at least see if what I am experiencing jives with other peoples experience.

Filling
First, when I fill the system, the bags balloon up with air. They will take up the full storage locker even if they are only a quarter full. The valve at the through hull fitting is marked as '1psi' and I took it out and I can blow throw it - although my guess is that it is more than 1psi. The valve is not sticking, it moves freely by hand. (When the bags balloon up, there is enough pressure there that it crushed my wakeboard helmet I had stored in that locker.) When they balloon this big, I can open one of the plugs in the bag and let the air out, or I can just let it keep filling. In either case the bags will eventually fill, however if I let the air out while they are filling, they seem to fill the rest of the way quicker (not compressing air?). Eventually the bags will fill and water will come out of the side of the hull. I confirmed water exits through the valve at the through hull T.

Does everyone's bags balloon like this?



Emptying
This is the part that is more annoying. When I empty the system, it drains down quite well howeve it never seems to completely drain. The bags drain completely, but the hard tanks get stuck with half the water in them. When they get to this point, usually the bags are collapsed down and the valves at the through hull fittings are moaning. It seems like there is too much vaccuum in the system and the pumps can't displace anymore water. Again, I can crack the plugs on the bags and allow some air into the system. This generally seems to get things moving again.

I have tried putting 3/8" hoses through the bags to connect the inlet and outlet, that didn't help.

Here are two videos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tM6ijuPAN9opx8xt5

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ytFqRwWjMKDCmENb8



The kit is marketed as working "exactly like the factory kit" - but it seems a bit more tedious to use. It was installed before I got the boat. The guys at wakemakers just suggested I purchase a new hose kit which seems to be an odd solution to me.

thoughts?

[XBIGPUN66]

I bet the vent hoses are blocked

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[martymizah]

Which ones? The ones from the bags to the T are fine I disconnected then and can easily blow through them. I didn't check the ones from the hard tank to the T

[XBIGPUN66]

I think the ones that go overboard

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[martymizah]

I think the ones that go overboard
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

I definitely checked the one from the bags to the through hull fitting and it seemed fine. I can check the other hose there, but I'm not thinking this is the issue.

[lucky7t]

It’s a venting issue . I’ve done piggy backs and now have factory pro ballast with bags and I don’t balloon and the drain fine . Has to be venting issue of some kind


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SJ30]

I had the same problem, i ended up removing the valve between the bag and the vent out the side of the boat. System works fine with no issues now.

[surfnjosh]

lose the check valve!! you don't need them and they pose a risk of exactly what it sounds like the problem your having.

Better yet lose the piggyback setup and remove your hard tanks and replace with bigger bags, I like the 1100s for that.

Be cautious if your system is not venting properly you run the risk of collapsing your hard tanks while draining and ruining the factory ballast level sending unit.

[Evening Shade]

I had the same problem, i ended up removing the valve between the bag and the vent out the side of the boat. System works fine with no issues now.

I agree with this statement. Those valves are great in theory, but they don't seem to work well for some reason and usually cause problems.

[martymizah]

Ok - I will try to remove these and see what happens. If not, I found some valves that are 1/2 psi open for like 5 bucks. They may work better.

My concern is that the through hull port is lower than the top of my bag, so I think I won't be able to completely fill it if I remove the valve but I'll give it a shot

[martymizah]

So I made some progress... I only did the starboard side for the time being because I ran out of light. I removed the check valve at the through hull T and replaced it with a 1" PVC coupling. As expected, when I filled the tanks they were just draining out of the hull. As installed, the vent line wasn't at the upper most hole in the bag. I moved the drain hose up a hole and it is considerably better. The bag obviously is 'open' to the outside so as the boat moves around water comes out, but I don't think it will siphon out.
I also added a small hose inside the bag connecting the vent to the fill line.

The combination of these three things seems to fix the issue, however I don't know if all three are required.

I will try a few thing son the port side to see what is really needed - starting with moving the vent line up a hole, then replacing the valve @ the T, then adding the hose in the bag.

[Evening Shade]

So I made some progress... I only did the starboard side for the time being because I ran out of light. I removed the check valve at the through hull T and replaced it with a 1" PVC coupling. As expected, when I filled the tanks they were just draining out of the hull. As installed, the vent line wasn't at the upper most hole in the bag. I moved the drain hose up a hole and it is considerably better. The bag obviously is 'open' to the outside so as the boat moves around water comes out, but I don't think it will siphon out.
I also added a small hose inside the bag connecting the vent to the fill line.

The combination of these three things seems to fix the issue, however I don't know if all three are required.

I will try a few thing son the port side to see what is really needed - starting with moving the vent line up a hole, then replacing the valve @ the T, then adding the hose in the bag.

You can add a PVC ball valve to the overflow hose between the sack and the through hull fitting to prevent water from coming out of the sack when the boat is moving. It will have to be manually opened and closed when you fill and drain, but it will keep water from coming out while the boat is moving.

[martymizah]

yep, I understand. i really don't want to do that if at all possible. I'd like to just press the button to fill, and press to empty.

To prevent the ballooning I basically need the vent open to the atmosphere, yet when the bag gets filled I need to close it off. I'm actually going to look @ some 12v valves that open when the pump is running. Have to do some more research