Ballast Upgrade

[jclose8]

This thread is in addition to Fman's excellent thread. I have a '99 Santera that came with no ballast system. One of the main differences between the old Santera and the newer 22SSV's is the placement of the fuel tank. In my Santera, the fuel tank is in the front, leaving a ton of room to work under the floor. This same principle will work on any boat, but the installation will be a little tight in some applications and you may have to modify the design of the manifold.

I have a main water inlet which is a 1- 1/4" scoop through hull. To alleviate the water pressure that Fman addressed by grinding the scoop off, I simply drilled two 1/2" holes in the back of the scoop.

Next in line from the inlet is an electrically actuated gate valve. This is the main water shutoff and is controlled from the driver's seat. To fill the ballast, open the valve (the switch lights up as an alert that the valve is open). When the ballast is full, simply shut off the pumps and shut the valve. http://www.rvupgradestore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=290

I personally used check valves to ensure that water could not drain back out, but the vented loops would work just as well. Even the check valves are probably unnecessary on my system, since the gate valve would stop any water from getting out.

The empty pumps are attached to each individual sack, and the vent lines are T'd into the drain lines so that I only have one through hull fitting per sack. Again, I used check valves to ensure that the empty pump couldn't pump water back into the sack.

It's been a pretty bulletproof system.... I don't really have any complaints in 5 seasons of use. It is fast, reliable and nearly foolproof.

[jclose8]

Here is a crude diagram of the layout:

http://i25.tinypic.com/hx0rko.jpg

The intake manifold with the 3 fill pumps:

http://i26.tinypic.com/j10xfq.jpg

These are the rear sacks, showing the empty pumps and vent lines. Notice the check valves to prevent backfilling:

http://i26.tinypic.com/zwdnx0.jpg

http://i26.tinypic.com/107w9sg.jpg

[jclose8]

Control switches:

http://i26.tinypic.com/281d6pj.jpg

These are the type of through hulls I used for the drain:

http://i28.tinypic.com/23vet74.jpg

Here is the front sack. It is a Pro-X integrated bow sack. It fits remarkably well in my boat, and fills pretty much completely. Unfortunately, with the gas tank in front, I have no "ski locker" so I'm pretty much limited to this type of sack for front ballast. No problems, though... it works great.

http://i31.tinypic.com/w8l106.jpg

[Fman]

Looks like a very nice system you have built there. I like the electic gate valve to open and close your system. My next project is going to be adding vent lines to the bags, I just ordered the parts a couple days ago, should be here by the end of the week.

After this is complete, I think my ballast system will be set up well, and in my opinion will be much better than the stock Supra system.

[jclose8]

Looks like a very nice system you have built there. I like the electic gate valve to open and close your system. My next project is going to be adding vent lines to the bags, I just ordered the parts a couple days ago, should be here by the end of the week.

After this is complete, I think my ballast system will be set up well, and in my opinion will be much better than the stock Supra system.

Almost anything is better than the sprinkler valve system. It is just unreasonably slow.

With the addition of vent lines, yours should be just about perfect.

[KY Steve]

Does the single intake handle all three pumps running at the same time?

System looks good, just need to adjust for my limited space.

[jclose8]

Does the single intake handle all three pumps running at the same time?

System looks good, just need to adjust for my limited space.

Yup, no problem. If you wanted to, you could use a 1 1/2" intake instead of the 1 1/4" that I used. That would allow a little more flow. Actually, at this point I really can't remember my reasoning for using 1 1/4.... A little lower price maybe?

[KY Steve]

I would like to use my current intake but not sure if I have enough room for the manifold and 3 pumps, might have to move it or add a second. Don't know if the original is a 1-1/4" or 1-1/2".

Thanks to both you and Fman for posting your mods, they are all great ideas. Now looking forward to a fun winter project. :)

[tg0824SSVGG]

You think drilling a 1.5 inch hole in the bottom of your baby is FUN??? LOL

[KY Steve]

You think drilling a 1.5 inch hole in the bottom of your baby is FUN??? LOL

I've owned many boats and have drilled many holes, look around your own boat and notice all the holes in it. No big deal, a boat has to have them.

Plus, fiberglass is very easy to repair if you need to fill them later. I would rather drill and install myself to make sure its done right rather than have someone else do it. ;)