Ballast Tanks on 04 SV-211TE

[oldskier]

I just "de-winterized" my 211TE and had it out on the lake this weekend. It seemed the port and belly ballast either would not fill or filled very slowly compared to the starboard ballast. Could the intakes be clogged or am I missing something in the use of these ballasts.

My understanding is open the ballast tank then press once to fill...watch the guage go up...then close the ballast tank at the console. This worked fine with the starboard and it emptied fine also, but the others didn't seem to want to fill..but when I tested the "empty" mechanism some water came out...just not much. The guages never indicated any water was coming in...could this be a case of two bad guages? Please advise.

mb

[04-211-DSJ]

RE: Ballast Tanks on 04 SV-211TE

I think the factory ballast pumps on the 04 211 are not very good. I have read of others having issues with them. I am still using my original pumps however. My Starboard and Belly consistently work fine filling and emptying. I consistently have trouble filling port but easily get it going by leaving the valves open and moving forward with the boat. This usually just requires a quick hit to the throttle and it begins filling. There is no trouble emptying the port side.