How to use the ballast system

[rypdavis]

Hey guys im brand new here and just bought an Epic. So far I am very pleased to say the least. It is an outstanding boat. One question that I have is about the ballast system. I havent been able to fill the ballast tanks in the boat. Im guessing that there is a valve I need to turn on and off, but I havent been able to find it and didn't see anything in the owner's manual when I flipped through that. Any help or insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Bitzco]

Direct drive X-22 or V-drive SX-22? The valves are a bit different on the two models but they are under the floorboards near the driver's seat. Also, the pumps clog easily with the carpet fiber that is floating around in the hull. I couldn't get mine to fill, cleaned the pingpong sized lump of crud from each pump and it worked like a champ. A slow champ compared to the 04 boats but a champ nonetheless.

[rypdavis]

It is a direct drive. I only had the compartment by the driver open once because it was such a pain to open. Anyone else ever had this problem? The fit is so tight that it is basically impossible. Any ideas on an easier way to open it other than just pulling really hard?

[krejciman]

I've got the same boat.  Open the battery cover on the deck and directly forward you'll see a big plastic valve.  Sideways is shut, up/down is open.  Once you open it you can hit the balast fill button.  It REALLY speeds things up to be moving....  once the boat starts moving, the force from the pick-up will fill the sack in a few minutes.  Also, I've noticed that even if the pump is off, I will get some water forced through while driving if the valve is closed.  To be safe, close the valve when you're not filling the sack.

[phenom_1819]

Ditto that.  I've found the same thing -- it fills faster when the boat is moving.  I've found that sometimes when I can't get the pump started, if I get the boat up on a plane with the valve open and pump on, it usually is enough to get it started.

Adding to your comments, Krejciman:

My routine:
1) Open valve, push ballast fill button.
2) wakeboard
3) Close valve, push drain button.
I leave the valve open when wakeboarding, because I've found the sack will drain partially if you close it -- the sack needs the constant pressure coming in to stay full.

[cyclone]

When my battery cover pull thingy snapped off this summer, I installed a pull ring made by Perko. I had to cut a slot in the cover to fit it, but it looks great and works much  better than the plastic thing. I'll take a pic this weekend.