2001 san ballast

[hyparks]

Hi. Can anyone tell me exactly how my ballast works? It's got the sea **** and there is two knobs under the stereo. Also a fill and empty button on the keypad.

Reason i ask is because I recently brought my boat and I opened the sea ****. Opened the knobs (counter clockwise) and when driving along the gauges never moved and it appeared to have no water in the tanks. The pumps were not working either. I have since replaced the pumps but not had chance to test yet.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

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[Chexi]

Check to make sure the main ball valve on the thru-hull is open (lever should be in line with the pipe, not at a 90 degree angle). Also you need to be moving about 20mph to fill without pumps. I never know which way is open on the handles on these old systems, so just try both. It may take a minute or two for the gauges to register anything. They are not terribly accurate.

Also, this is the part where wakefun will chime in and advise you to rip those hard tanks out and put in a bag system, preferably using impeller pumps, and that would be good advice.

[hyparks]

Hi thanks for reply. As I live in the UK and petrol prices are ridiculous, the boat runs on lpg and petrol. So have got a 60 litre lpg tank either side of the engine situated ontop of the ballast tanks. So it might not be an option for me to change to bags unless I had some sort of frame built to sit the lpg tanks on.

Thanks

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[jchamlin]

The two knobs under the stereo are a little counter intuitive...at least to me. I have a 2000 Air. When you unscrew the valves, it closes the system, so it's more / very difficult for water to get into the ballast. When you screw in / tighten the knobs, it opens the system so it's easy to get water in there.

So screw in the knobs and make sure the valve in the engine compartment is open (in-line) with the pipe and give it a try. You need to be moving to prime the pumps but once you get on plane, the ballast should start filling up regardless of whether the pumps are working.

If everything is working, you'll hear a gurgling noise coming from the air line near the driver seat, assuming you have all the knobs and levers in the right position. I'm also assuming the 2000 and 2001 are the system setup.

Clear as mud?

[Chexi]

Hi thanks for reply. As I live in the UK and petrol prices are ridiculous, the boat runs on lpg and petrol. So have got a 60 litre lpg tank either side of the engine situated ontop of the ballast tanks. So it might not be an option for me to change to bags unless I had some sort of frame built to sit the lpg tanks on.

Thanks

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I would be a little concerned about filling the LPG tanks on top of the ballast tanks unless there some additional support there. The tanks are not that strong and could crack under the weight.

[hyparks]

I would be a little concerned about filling the LPG tanks on top of the ballast tanks unless there some additional support there. The tanks are not that strong and could crack under the weight.

I hope it is all ok as it was a Nautique main dealer who fitted the lpg system for me. I believe it is boarded across the ballast tanks and the lpg is ontop of that. Also extra weight means more ballast. Lol

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[hyparks]

Thanks for your help guys. Will try at weekend.

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[DanielC]

You have two pumps, in the bilge, and the out of both pumps is hosed to push into out port on the other pump. The in port on the fill pump connects to the through hull fitting. The in port in the drain pump connects to a "T", and then a hose goes to the bottom of both the port, and starboard tanks. Turning on the fill pump pushes water through the drain pump, and turning on the drain pump pushes water through the fill pump.
The valves by the helm control vents on the top of the tanks. If you do not open the air valve, nothing happens, the fill pump cannot force water into the tank against air pressure, nor can the drain pump suck water out against the vacuum that forms in the tanks.
If you leave the valves open, water will get forced into the tanks when you are moving forward, but when you. stop moving, the water will siphon back out of the tanks. You do not need the pumps to fill, or drain the tanks, but using them speeds up the process.
If you close the through hull valve, you stop water flow. The tanks stay full, or drained.
If you close the vent valves only, the tanks will fill slightly, or drain slightly, but not much.

[hyparks]

That's great. Thanks very much. Now I understand how they work. Cant wait to get it set up properly now.

Thanks again

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[hyparks]

Is there any way I can test my ballast gauges as they appear to not be working. Can I short something to see if the needle moves etc?
Thanks
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[ers906]

I would recommend one of those intake things that look likle a plunger and has a hose attatchment. Typically used for the intake for the engine to run while you are out of the water. For the life of me cannot remember what they are called, but I have used them to work on the ballast system.

[hyparks]

Fake a lake?

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[ers906]

Exactly. Couldnt remember the name for the life of me

[hyparks]

Been playing around with the ballast on the lake today and im not sure if its working correctly. i started to fill the tanks and eventually had water trickling out of the hole on the starboard side by the driver seat. It was only trickling out though and not spraying. Is this correct?

I also noticed that the tanks had actually expanded. In previous posts i had stated i have an lpg tank either side of the engine ontop of the tanks. These had raised up so the ballast tank had definately expanded. Is this normal or am i getting an air lock?

Also i dont seem to be able to empty the tanks. I hear the pump running but no water is coming out of the hull. Also the only pumps i can see and hear are the 2 white ballast pumps on the port side of the engine at the bottom. Is one fill and one empty or are they both fill pumps and theres another pump for empty?

Also do both bilge pumps pump out of the same hole of the hull?

Sorry theres alot of questions.

Thanks guys!

[Chexi]

There only 2 pumps for the entire system. One is fill and the other is empty. You have to use them in conjunction with the vent switches. To fill or empty you need the vent switches open. Close them whenever you want things to stay as they are. Water cannot fill or empty with them closed.

If you saw a trickle, there is no air block. To should be able to empty simply by opening the vent switches. You don't even need the empty pump. In fact you Don't really need the fill either. They just make filling and emptying go faster. Note, to fill you need to be moving around 20 moh and to empty you need to be at rest.