Ballast Problem

I have a 2008 21v that I just got recently. I've only been out on it 3 times but....for some reason my left rear locker bag will not drain all of the way. It fills completely full fine but will only drain about half way or a little less. I can't seem to get it to drain fully. Anyone have any ideas? Is the problem because of the sprinkler valve system SC used?

*Disclaimer: I am not an expert mechanical person. I have limited knowledge and experience working on motors and such. You'll have to use layman's terms if you try to explain anything or help out.


I have family members and friends that are all the mechanical gurus that help out. I'm hoping my buddy can take a look soon. I'm still learning my boat obviously.

When we are draining our bags, Admiral controls the switches at the helm. I stand on the swim platform. As the bags get less water (1/4 left in them) I gently lift the bow side and pull toward the stern so all the water runs to the drain line. This gets most of the water out. I think others have built a plywood style platform that has slope to it and put the bags on it.

I don't worry about what is left until the end of summer. Then I will disconnect the bags and drain and store.

Yeah I wasn't to worried about the leftover water except it was quite a bit. (and it's extra weight to trailer the boat with) The right starboard side drains fine, so I found it odd that the port would not. Perhaps I will try your trick and pick up the bow side of the bag to ensure all of the water is forced toward the drain hoses in the stern. Next year I'll perform the ballast pump upgrade with the tsunami's since the majority opinion on the sprinkler valve system is "they suck!"

Thanks jzelt.

The ballast pump upgrade won't have anything to do with the dumping of the bags. There are 3 separate livewell pumps that pump the water out.

I've built a set of ramps for the bags in my compartments. When the pumps work right, all the water comes out of the bags.

I also did this which helps drain about 95%, would also recommend the ramps that John made to make it even more efficient.... this setup is also nice if you ever need to replace a pump its readily accessible and it also keeps the pumps out of the hot engine compartment.

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Originally Posted by Fman

I also did this which helps drain about 95%, would also recommend the ramps that John made to make it even more efficient.... this setup is also nice if you ever need to replace a pump its readily accessible and it also keeps the pumps out of the hot engine compartment.

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FMAN, so you added additional Tsunami pumps to the drain hose to get it to drain better? (i think that is what I am seeing in your pics).

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Originally Posted by cigars n scotch

FMAN, so you added additional Tsunami pumps to the drain hose to get it to drain better? (i think that is what I am seeing in your pics).

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What I did was replace the 750 RULEs with 800 Tsunamis and placed the pump directly off the bags. There is still only one pump for each bag to drain. Your rule pump right now is located in the engine compartment area. Having the pumps directly off the bags seems to help drain them a little more efficiently, and as I mentioned makes it easy to replace and keeps them out of the hot engine compartment. I went to this system because it seems to prime much easier being closer to bags. I was having problems with it loosing prime with the stock system.

Building the ramps would also be recommended, I still cant get 100% of the water out.... probably around 90-95% will drain out right now. At the end of the day I do have to lift the bags and get the remaining water out.

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Originally Posted by jonyb

You can swap solenoids, or even replace the one that's bad, but it's all just gonna happen again. have you checked out what it consists of? there's 1 intake that goes to a manifold. That manifold feeds 3 sprinkler valves (that can be bought at a hardware store). Each switch turns the pump on, but also depending on the switch opens the sprinkler valve to allow water to flow to the bag. Sometimes these valves get trash in them, or just quit working. They belong in the ground, not in a boat. to troubleshoot, you can swap the valves around to see if that moves the problem to another area.

In my boat, I just have to isolate the water from the intake valve because like I said, my crap never works right and I'm just tired of messing with it.

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I have an 04 GG and my right rear will fill but not drain. Any quick things to check? Where is the solenoid?

For dumping it should have its own pump, which would be on the transom in the bilge. I went through 4 of those crappy things last year. Hopefully I can afford to upgrade all m stuff this year and not have to deal with any more ballast failures.

Having the pumps that close to the engine compartments exposes them to a lot of heat. Would recommend running the directly off the bag. The aerator pumps have a difficult time draining bags because they do not self prime. Once they loose the prime it is difficult to get them going again. If your bags are not vented properly and you are getting air pockets this will also cause problems. Try stepping on the bag to force water into the pump, usually once you get a prime it will start to drain out. Also might want to check for any debris that could be caught up inside the pump area.

If I ever add pumps again they will be Impeller driven, they self prime and will remove all the water out of the bags. They have been getting really good reviews from '09 and later Supra/Moomba owners. Only downfall to them is they can toast impellers if ran dry. For $100 extra per pump you can get timers for them to eliminate this from happening. They are more expensive but are simple and require no vented loops, and drain and fill out the same port.