2019 Super Air Nautique GS24 Ballast Sender Issues ??

[drjcahoon]

I’m not very handy or knowledgeable about the ballast system in my boat. An inspection station officer filled our ballasts between 30-40% (according to the sensor) to disinfect our ballasts coming out of state into Montana. He then asked me to drain them but they were mostly sputtering with very little water coming out even though the ballast levels lowered on the screen. So I don’t know if all 3 senders aren’t working properly (which seems odd??). I’m scared to fill the ballasts to surf in case they won’t empty, as we tube 80% and surf only about 20% of the time, and we are pulling the boat in and out of the lake every day for a week, so we just did some tubing for a few hours. How do I know if my ballasts are actually empty or not?

The attached image shows what the readings in the power diagnostics screen show, so are they not getting the correct voltage to empty, and if so, what could be a likely cause?

Going to try the local dealer in the morning, but they usually aren’t very helpful if we haven’t bought the boat from them…

Thanks in advance

[Scooter G]

Just thinking out loud, same pumps fill as do drain. If you are able to fill, you should be able to drain. I believe your system is based on timers, not actual fill levels. What method did border patrol use to fill, and I'm assuming you ran the pumps while they were doing this? If your pumps were sputtering, along with the groaning we are empty sound, whatever they were doing didn't work out as intending. These guys are shift work and don't always know exactly what they are doing, but always super nice. Pull the floor over one of the rear bags, just a few screws with a screw gun, render a visual. If your visual inspection shows that you have a partial fill, then I am way off coarse. But honestly, I think you are in ok shape here. Worst case scenario your pump impellers are shot, if you show water in the ballast, pull a pump cover for impeller inspection, 3 screws, easy stuff. I would cycle a complete fill and drain on your next run, it may take a couple of times to reset the timers. Fill until water starts to come out of each overflow port, drain until the pumps just start to groan.

[drjcahoon]

The inspector ended up filling the tanks from underneath the boat as the pumps were on to fill. Water went in (it wasn’t splashing back at him) for all 3 for the 2-3 minutes he filled from beneath.

i will try cycling a full fill and drain and reset the timers.

Are those normal values in the power diagnostics for the 3 ballast senders (pictured in the attachment in my original post)?

[BasaltRMK]

Agreed with everything that Scooter G said, but adding some addition context as well. Below is my opinion and understanding, I'm not a mechanic and apologies if anything is incorrect.

We often run into a similar scenario when we get our boat decontaminated; we "fill" the bags to 30-40%, but don't get that much water out when we drain. I believe that this is totally normal - here's our scenario: our ANS/decon folks put the plunger on the through-hull intake and we turn the corresponding ballast pump on to fill. However, they're supplying low pressure water to a poorly fitting upside-down plunger, so we're not actually pulling in nearly as much water, or as quickly, as we would if we were actually pulling from the lake. Plus, the boat is at a different angle on the trailer than it is in the lake. And as Scooter point our, the % fill numbers on the Linc are based on timers, not an actual percentage full. So, when your screen says you're at 30% full at the decon station, you're likely only 5% full or so. And, given that the G uses bags, not tanks, and you're at a weird angle on the trailer, you're not going to get a ton of water back out.

I'm guessing your ballast pumps and pressure senders are fine, I'd feel free surfing. Like Scooter mentioned, once you hear the 'groan', the bags are empty. But use my advice at your own risk!

Good luck,

- bob

[Scooter G]

I like it!
If they are not getting much water in then it seems like this is more like a going through the motions action, rather than a proactive approach to the remedy towards a problem. We don't see that approach to anything else in our system, lol. Not a rant, just a perspective observation.
We hit a high mountain lake in August that inspects prior to the entry, I wonder if they are doing the flush this year, and my timers are currently dialed in to perfection, or they were...

[hal2814]

Only thing I'll add is there's a little voodoo involved in the ballast percentage. It's not strictly timer-based. It's also not strictly sensor-based. The amount each contributes to the ballast level is not public information. Also, additional ballast will throw off the sensor/timer combo.