SS ballast install questions

[nohajs]

I'm going to install my new ballast system in my 95 SS and had a couple questions.

1. How many thru hulls intakes are needed for three Jabsco pumps? A 1" thru hull has a 3500 GPH capacity and the pumps are 540 GPH. Does that mean I can just do one hole? The wakemakers site says "don't run four or more pumps off a 1" line". I've seen some installs here that have as many as three thru- hulls but that seems excessive. I also don't want to create a soft spot in the bottom of my boat. Do you fill all your bags at once?

2. Do you need to install another battery for the pumps? If I fill up while motoring, wont my alternator take the load?

3. Do you run all your pumps at once? If the main ignition button is a 20 amp breaker (for all your accesorries) and each pump needs a 20 each, isn't that alot of draw of power? Wouldn't running them all be a major power drain?

4. Im replacing my existing above water thru hulls with Stainless steel and was wondering if I should install check valves on my bilge pump lines as well. I do alot of surfing and those thru hulls are under water most of the time.

Thanks for the help. I've been lurking on this site for over a year and have gotten a ton of good info about my boat. Plenty of info for the novice Nautique owner.

[Chexi]

I'm going to install my new ballast system in my 95 SS and had a couple questions.

1. How many thru hulls intakes are needed for three Jabsco pumps? A 1" thru hull has a 3500 GPH capacity and the pumps are 540 GPH. Does that mean I can just do one hole? The wakemakers site says "don't run four or more pumps off a 1" line". I've seen some installs here that have as many as three thru- hulls but that seems excessive. I also don't want to create a soft spot in the bottom of my boat. Do you fill all your bags at once?

2. Do you need to install another battery for the pumps? If I fill up while motoring, wont my alternator take the load?

3. Do you run all your pumps at once? If the main ignition button is a 20 amp breaker (for all your accesorries) and each pump needs a 20 each, isn't that alot of draw of power? Wouldn't running them all be a major power drain?

4. Im replacing my existing above water thru hulls with Stainless steel and was wondering if I should install check valves on my bilge pump lines as well. I do alot of surfing and those thru hulls are under water most of the time.

Thanks for the help. I've been lurking on this site for over a year and have gotten a ton of good info about my boat. Plenty of info for the novice Nautique owner.

I am using 2x1" thru-hulls for 3 Johnson pumps (1 thru hull is split between 2 pumps, the other thru-hull supplies 1 pump, but 2 bags in the ski locker and bow). The Johnson pumps have a higher gph rating than the Jabsos. I have been able to use the 2 pumps on the single thru-hull at the same time and both seem to fill at a good rate. I have not timed it yet vs 1 pump only.

I have been able to use all 3 pumps at the same time (electrically speaking), but I do have them off my stereo dedicated battery. The Johnson's also pull 20 amps. I have a BlueSeas fuse panel and use 25 amp blade fuses. My wiring is 4 AWG from the battery to the fuse panel and 10 AWG from the fuse panel to the switches and from the switches to the pumps. I read somewhere not to flip all 3 switches at once, so I do one at a time with about a 1 second delay between flipping them on. I have only had this setup for the last 2 weeks, but so far it has worked well with no blown fuses or burned out impellers due to lack of sufficient water.

Note, if you look at the inside diameter of the pump fittings, they are considerably smaller than 1 inch. I think they are 1/2", but I could be wrong. As such, a 1" thru-hull provides far more water than a single pump can actually use. 2 seemed safe to me. 3 seemed a stretch. I never did the math though, but I know that double the diameter is a lot more than double the volume... I believe doubling the diameter increases volume 4 times.

[nohajs]

Thanks for the reply Chexi.

I'm thinking if I can only run two pumps due to power, than I really only need one thru-hull. If I fill two bags at a time off one manifold than It should be plenty of water.

I've done alot of sprinklers and know that if your feeding two 3/4" valves off of a 1" line, there is plenty of water. BUT the water is under pressure from the line.?.

Did you vent all your bags? Check valves?

[steve-o]

You can run three simultaneously off 1 line.

[Chexi]

Thanks for the reply Chexi.

I'm thinking if I can only run two pumps due to power, than I really only need one thru-hull. If I fill two bags at a time off one manifold than It should be plenty of water.

I've done alot of sprinklers and know that if your feeding two 3/4" valves off of a 1" line, there is plenty of water. BUT the water is under pressure from the line.?.

Did you vent all your bags? Check valves?

Presently, 3 of my 4 fat sacs are vented. I have not vented ski locker sac. I may at some point, but since it is right at my feet and will start lifting the cover, I can see it getting full. Also, I have my ski locker and integrated bow sacs connected via a hose barb "T" which is fed by the 3rd pump. Between the T and the ski locker bag (which is a smaller bag) I put a ball valve. I figure that with some trial and error, I can open/close the valve to the point where the vented integrated bow sac will fill just a bit before the ski locker bag, at which point it will vent/overflow water out a thru-hull right behind the driver, so when I hear it, I stop.

I put a check an in-line check valve like they have at wakemakers on my integrated bow sac vent line. My rear sacs already had thru-hulls with checkvalves on them from the factory system that I pulled out.

The water coming in the thru-hull will only be under the pressure of the water trying to come in and sink the boat plus the suction of the impeller pumps, which is enough to be self priming.

[wcherashore]

chexi,

instead of t-ing the intake/drain lines to the belly and bow bags, have you thought about taking the intake for the bow and connecting it to the vent of the belly? That way the belly will fill up to capacity, then "vent" and fill the bow like a piggy-back system. Then water out of both vents would vent using the thru hull already connected to the bow bag.

[Chexi]

chexi,

instead of t-ing the intake/drain lines to the belly and bow bags, have you thought about taking the intake for the bow and connecting it to the vent of the belly? That way the belly will fill up to capacity, then "vent" and fill the bow like a piggy-back system. Then water out of both vents would vent using the thru hull already connected to the bow bag.

Yes. I tried that first, but I did not like the stress that put on the belly bag. Also, my belly bag is my one bag with garden hose fittings (connected to pro quick connects). The stress of filling that bag to max capacity can and did blow the adapter fitting off the bag.

I find the T to be a better all around design and would prefer it even if I did not have the garden hose fitting problem. With the T, I get faster filling, and with the ball valve in there, I get much more tweakability. If I want all the weight way up in the nose, I can just shut the ball valve completely. If I want it in the belly, I just open it all the way (the belly still fills a lot quicker... almost exclusively... than the bow when the valve is completely open). I suppose I could get perfect tweakability if I added another ball valve between the T and the bow sac, which would be easy and cheap enough to do.

[wake_fun]

Post pics when your done