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VTX Front Ballast Addition


wiscvtx

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Hi there...

I have an '08 VTX with factory center & rear MLS, but no bow ballast (even though it's on the MLS mux switch page).

Has anyone added a bow bag or hard tank to a VTX? Is there something that would fit under the seats, or in the center walkway? I'd prefer not to have a bag on top of the bow seats since we sometimes have riders up there.

Is there a way to control this via the mux switch?

Will this require drilling intake and discharge ports in the hull? My boat doesn't appear to have any unused (i.e. capped) ports.

Also looking to add additional rear ballast bags -- any recommendations regarding the piggyback approach?

Thanks.

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Hi there...

I have an '08 VTX with factory center & rear MLS, but no bow ballast (even though it's on the MLS mux switch page).

Has anyone added a bow bag or hard tank to a VTX? Is there something that would fit under the seats, or in the center walkway? I'd prefer not to have a bag on top of the bow seats since we sometimes have riders up there.

Is there a way to control this via the mux switch?

Will this require drilling intake and discharge ports in the hull? My boat doesn't appear to have any unused (i.e. capped) ports.

Also looking to add additional rear ballast bags -- any recommendations regarding the piggyback approach?

Thanks.

If you wanted a factory like hard tank setup then it would take a little work. You would need to remove the inner seat bases and fashion a center walkway blockoff and have a fill cushion made unless you already have one. The fill pump sits next to the mid tank pump in the compartment by the drivers seat, would require another hole. The drain and overflow sits next to the drain and overflow for the mid tank.

Some pictures of the tank

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/48632-front-tank-removal-vtx/

Edited by oldjeep
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Hi, I added an under seat bag in my 06 Vride. It is one like this http://www.wakemakers.com/fly-high-integrated-bow-sac.html , not sure if it would fit your boat. You should be able

to add it to the middle ballast tank so that the overflow of the middle tank goes to the fill on your new bag and the overflow of the new bag goes out the side of your boat using the existing

thru hull port. I had mine set up that way for a while but had some issues with getting both filled properly so I currently just fill my front under seat bag manually. (I believe my issue was

not venting the new bag properly but I plan to remedy that before next season) I am sure others on the site will chime in with their set-ups. If you did use the middle tank to

fill both then the switch that fills that one would obviously work for the new bag. Don't see why you would need to drill any new holes.

Good luck!

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You could use the bag above get a reversible pump and use the front drain plug with the tee handle as your intake run line to the pump line to bag and then Y into your existing vent line for the middle Tank. Just add a check valve before the Y. No drilling then.

I wouldn't waste you time with the piggy back , just go straight to the reversible pumps for the rear bags. Search the Brett B ballast install if you don;t want to drill holes. I did one last year that I wrote up as well. But I drilled holes.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/53669-vtx-ballast-install/

Edited by Chrisjjbrown
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Thanks to all for the feedback.

I like the idea of the underseat bag from WakeMakers -- will have to see if this will fit in my bow area, as space is fairly limited in that location. Wakemakers indicates that it might not fill all the way in a smaller space, but I should still get at least 400lbs of ballast.

I also like Chrisjjbrown's suggestion of using the front drain location and Y'ing into my center tank vent for the vent (along with the check valve, of course).

Is it possible to control a reversible pump with my existing mux switch setup? I have unused outputs on my Medallian control box for front ballast fill and drain pumps, but would need some sort of conversion circuit to adapt this to a reversible pump -- not sure if such a thing exists.

I didn't have any luck finding the Brett B ballast install thread; anyone have a link?

Regards.

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Hi, I added an under seat bag in my 06 Vride. It is one like this http://www.wakemakers.com/fly-high-integrated-bow-sac.html , not sure if it would fit your boat. You should be able

to add it to the middle ballast tank so that the overflow of the middle tank goes to the fill on your new bag and the overflow of the new bag goes out the side of your boat using the existing

thru hull port. I had mine set up that way for a while but had some issues with getting both filled properly so I currently just fill my front under seat bag manually. (I believe my issue was

not venting the new bag properly but I plan to remedy that before next season) I am sure others on the site will chime in with their set-ups. If you did use the middle tank to

fill both then the switch that fills that one would obviously work for the new bag. Don't see why you would need to drill any new holes.

Good luck!

You can try it the way I did it on my A22. I extended the fill line to my under seat bow sack so that it would reach the bow bag I put on top of the seats. I then connect a hose from top bag's drain port to the bottom bags old fill port. This is a short line on my set up, 4' long, and I put an inline ball valve on it to prevent self draining. The bottom bag has the stock vent line that I left alone. It was really easy to do, below is the link with pictures of it in the Axis forum. The way it works now is I hit front "fill" and the top bag fills, as it fills it also gravity drains into the original bottom sack. Once that bottom sack is completely full and vented it will completely fill the top sack. When I am emptying, the original drain pump will empty the bottom bag and the top bag will gravity drain through the bottom. It works out very well. Almost hands free, but I do go and burp the top bag at the very end to get a little bit more water into it, but that is not really necessary. This is how the original 'plug n play" for the rear lockers was set up.

After my first time out I learned that when I am underway, the weight of the water in the top bag forces water out the bottom bag vent, slowly, so I had to keep hitting "fill" throughout the day. To remedy this I put an inline ball valve between the two bags and once the bottom bag is completely full I close that valve and let the top bag fill. When underway this valve keeps the top bag from putting pressure into the bottom bag. When I go to drain it, I just open the valve.

http://www.axiswakeboardboats.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3328&start=10

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We have an '08 VTX and Zach at Edge Ski in Portage MI did this addition for me. We decided against the factory bow tank because it was major surgery and very little weight. I have a 400 lb sac in the walkway and the lines come through the netted gear area beside the driver. Using the MUX was not possible, but I don't remember the reason. Might have been my Medallion unit. We have a toggle under the throttle that works great. Reversible pump up under the helm. When the bag is empty, we can still use the air dam which is really nice. Sorry, no pics but it works great.

We also keep 150 lbs of lead in the bow for all sports.

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