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Rear ballast addition


csparks13

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I need to add some extra ballast to the rear lockers. I have an 05 23 LSV. It have factory bow, center and rear tanks. The lockers have a ton of room also. I really like the idea of the wakemakers piggy back system. I read on here that the system is full of flaws. The thread was a few years old so I'm wondering if wakemakers updated the system since then. Anyone have better luck running that system or should I go a more traditional route and just add sacs and plum them up to a reversible pump. 

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I added the wakemarkers to out boat (but replaced the hard tanks since we have an 04') .... put 1100s back there, has worked great and was super easy to do.

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Rip out the hard tanks and put 1,100s in the rear.  Makes it easier/quicker to drain than having the gravity drain into the tank and then out the boat from the sac (piggy back system).  Very easy to do on an Axis.  Buddy just did it on his VLX which is I believe an 06 and said it wasn't tough.  Maybe an hour or 2 worth of work???  Plus you can just plumb the lines straight to the sac that were hooked up to the hard tank and gain even more room to store wakeboards/surfers in the rear.  One of the better things I did and wish I had done right when I got my boat from the factory.  

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On 5/3/2017 at 3:09 PM, ajf4242 said:

Rip out the hard tanks and put 1,100s in the rear.  Makes it easier/quicker to drain than having the gravity drain into the tank and then out the boat from the sac (piggy back system).  Very easy to do on an Axis.  Buddy just did it on his VLX which is I believe an 06 and said it wasn't tough.  Maybe an hour or 2 worth of work???  Plus you can just plumb the lines straight to the sac that were hooked up to the hard tank and gain even more room to store wakeboards/surfers in the rear.  One of the better things I did and wish I had done right when I got my boat from the factory.  

That exactly. Rid your boat of those hard tanks and thank yourself every day you ride

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I'm ok with the piggybacks. It's an imperfect system but it does work. I have a summer on mine. 

I would consider going to 1100's but if you want to get surf ready in like 30 minutes the piggyback is great. 

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08 23lsv....what fittings would I need if o ripped out the factory hard tanks and just went with the 1100s? Anything? Pics would help if someone has them. Also, will the display show the bags getting full if the factory lines are plumbed into the FH SACS? 

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The display won't work because the hard tanks have a float sensor in them similar to a gas tank. You will need to cut the wires for this and remove the float with the tank.

All my lines are 3/4" so below is what I needed.

- 1" threaded connection to 3/4" barb fitting this is for the drain pump 

- additional ballast line to reach the fittings on the sacs. The stuff I picked up came in 10' rolls and that was enough for a 06 vlx.

- then you will need fittings for connecting your sac to the drain line, fill line, and vent.

- also going to need a hand full of pipe clams. 

I have an 06 vlx and it has been a pretty easy project and a lot cheaper than piggy back system. Also Malibu did a good job with finishes below the floor so it still has a clean look after removing the floor and tank.

 

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7 hours ago, skylerchamblee said:

08 23lsv....what fittings would I need if o ripped out the factory hard tanks and just went with the 1100s? Anything? Pics would help if someone has them. Also, will the display show the bags getting full if the factory lines are plumbed into the FH SACS? 

Just to be sure you are following this correctly. When they say to take out the hard tanks, the earlier boats had above floor ballast tanks that took up most of the rear locker storage. We used to take them out and replace with 750 or 1100 lb ballast bags. The later boats, seems like it was after '05 or '06, had hard tanks under the floor and this is where the Piggy Back systems came into use. You filled the hard tank and then it overflowed into the ballast bag that the owner had to install.

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My 06 had the 250 below floor ballast on each side of the motor. I removed the floor and pulled the tanks. Keeping the floor out I went back in with 750 and going to see how that does this year or if I need to increase. 

This is cheaper than doing the piggy back, quicker fill and drain, and gives you a lot more storage area when traveling. I use to not be able to get a board in the back and now have plenty of room.

 

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17 hours ago, nschimm said:

The display won't work because the hard tanks have a float sensor in them similar to a gas tank. You will need to cut the wires for this and remove the float with the tank.

All my lines are 3/4" so below is what I needed.

- 1" threaded connection to 3/4" barb fitting this is for the drain pump 

- additional ballast line to reach the fittings on the sacs. The stuff I picked up came in 10' rolls and that was enough for a 06 vlx.

- then you will need fittings for connecting your sac to the drain line, fill line, and vent.

- also going to need a hand full of pipe clams. 

I have an 06 vlx and it has been a pretty easy project and a lot cheaper than piggy back system. Also Malibu did a good job with finishes below the floor so it still has a clean look after removing the floor and tank.

 

Thanks for the info!!!! 

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