sOMETIMES WHEN COMING INTO PORT THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME OR SPACE OUT OF THE WEATHER TO PLANE AND EMPTY THE BALLAST TANK. IS THER A PUM TO DO THE TRICK.
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Mike
AIR MATTRESS PUMP
i use an air mattress pump--------12volt. the same pump used to pump up rafts. i found mine at KMart, sports, or auto section. open the ballast port and vent hole. stick the pump into the vent hole and turn on--------thats it!!!!!!! i empty my tank while sitting in my slip. make sure you always open the ballast port when using the pump.
i use an air mattress pump--------12volt. the same pump used to pump up rafts. i found mine at KMart, sports, or auto section. open the ballast port and vent hole. stick the pump into the vent hole and turn on--------thats it!!!!!!! i empty my tank while sitting in my slip. make sure you always open the ballast port when using the pump.
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Jack Kuhlmann
Ballast Pump
How do you seal around the ballast port rod? Do you simply hold down on the rubber seal while it pressurizes the water out? How long does it normally take? JDK
How do you seal around the ballast port rod? Do you simply hold down on the rubber seal while it pressurizes the water out? How long does it normally take? JDK
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Ralph Kuhn
Positive pressure.... still to be tested
Excellent Thread. The long time to needed to drain has been disappointing. We considered enlarging the drain valve, or adding a 2nd one on the port side. First preference though is adding a little air pressure to the ballast tanks. I've purchased a 12 Volt High Volume inflator that is intended for inflatable toys. It is made by Hawk. The plan is to connect it to the vent hole through some kind of rubber bung. My Macgregor is an early 26X that has the 1 1/2" T-Valve at the transom. Under the companionway step, there is the vent and a filling hole with a metal T-handle that thrubolts to a gasket. As it is tightened, the mechanism sandwiches the gasket and makes the seal. Reversing it makes for quick filling, but useless for draining. My particular boat is listed as a 1997 model year, but the serial# indicates that it was actually built in '96. I'm told that the design changed shortly thereafter. We're still frozen for another few months on Lake Ontario, but will gladly share the results in the spring.
Excellent Thread. The long time to needed to drain has been disappointing. We considered enlarging the drain valve, or adding a 2nd one on the port side. First preference though is adding a little air pressure to the ballast tanks. I've purchased a 12 Volt High Volume inflator that is intended for inflatable toys. It is made by Hawk. The plan is to connect it to the vent hole through some kind of rubber bung. My Macgregor is an early 26X that has the 1 1/2" T-Valve at the transom. Under the companionway step, there is the vent and a filling hole with a metal T-handle that thrubolts to a gasket. As it is tightened, the mechanism sandwiches the gasket and makes the seal. Reversing it makes for quick filling, but useless for draining. My particular boat is listed as a 1997 model year, but the serial# indicates that it was actually built in '96. I'm told that the design changed shortly thereafter. We're still frozen for another few months on Lake Ontario, but will gladly share the results in the spring.
J
John DeFino
Ballast Pump
I used this same method on my Mac26S. It worked great, took about 6 minutes to empty the tank. I just bought a 26X and when I went to pick it up, I brought my pump with me. It worked just as well though took slightly longer. The pump is a low pressure, high volume 12V air pump from Walmart. I think it was less than $15. About 2 wraps of electical tape around one of the supplied adaptors on the pump will give it a nice fit in the ballast vent hole.
I used this same method on my Mac26S. It worked great, took about 6 minutes to empty the tank. I just bought a 26X and when I went to pick it up, I brought my pump with me. It worked just as well though took slightly longer. The pump is a low pressure, high volume 12V air pump from Walmart. I think it was less than $15. About 2 wraps of electical tape around one of the supplied adaptors on the pump will give it a nice fit in the ballast vent hole.
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Randy
Pump It UP
I also have an early 96X Has anyone done a fit to the ballast....I would love to permanantly fit a pressure sytem so I can just dump the water whenever.....also, as stated by someone, 96X is low volume and I believe a pressure system would send the water out faster......would be so easy to hook up a switch and pump it UP & OUT! Concern: would this blow the tank even with the ballast valve open or would the tank hold? Some engineer out there...give me some input..............
I also have an early 96X Has anyone done a fit to the ballast....I would love to permanantly fit a pressure sytem so I can just dump the water whenever.....also, as stated by someone, 96X is low volume and I believe a pressure system would send the water out faster......would be so easy to hook up a switch and pump it UP & OUT! Concern: would this blow the tank even with the ballast valve open or would the tank hold? Some engineer out there...give me some input..............
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