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Have been using a single-pump (Johnson Talulah) feeding three bags (two 750s, either side of the engine, and a 425 under the bow seats) for a few seasons - working reasonably well, always room for improvements. The system itself has been a bit of a hassle for fill/empty, it's not very fast - but that's to be expected with a single pump working three bags. The issue has generally been the branching hose setup with manual ball-valves, all under the rear hatch which seemed like a good idea at the time of install, but is not really convenient when underway, or with a bunch of people on the boat. So, I'd been thinking about a way to use some valve-stem extensions to get controls on the front-side of the rear seat-riser for easier access (though I'm sure I'd take a pinky-toe out on one of those).
The pump impeller disintegrated on us this season (I should've been more proactive with replacement), and when I went to replace it, I found that I'd installed the pump in a poor position for access to the coverplate, and needed to remove the pump - perfect opportunity to rework things a bit. Instead of the stem-extensions for manual valves, it occurred to me at some point that I could get tricky and use some motorized ball-valves which I found on amazon for like $25 apiece. I also sourced some UHMW plastic, and some tap-sets and milled myself a manifold block for 1" line in (still using single-pump, and original 3/4" thru-hull), and three 3/4" feeds out. I got myself some 3/4" schedule-80 piping from the sprinkler-riser aisle at local hardware store and went about seeing how I could configure this to fit well within the boat.
End-result, pump oriented horizontally with a couple AL angles to the AL structure just fore of the engine, feeding the 1" line forward into the port side of the section under center-rear seat where there's transmission access. Three lines w/ motorized ball-valves, returning lines to bags back down the starboard side. Re-routed bow-bag under floor and made a junction in the locker (locker-bag in the mail : ))). Mounted some relays and a fused power-block in the under-seat section starboard of the manifold where the Perko switch already lived, and routed some some wires up to the console where I created a new switch-plate to replace the broken original with round gauges. Also move the ****ed rear-hatch up/down to that panel. Works beautifully, after I did some electrical troubleshooting for a popped red accy-wire in the console I posted about in gen-maintenance last week. Here's some photos...
The pump impeller disintegrated on us this season (I should've been more proactive with replacement), and when I went to replace it, I found that I'd installed the pump in a poor position for access to the coverplate, and needed to remove the pump - perfect opportunity to rework things a bit. Instead of the stem-extensions for manual valves, it occurred to me at some point that I could get tricky and use some motorized ball-valves which I found on amazon for like $25 apiece. I also sourced some UHMW plastic, and some tap-sets and milled myself a manifold block for 1" line in (still using single-pump, and original 3/4" thru-hull), and three 3/4" feeds out. I got myself some 3/4" schedule-80 piping from the sprinkler-riser aisle at local hardware store and went about seeing how I could configure this to fit well within the boat.
End-result, pump oriented horizontally with a couple AL angles to the AL structure just fore of the engine, feeding the 1" line forward into the port side of the section under center-rear seat where there's transmission access. Three lines w/ motorized ball-valves, returning lines to bags back down the starboard side. Re-routed bow-bag under floor and made a junction in the locker (locker-bag in the mail : ))). Mounted some relays and a fused power-block in the under-seat section starboard of the manifold where the Perko switch already lived, and routed some some wires up to the console where I created a new switch-plate to replace the broken original with round gauges. Also move the ****ed rear-hatch up/down to that panel. Works beautifully, after I did some electrical troubleshooting for a popped red accy-wire in the console I posted about in gen-maintenance last week. Here's some photos...
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