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Where to put ports on custom wakemakers bags?


Chatty21VLX

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I am looking to get some ballast bags for my rear lockers. I have a battery in each locker, and don't want to cover them with a big bag of water, so I can't find a stock size bag to fit my needs. I need a 30" bag to fit in front of my batteries. I see they sell a 30x20x20, but i'm not sure if that would put too much pressure on my engine compartment dividers. I think 30x18x18 would be perfect. If I order the custom ones, where should I put the ports, aND how many? At first I will use an overboard pump, but if things work out like I hope, I will probably permanently plumb them in.

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if you don't want to drill any holes you can use the existing drain and vent lines you will just have to put in one way valves on the existing lines so they won't be filling while the other new line(s) are draining over the side. If you go with a reversible pump(s) a fill/drain hole will have to be drilled, but you are only drilling one hole that way. I did a reversible pump and tied into an existing vent line with a one way valve for a purge/safety valve just to be safe. Not needed, but it does give me piece of mind because there are some distractions on a boat! :)

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6 minutes ago, wdr said:

if you don't want to drill any holes you can use the existing drain and vent lines you will just have to put in one way valves on the existing lines so they won't be filling while the other new line(s) are draining over the side. If you go with a reversible pump(s) a fill/drain hole will have to be drilled, but you are only drilling one hole that way. I did a reversible pump and tied into an existing vent line with a one way valve for a purge/safety valve just to be safe. Not needed, but it does give me piece of mind because there are some distractions on a boat! :)

Maybe I should clarify... my boat, 2001 vlx, only has the ski locker bag. No stock ballast in the lockers. On the wakemakers custom bag page, you have to tell them how many ports you want made into the bag, and where you want them on the bag. My question is, with the possibility of permanently plumbing them in the future, where are the best places to put the ports, and how many should I get in each bag?

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The back side of the boat will always be the lowest end at rest so, IIWM the drain fitting should/would go on the rear of the bag and the vent and fill inlets top center. Because you are initially going over the side to fill and drain until you upgrade you would most likely have to add a length of hose to the bottom port and inlet fitting to attach to the pump to be able to drain it correctly. With a fill and vent inlet on top you can unscrew the vent cap and monitor it while you are filling. Once you upgrade you can either hard plumb in a dedicated vent line or stick with a screw cap vent both options will work fine. If I had it to do over again (for an aerator style pump only) I would put my fill port on the opposite end of the bag for the fill line. That way I wouldn't be messing with 2 inlets with lines (fill/vent) on the top of the bag. I am running a 3/4 fill line from my old aerator style pump to augment my reversible with 1" line on my 1100 and I have both lines crossing each other and occasionally tangling. My only concern with a bottom fill port on an aerator style pump is that they are kind of wimpy and might have trouble over coming the water pressure when filling from the weight of the water in the bag BICBW. Bottom line is you cant go wrong with the traditional 3 ports as it gives you other options later on.

Edited by wdr
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