06 Avalanche C4 Ballast

[Willy.Fire 6]

 

I have been reading as much as I can about weight and bags for the avalanche and for now since I’m on somewhat of a budget And think I’m going to go with a 1100# replacing stock tank in rear port locker and 500# under port seats. I want to use existing pumps and hoses for now if I can am I able to fill both new port side sacs with my existing pump on that side somehow? I know they will be slow filling but I also know this isn’t a 100k boat so we can swim or drink sodas while they fill. Does this sound like a decent setup to start with? 

1100# rear locker 

500# under port side seats 

stock Center ballast 

 

[prorider17 30]

I'm sure other avalanche owners will chime in, but I think that's ample. You could do that setup on each side and use a wake shaper. Additionally, you can always upgrade your pump to a higher gph to save a little time. They're not that much money.

[Willy.Fire 6]

Ya true. I’m no sure the pumps are original I think previous owner may have replaced them find out when I pull it out of hibernation soon 

[Willy.Fire 6]

Looking for a little help on how the stock ballast system is set up.  

Is this correct. How long will the 800 stock pumps take to fill 1100# bag? I have 1 1200 pump should i just get 3 more and upgrade. 

2 800gpm tsunami pumps mounted behind engine fill rear ballasts?

2 800gpm tsunami pumps front of rear lockers empty ballast

1  water puppy infront of v drive fills center?

1 1000gpm yellow pump mounted to center ballast empties it?

 

[InfinitySurf 302]

Those are gph (gallons per hour)...not gallons per minute, tho that would be sweet, you could fill the 1100 lb bag in 30 seconds flat!!

I would say 13-15mins for an 800gph pump to fill 1100 bag. Upgrading pumps just depends on how impatient you get, maybe try what you have first and see what happens. May be good enough for you for the summer to save ur money.

If you do upgrade, suggest switching to a reversible pump so the same pump fills and empties the bag...if you really wanted to up your game, you could have 2 pumps per bag (since you already have 2 thru-hulls for each bag) and fill them in half the time!  Ballast Puppy is pretty popular and many manufactures used them as the OEM pumps (that is what I have). Easy to find replacement impellers for them, think Wakemakers has the Puppies on sale right now for $205...they say 80lbs or 9 gallons per minute. Ballast King is higher rated pump, also more expensive at over $300 and think they are rated for 120lbs per minute (so 9mins for 1100lb bag)....so maybe not worth $1k plus the retro-fitting to cut 6mins off your fill times....all personal preference. 

Think the MC X23 used some special Johnson Pumps this year that were made specifically for that boat, it has 2 pumps per bag and they advertise like 4500lbs in 2.5mins....pretty badass!

[Willy.Fire 6]

nice ok i can live with 15mins for now. im going to install the bag tomorrow. does the bag need to be vented like the hard tank

[InfinitySurf 302]

yes, vent the bags

[Willy.Fire 6]

thanks. is it possible to use 2 pumps to fill and drain the 1100#. the bag i have has the quick connect on 1 of the top ports and i have the 1200 pump for it. but the bag only has 2 other ports 1 on top and 1 on bottom.  

[Troy 234]

If you have the time, save some money in the long run and do a custom sac. I run a custom sac with a dedicated pump to fill and empty in about 8 min maybe. (been a long winter, I can't remember). Anyway. just do a custom sac and do it once. 

Custom sac,

factory center

150 or so in the bow

custom a-plate.

That is my starboard setup. and if it is just me and the family I have another sac that I can put on the seat, that I have a line plumped in for. 

[Willy.Fire 6]

Question about where to mount or leave the stock drain pump? When the bag fills up if left on floor like it was I’m assuming it will push the valve in and cause unnecessary stress on that joint on the bag? Thanks for any advice. 

[InfinitySurf 302]

Is the valve on bottom of bag (like under it?). On my bags.....its near bottom rear, so weight of full bag is not pushing directly on the valve, but its at bottom so it will drain majority of water in bag at end

[Willy.Fire 6]

Yes it’s at bottom maybe 3/4” up from bottom seam. Think going to switch it around and put drain at stern and the pump can sit in engine bay. 

[InfinitySurf 302]

My pumps are in engine bay, mounted to floor in area that steps up so its not in the bilge if a little water gets in there, that works well for my setup. Thing about having the drain at rear is that usually it drains a little better since the rear of boat is heavier so water more naturally flows to back when draining bags if you are using reversible pump. Then vent is on top of back near back seats (front of bag) since that is fairly close to where my vent goes out of side of boat. But really all depends on where your thru-hull is to provide the water, your vent line location and if you are using reversible pump or not.

[Willy.Fire 6]

 Nice. Appreciate the help. Yes the drain pump at rear makes a lot more sense since when full the boat will be sunk down at the back. Hope to get it all plumbed and put together right away and get this out on the lake to test it this week. Picked up wake shaper today I know a lot recommend going fully listed on Avalanche but wouldn’t mind both options so I can try different configurations.