Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

[mwe-maxxowner]

Is there any reason a bilge pump cant be used to fill a ballast bag? Put a 12 volt plug on one end and a long enough cord I can lower it into the water?

 

[rallyart]

Re: Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

Perfectly fine. Just use a big diameter hose. To empty the bag, put the pump suction onto the bag and drop the hose over the side.

This is what I use for my fatsac

 

[Don S]

Re: Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

Bilge pumps don't have the pressure to fill a bag, You need the flexible vane pump for that.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

Bilge pumps don't have the pressure to fill a bag, You need the flexible vane pump for that.

Ballast bags aren't typically pressurized - so you are not pumping against anything but gravity to fill them, no reason you couldn't do it with anything capable of pushing water.

 

[Don S]

Re: Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

Ballast bags aren't typically pressurized - so you are not pumping against anything but gravity to fill them, no reason you couldn't do it with anything capable of pushing water.

Whatever, he'll find out.

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

Perfectly fine. Just use a big diameter hose. To empty the bag, put the pump suction onto the bag and drop the hose over the side.

This is what I use for my fatsac

Where did that come from and how much was it? Mainly just investigating use of a bilge pump because I have a spare not being used for anything.

 

[Don S]

Re: Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

Where did that come from and how much was it? Mainly just investigating use of a bilge pump because I have a spare not being used for anything.

If you already have the bilge pump, give it a try. What have you got to loose?

 

[Dave.Mishchenko]

Re: Bilge pump as ballast bag pump?

That's the Fly High Tsunami Pump. They run about $100. They're built using an Attwood pump and you can get the 1200 GPH for about $38. In terms of performance a bilge pump may be able to match a ballast pump. I took a look at the specs on an Attwood Sahara S1100 bilge pump and it'll edge out their Tsunami T1200 pump which the Fly High pump uses.

That said, I would still go with ballast (aerator type) pump because you can put a fitting on the inlet of the pump which makes draining the bag much easier. I.e. filling the bag the pump is submerged in water, but to drain the bag the pump is connected right to the bag.