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2012 VLX integrated ballast install


Brett B

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That Y-valve should work but will slow down your flow rate from the pump. It will also double your fill times since you have to wait for one bag to finish before starting the next one. By using 1 pump per bag I can go from empty to full with 3600lbs of ballast in about 6 minutes. The 1000lb bow triangle is what takes the longest, the rear 750's are done well before that.

I did not use the wakemakers switch adaptors, I just wired it per a standard 3-way switch wiring diagram using spade connectors. You can find some diagrams here:

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=7670

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Thanks for the reply Brett. If using the valve to switch the rear pump from the back left bag to the front, do you think that I would experience any problems with filling or draining since I will be using at least 15ft of hose that will be run up to the bow on the drivers side? It should be a pretty straight from the rear to the bow and I should not have any extreme bends but I noticed that you used an anti-siphon hose on your front. I believe this is my best option if I do not want to add a stand alone pump for the front.

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The reversible pumps can push a lot of head pressure so you shouldn't have problems but I haven't tried it before. Priming to drain should be ok as you have the head pressure from the sac back to the pump. Make sure you use 1" hose to minimize losses with that long of a hose run. Also, you want a solid hose that isn't going to collapse under vacuum when draining that long of a line, so make sure it's reinforced hose. The wakemakers stuff is really good and worth buying considering the time it takes to do the install.

The anti-siphon valve you see in the picture is actually the factory one for the front tank. I didn't use those with my reversible pump install anywhere as they aren't needed. The picture is a bit deceiving, if you look closely you can see that hose isn't hooked up to the Johnson pump. There is just a lot of stuff in a tight space back there. Aaron also thought I had used one when he was looking through my pictures.

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Perfect. Also could you tell me where you tapped into the power and ground for the switches? Did you use an inline fuse at the switches or at the power connection?

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Power from the main bus leading to the factory circuit breaker panel, inline fuses before each switch. Ground to the bus bar under the dash.

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Brett, would you please tell me which connections you used the marine grade silicone on in addition to the thru hull?

Edit: I went ahead and used the silicone on most of my connections but I do not think I will be using it on the connection on the fat sac.

Another question for you regarding the picture below. I have my pump mounted in the same location but I am concerned with if I route the pipe around the square box and into the bag will it pull on the bag connection. Did you heat the pipe to get it to bend this way? Roughly how much pipe do you have going from the pump to the bag?

15908251_large.jpg

Edited by BlitzedVLX
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  • 3 months later...

Bakes sells this Ball Valve http://bakesonline.c...il.aspx?ID=1220



Its SS. Why would you screw a SS ball valve into a Brass thru hull fitting? Dis-similar metals = Corrosion.



Im thinking of going to HD getting a 1" Brass ball valve and reduce it to 3/4" then hook my 1" hose to that.



Also any difference with Clear/ Black hose and Black hose


Edited by 747captain
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A stainless ball valve with the brass thru-hull is fine for this application. Stainless and brass are pretty close to each other in terms of their anodic index, and this is a fresh water environment. 200 hours later and I do not have any galvanic corrosion issues.

Edited by Brett B
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Reversible pump setups don't auto-fill or empty while the boat is under way?

Also, how slow do you need to be moving to fill efficiently?

No they do not auto-fill or empty while the boat is under way.

I typically fill at idle, but have filled the bags while riding at wakeboarding speeds to even the wake out.

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Does anybody have evidence of this actually happening?

According to this chart the Johnson pump will produce a max head pressure of about 20-24 psi (exact model not shown). I am highly doubtful that the bag and fittings will be bursting at only 20 psi.

http://www.johnson-pump.com/jpmarine/products/refueling/refueling.html

I do... My fill lines are 1" and my vents are 3/4" (tying into existing vents). If you leave the system filling on the 1" lines eventually the 3/4" vent fitting will pop out of the bag. Takes a while but it can happen.

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Here are some pictures. Bow bag, not quite 100% full in this one:

8735127497_43758231c1_c.jpg

Rear 750's, probably about 95% full:

8736250700_242c1d1dfc_c.jpg

8736247746_132e454011_c.jpg

I never have a good photographer on board to get a good picture of the wake, but it's nuts!

Brett, wow that is a lot of weight... Can you actually plane out the boat with monsoon 350? If my math is correct 2150lbs in bags, 1250lbs hard tank, plus wedge = 3800-4000lbs!? Plus passengers, gear and fuel... Wake must be ridiculous!

Running paddle wheel or gps cruise?

Sent from Samsung Galaxy S3

Edited by Fman
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Yes, with only a few people on board (2-4), I can fill everything, with the wedge down (using autowedge), and still plane out just fine using the 2315 prop and the Monsoon 350. When I first tested the 2315 it took 18 seconds to plane out with everything full, wedge down, 3/4 fuel, plus 400 lbs of people weight. With the 1235 prop I could only fill the rear bags about half way, and if I have a lot of people on board I can't fill the additional ballast all the way.

Paddle wheel cruise and it works great even with all the extra weight.

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We'll this looks like a good winter project. Guess I'll get started after Christmas if I have any $$$ left.

Thanks for the info.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

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"I then ran the hose from the ball valve up thru the stringer to under the dash. This was the hardest part and it took quite a bit of work."

I'm thinking about doing this, any tips?

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  • 8 months later...

Bakes sells this Ball Valve http://bakesonline.c...il.aspx?ID=1220

Its SS. Why would you screw a SS ball valve into a Brass thru hull fitting? Dis-similar metals = Corrosion.

I noticed this weekend that even the factory ballast pumps are using SS ball valves with brass thru-hull fittings, so apparently Malibu doesn't think this is a problem either.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Brett, this post has been a great read, just wanted to pick your brain as i have been lucky enough to just pick up a boat almost identical to yours 2012 VLX, Monsoon 350, power wedge, 4 bult in tanks and has also had professionaly fitted extra bags - 2 in back lockers 1 for walkway and 1 up front. we went out yesterday for first time (bring on summer in Oz) and dialed in a great wakeboard wake however we struggled when playing for a wakesurf wake, any idea's on which tanks and bags to fill % and where to run wedge???

Thanks,

Daryl..

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sorry for being ignorant, but how are most people tapping into power? Are you installing a separate power bus somewhere and running that directly off the battery? Or are you tapping in somewhere else?

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Sorry for being ignorant, but how are most people tapping into power? Are you installing a separate power bus somewhere and running that directly off the battery? Or are you tapping in somewhere else?

I really like this: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Blade-Block/dp/B000THQ0CQ

  • Like 2
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Why not just grab power from the Buss Bar underneath the throttle. It already has 2 awg or 0 awg coming from an 80 amp breaker right next to the batteries. I run three reversible pumps from this point and have never had the boat show low voltage or cause any issues with all three pumps running at once. Couple ring terminals, some 25 amp black fuses and run power to the switch. You can also get the ground from the buss bar under the dash.

  • Like 1
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Why not just grab power from the Buss Bar underneath the throttle. It already has 2 awg or 0 awg coming from an 80 amp breaker right next to the batteries. I run three reversible pumps from this point and have never had the boat show low voltage or cause any issues with all three pumps running at once. Couple ring terminals, some 25 amp black fuses and run power to the switch. You can also get the ground from the buss bar under the dash.

So if you run all 3 at once you have 5a of headroom for the whole helm bus?

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