Piggyback burp?

[jlliles87]

I installed a piggyback setup on my 211 a couple weeks ago and have been out 3 times since. My bags fill up with air pretty quickly and I have been burping each one twice while filling so far and then killing my pumps when the bag gets full but water has yet to come out my thru-hull vent. Do you guys burp the bags or no? A friend with a tankbuster package said she doesn't ever burp her setup. I have been doing so out of fear that my bags will burst at the seams if I don't.

My bags being full is also the reason I kill the pumps before water has had a chance to come through the check valve to the thru-hull vent. Am I being overly cautious on these two issues? I would like for the filling process to be more autonomous and worry-free than it has been for me so far because I go back and forth during filling to burp the bags and be sure I kill the pumps before I over fill the bags (if that is such a thing)

While I'm at it, draining has been pretty worrisome so far too since I've read about the collapsing tank issue but I'm not sure if that the included check valves fixed that issue or no? Wakemakers told me the collapsing tank shouldn't be a problem unless I "continued running the pumps long after both tanks have emptied." Figured I should double check here. I wish WakeMakers would include operating instructions with installation instructions on these things.

[XBIGPUN66]

I think perhaps the vent hose may be getting a kink in it when the bag expands while filling.

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[jlliles87]

Thanks for the info. There is a ton of extra hose for that part of the setup too so I probably need to cut that some of that slack out

[XBIGPUN66]

When I plumbed in 1100 bags in my (previous) 2004 SANTE I made sure the vent hose outlet was positioned near the top bow portion of the bag and made sure the hose would not kink for the range of travel with bag empty or full. I had to reorient some of the hoses from the previous 750 bag confuguration.

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[swatguy]

You shouldn't need to burp a bag with a vent port out the side , The water pressure itself should force the air out. If it's not then your vent hose is being linked or smushed somehow and you need to find a solution to that.

Second. There are fe ways to ease you mind about tank collapse. One has been to insert a pvc pipe (diameter to fit in one of the ports ). Drill multiple holes in the tube, And cut it just short of length of theses and stick it inside the sac.

Second is to replace the vent like with a new one from wakemakes that has built in checkvalves to or event the bag from sucking itself together and air locking

[Evening Shade]

If your vent hoses from Wakemakers have one way check valves in them make sure it is easy to blow air through the valve. Mine didn't work properly. They wouldn't open to let the air escape as the sack filled. I talked to Wakemakers about it and we couldn't come up with a solution. The valve supposedly only needs about 1 psi of pressure to open, but that wasn't the case with the ones I had. I removed the one way check valves and installed pvc ball valves in their place. You have to manually open the ball valve when you fill and drain and close the ball valve when the sack is full.

[jlliles87]

Why did you go get a pvc ball valve? Was it that WakeMakers wouldn't send a replacement valve or you didn't want to wait or some other reason? Just curious.

[Evening Shade]

Wakemakers sent me all new piggyback kits because the 1st ones I got were assembled wrong. The one way valve was in the wrong location. It would allow the sack to fill, but wouldn't let it drain.

On the second kits the valve just wouldn't open when the sack was filling. They said it would eventually "break in", but I got tired of waiting and went with the ball valve.

[jlliles87]

what size ball valve did you have to use? did you get one where the hose fits over the valve, or a conventional one where the hose slides inside the ball valve?

[antgarcia]

I think you need to check the valve.

[Evening Shade]

what size ball valve did you have to use? did you get one where the hose fits over the valve, or a conventional one where the hose slides inside the ball valve?

I think they are 3/4" inside diameter ball valves. I had to glue a 2" piece of pvc pipe into both ends of the ball valve an insert the pvc pipe into the hoses and secure with hose clamps. I did it that way because I couldn't find a ball valve that came with barbed ends that would fit the 1" hoses.

[jlliles87]

I meant to update this a few weeks ago, I tested my check valve like somebody recommended and technically they worked, but they were really tough to open. The real problem was they couldn't drain as fast as the pumped filled the bag which explained why I was having to burp them. I tried to loosen them but it was a headache to loosen them and install them back on the line while still keeping the valve loose.

So I followed Shade's path and replaced the overflow check valve with a ball valve. That way I could operate worry free but with the downside of having to open the compartments and open the valve during filling and close the valve when finished.

Additionally, I had to relocate the valve because mine were so close to the thru hull fitting that full ballast bags would cover up the valve and I wouldn't be able to close them. For that part, I bought some hose clamps and 1 inch male thread union fittings. I had a ton of slack between the other check valve and the thru hull fitting so I cut a couple feet of slack out and coupled them together using the 1" union fitting and hose clamps. Next I cut out the male fitting the check valve attaches to. I then used the slack I cut out and another union fitting to add the piece inline where the overflow check valve is located. Then I put the male fitting I just removed onto the open end of the hose I just attached and connected my ball valve
.