Ballast quick disconnects keep popping off.

[wakefan]

Today I noticed a new quirk on my new(to me) boat. On both sides of the boat, at different times, the Quick disconnects on my fatsacs came off. More than once. I'm thinking it's the overflow connections as the are on top of the bags. The fittings are like what I've seen on other sites, with the little red color thingee you slide down to lock(hopefully) in place. Is there some other secret to using these things. Could I use zip ties or something to keep the collars from sliding off? Thank you!

[Infinity]

Never had this issue with mine. The overflow also acts as the air vent and since that is where they are popping, is it possible that your vent is plugged up so when filling it building pressure and forces them off? I would blow thru them to be sure overflow/vent line is not clogged with something. Clean off the male fitting on bag and inside of the female, but no reason you can't put something else around it to help keep the red collar from popping up and disconnecting tho

[wakefan]

Thank you!

That is an interesting point about the overflow being clogged. I will check that. I *think* some of it may have to do with bag placement. When they are full, there is not much, as in zero, slack, in the overflow line. In fact I have to spill water out into the bilge to get enough slack to reattach them. It looks like the bags go back, and then down a little slope, and I'm not sure how water would ever actually drain out of it, as the bottom of that slope is below the fill/drain point. I thought about just draining and pulling bags forward, but it seems they's just slide back down in there again. Any thoughts?

[Infinity]

If the vent lines are that tight then definitely contributing to them popping off, you could replace the hose to make them longer.
Not sure I totally understand what you are saying about the slope, assuming you have 1 pump that fills and drains, that fitting should be at lowest point so it drains the majority of the water. You may just need to re-adjust he bag placement which may also fix the vent lines being too short?
On my boat, against the engine dividers there is a section of my floor that steps down, probably about 4" wide X 4" deep. I got some large pool noodles, cut them to length to fit and keep them in that step down so the bag stays level

[wakefan]

Don't know if it helps or not, but here is a pic of the factory rear tank. The area where the fatsac sits above that tank, approximates the same curve at the rear of the boat. For whatever reason, water does not seem to be draining out of the area where the bag begins to slope down(as it follows that curve), I assume because there's no connection down there. I could be wrong though. It's like a big portion of the fat sac just slid down the slope. If I can get them emptied and pulled back into place, I'm going to try your pool noodle idea. I was wondering what I could use to block that area to help keep bags in place. That might be just the ticket. Thanks!

[wakefan]

After your suggestion, I found some foam rollers today and placed them at the bottom of that locker to help level out the bags. They seemed to drain much better. I never really thought about how close the starboard bag is to all the electrical stuff, and how big a mess that could have been. I think I'll still put some steel band clamps on the fittings, but I think the pulling away problem is resolved. Thanks again for the idea!

[Infinity]

Glad its working better! After looking at your pictures and seeing that seam at the top of the bag, I am wondering if the bag is laid in there wrong, typically the bag seams are at the bottom and top corners when laid in the locker so when filled it looks like a long rectangle with seams at the corners. Seam should not the center like above pic shows. If its in there wrong that could be part of the issue and why its not draining correctly. If you have a reversible impeller (like Ballast Puppy), then a single fitting fills and drains the bag and should be at the lowest, rear point of the bag. The overflow/vent....should be at the top of the bag so as the bag fills it can vent access air and fill full of water and so water wont come out of the overflow till bag is full. Make sense?
If your overflow/vent hose is too short that could be why the bag is situated like this (above pic looks like the vent is on the side of the bag where the big "dent" in the bag is) and I would extend the overflow/vent hoses on each side so you can set it up correctly since the more the ballast pump runs without the water flowing thru it, the quicker you will burn up the impeller. That is why you want the fill/drain at the bottom rear of the bag at lowest point possible on the back of the bag (but not under the bag).
Be careful using the steel clamps, if a sharp end catches the bag it could rip it