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Ballast bag piggyback system


Todd199

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I have a 2008 VTX  with  hard tanks and a piggyback bag on top.  I just bought the boat. My question: it seems to fill the bag first but i'm not sure if it fills simultaneously or bags first or hard tank first???  Also how can i can I check the hard tank is filling.

 

Thanks

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I don't know if your Malview screen shows percentage full of tanks (I know the 2010 model does). fill pump is next to transmission in bilge, check to see if it goes to the hard tank or bag. You should be filling hard tank first then bag. If it is filling bag first, you are probably getting air locked and not filling completely. Eventually it will burp... but takes forever and you will notice the bag will need to be filled again. 

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It depends on how your pumps are set up.  When mine fills, the bags fill completely first.  Then they overflow into the tanks, and I can see the tanks fill on my screen, then once water is coming out the side of the boat it's completely full.  When draining, my bags drain first, then the factory tanks.  Again, you can see when it's totally empty on the screens and I always double check to make sure my bags got completely emptied as well.  

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19 hours ago, Sixer said:

It depends on how your pumps are set up.  When mine fills, the bags fill completely first.  Then they overflow into the tanks, and I can see the tanks fill on my screen, then once water is coming out the side of the boat it's completely full.  When draining, my bags drain first, then the factory tanks.  Again, you can see when it's totally empty on the screens and I always double check to make sure my bags got completely emptied as well.  

2008 and 2014 have totally different screens. Not sure 2008 has a view for tanks. I highly doubt you are filling bags first as this will cause the tanks to air lock. On drain, you are draining tank first but bag is draining into tank.. I promise you

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I am 100% certain that my bags fill first, the tanks have vents and haven't been air locked.  For example I can just fill the bags, turn pumps off, and leave the hard tanks empty.  Then if I drive around like that, eventually the bags will be really low, and the bags passively drain into the tanks as there is room in the tanks.  On the draining side of things you are right.  There is a pump emptying the bag into the hard tank, and another pump draining the hard tank out the side of the boat.  

Edited by Sixer
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ahopkins22LSV
2 hours ago, Sixer said:

I am 100% certain that my bags fill first, the tanks have vents and haven't been air locked.  For example I can just fill the bags, turn pumps off, and leave the hard tanks empty.  Then if I drive around like that, eventually the bags will be really low, and the bags passively drain into the tanks as there is room in the tanks.  On the draining side of things you are right.  There is a pump emptying the bag into the hard tank, and another pump draining the hard tank out the side of the boat.  

Did you do your own install for plug and play? To my knowledge that’s never how the factory has set it up. 

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22 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Did you do your own install for plug and play? To my knowledge that’s never how the factory has set it up. 

Nope......one of the best dealerships in the country did it for me......

Edited by Sixer
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Now I'm wondering if I should have fill times that are way less than what mine are?  So if someone can fill me in I'd appreciate it......it's supposed to fill both the hard tank and the PNP bags at the same time?  And also empty them at the same time??  

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On 3/24/2020 at 3:43 PM, kerpluxal said:

2008 and 2014 have totally different screens. Not sure 2008 has a view for tanks. I highly doubt you are filling bags first as this will cause the tanks to air lock. On drain, you are draining tank first but bag is draining into tank.. I promise you

My 2008 had ballast level indicators on the small little LCD screen (and of course on the MaliView screen once we upgraded to that.)

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22 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Did you do your own install for plug and play? To my knowledge that’s never how the factory has set it up. 

The "do it yourself" piggyback systems from Bakes and Wakemakers work that way and it can be slow to fill everything up. I think that is would be mostly for boats that didn't have the plumbing from the factory.)   It certainly worked on my 2008 when I added bags but it can be slow to fill. I think there was a Y junction in the fill line and it filled the tank and bag at the same time but I can't remember, I just followed the diagram from Wakemakers.  I added a second set of drain pumps for the bags so I could empty faster.

To the OP... you just need to follow the fill line that comes off the fill pump by the Vdrive to see if that line goes to your bag or if there is a Y splitter and therefore goes to both.

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16 hours ago, Sixer said:

Now I'm wondering if I should have fill times that are way less than what mine are?  So if someone can fill me in I'd appreciate it......it's supposed to fill both the hard tank and the PNP bags at the same time?  And also empty them at the same time??  

I will try to get pics. I too had this problem and changed it all around... 

Hopefully this makes sense if you want to keep convenience of piggy back and increase your fill time:

  1. From Fill pump to Y fitting.
  2. Y fitting to tank, you want o to take the upper section of Y from pump and lower part to tank. 
  3. The other upper section from Y to bag.
  4. Vent from tank to bottom of bag
  5. Vent bag out to side of boat.

No more airlocks and decreased fill time.

To decrease even more:

  1. Remove stock fill pump from shut off valve
  2. Buy a 1100gph pirhana pump (has same 3/4 intake with 1 1/8 out).
  3. Buy 1 1/8 hoses from fill pump to tank and bag
  4. Buy 1 1/8 Y fitting
  5. From Hardware store get a barbed 1" to threaded 3/4 elbow.
    1. This is to replace the elbow in the hard tank.

You can go faster but it gets complicated with timer that initiates a second pump to fill tank after bottom is full (not too complicated but more than above) or segregate the tank and bag on its own fill and drain.

 

PM me if you need some assistance with materials or directions.

Edited by kerpluxal
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16 hours ago, gregtay said:

The "do it yourself" piggyback systems from Bakes and Wakemakers work that way and it can be slow to fill everything up. I think that is would be mostly for boats that didn't have the plumbing from the factory.)   It certainly worked on my 2008 when I added bags but it can be slow to fill. I think there was a Y junction in the fill line and it filled the tank and bag at the same time but I can't remember, I just followed the diagram from Wakemakers.  I added a second set of drain pumps for the bags so I could empty faster.

To the OP... you just need to follow the fill line that comes off the fill pump by the Vdrive to see if that line goes to your bag or if there is a Y splitter and therefore goes to both.

In 2012 the WakeMakers was fill bag and trickle down... no Y fitting.  Took forever.

Also that Y has to be hooked up correctly or will fill both at same time instead of tank then bag. But you are correct on the Y :) 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hey guys.... Good timing.  I have an 05 vlx and 2 750s.  I was planning separate reversibles, but this sounds easy.  I also heard tons of issues with the WM piggyback system.... How does it difference from your idea?

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