Quick Fill Valve Maintenance

[shawndoggy 49]

bongo, I'd say you are right in the "zone of failure," based on my sample size of 1. Mine failed at 160 and 180, and then I lost one of the replaced ones at about 300.

[DarksideR 1,679]

$300....???

Not covered by warranty?

[shawndoggy 49]

300 hours. My boat was "not a centurion" (MB), and the valves were covered by the manufacturer's (Drainmaster's) 1 year warranty. So no, not covered. New I think they were around $130 from Drainmaster. I found some on ebay last summer for $80 and bought two before selling by boat. The thing about ordering them from drainmaster is that they have a crazy three week lead time to even get valves, usually. So it's one of those things that's nice to have a spare for, just in case.

[Bongo Fury 640]

bongo, I'd say you are right in the "zone of failure," based on my sample size of 1. Mine failed at 160 and 180, and then I lost one of the replaced ones at about 300.

 

Great,,,,,just what I wanted to hear! lol

[viking 491]

So basically what I've gathered so far is don't bother servicing them because it's alot of work and they will fail any way. Store in close position when not using, spray them before winter layup and store all winter in closed position, cross your fingers and hope you get a whole season (maybe 2 if your lucky) out of them

[shawndoggy 49]

So basically what I've gathered so far is don't bother servicing them because it's alot of work and they will fail any way. Store in close position when not using, spray them before winter layup and store all winter in closed position, cross your fingers and hope you get a whole season (maybe 2 if your lucky) out of them

 

LOL that is certainly a good summary of MY own pessimistic view after four seasons with the system.

[boatnut 230]

300 hours. My boat was "not a centurion" (MB), and the valves were covered by the manufacturer's (Drainmaster's) 1 year warranty. So no, not covered. New I think they were around $130 from Drainmaster. I found some on ebay last summer for $80 and bought two before selling by boat. The thing about ordering them from drainmaster is that they have a crazy three week lead time to even get valves, usually. So it's one of those things that's nice to have a spare for, just in case.

I saw them on Drainmaster site and they are on there for like 65 bucks, , at 65 bucks what's the point of. Maintenance, just change the whole valve

[shawndoggy 49]

I saw them on Drainmaster site and they are on there for like 65 bucks, , at 65 bucks what's the point of. Maintenance, just change the whole valve

 

The "marine" ones are $90.75 + $13.51 shipping. so not as bad as I remembered, but more than $65. I looked around and didn't see any for $65?

 

But I totally agree... if you go through the pain and suffering of pulling the valve because it's stuck, don't try to get it working again, just drop in a new valve.

[h20king 794]

This is exactly why we bought our 226 last year. I heard the 226 was getting quick fill for 15 so I had to buy before the change. I understand the ram fill but what are the benefits of the quick fill if you still have to fill sacks on top of it?? In my eyes it is just one more thing to go wrong.

[shawndoggy 49]

Can't speak to 226, but on the MBs the gravity fed ballast is much more than adequate for most for wakeboarding. The boat is super easy to set up for wakeboarding that way. It's even surfable with just the factory ballast, though who wants "surfable", right?

[h20king 794]

We only surf now so it would not do anything for us. I guess I just don't get it. It is an old system. It first came out on the Calabria years ago then MB started using it and now Centurion/Supreme . I would think that if it was so great the so called big three would jump on board IE Malibu, Mastercraft and Nautique. Ram fill is an awesome idea that Centurion came out with first but quick fill is old news.

Edited April 7, 2015 by h20king

[boatnut 230]

 

I saw them on Drainmaster site and they are on there for like 65 bucks, , at 65 bucks what's the point of. Maintenance, just change the whole valve

 

 

 

The "marine" ones are $90.75 + $13.51 shipping. so not as bad as I remembered, but more than $65. I looked around and didn't see any for $65?

 

But I totally agree... if you go through the pain and suffering of pulling the valve because it's stuck, don't try to get it working again, just drop in a new valve.

Oops my bad, I stand corrected, but your right, why screw around, when replacing your impellor every two years, change out the quick fill valves!!!!

[boatnut 230]

Wether it's quick fill or ram fill or bags, surf gate type systems anything can fail, hence preventative maintaince. Some will say we use static weight (lead) other use bigger friends but every option has positives and negatives..

[Bongo Fury 640]

So basically what I've gathered so far is don't bother servicing them because it's alot of work and they will fail any way. Store in close position when not using, spray them before winter layup and store all winter in closed position, cross your fingers and hope you get a whole season (maybe 2 if your lucky) out of them

 

I am still leaving my gates open when the boat is on the lift or in winter storage. No issues yet.....tick toc....tick toc...

 

I really like the quick fills alone for some applications..........so far they have been great on my boat and I'm glad I have them!

Edited April 7, 2015 by Bongo Fury

[h20king 794]

Just don't see the upside of quick fill. It is just one more thing to fail and still requires sacks on top of it. With pumps and sacks I keep a couple spare impellers in the boat plus a 12V tsunami pump. No matter what we are covered sacks get filled and we are surfing. If a quick fill valve fail's you have to pull the boat out of the water to fix it that is if you have a spare.

[viking 491]

As long as they work I see the major benefit being quick fill and empty times. And on the off surf side don't have to wait for a bag to fill for counter weight if using quick fill tanks. Just saying. We will see how the season goes. Cross my fingers!

[RVR-RAT 269]

I store my boat with them closed, and no problems yet. We all know that no matter what type of boat you have your gonna eventually have a problem with something. It may be quick fill gate, a glitch in the touchscreen, an analog speedo not working, gps vs paddlewheel speed control issues etc etc etc. The bottom line is no one or no boat maker has or can produce the perfect problem free boat.

[boatnut 230]

I store my boat with them closed, and no problems yet. We all know that no matter what type of boat you have your gonna eventually have a problem with something. It may be quick fill gate, a glitch in the touchscreen, an analog speedo not working, gps vs paddlewheel speed control issues etc etc etc. The bottom line is no one or no boat maker has or can produce the perfect problem free boat.

Even cars fail!!!

With 8 of them, Lord knows I know!!!

 

[NW Boat Sports 232]

While I have not had a single issue with mine in 160 hours....yet.....clearly some of you have. I would be very interested to hear from our dealers just how much of an issue this has been for them, as they see a much wider sampling of these.

 

We replace many. MB, Supreme, Centurion. The theory behind lubing them and leaving them open is that they won't bind up. If you leave them closed, they bind up, fail and you can't open them. Although it doesn't seem to matter, open or shut they fail. Fineline has made a change mid 2015, Supremes are now coming with the more robust 'ramfill' quickfill valves. My guess is they went to these across the board hoping for less failures and more purchasing power. Viking, you should see what your boat has...old ones or new...

Edited April 8, 2015 by NW Boat Sports

[viking 491]

What do I look for to determine which ones I have? I know the starboard side valve came DOA so had to be replaced already by the dealer before i took delivery.

Edited April 8, 2015 by viking