Alternative ballast pumps?

[lazyade]

I'm working on a bit of a restoration project on an '05 X Star - it looks like the ballast pumps haven't been looked after and need rebuilding (the internal magnets have snapped on all the pumps). Are there alternatives you can buy to the Jabsco ones?

In the interim is there any other way of draining the ballast tanks without the pumps working? (hoping to dump the extra 1,000 lbs of weight)!

Cheers... Adrian

[lazyade]

Also meant to ask, if I've pulled the electric motor apart, how do I get the damn bushes re-attached to the motor!

[bcd]

Originally Posted by lazyade

Also meant to ask, if I've pulled the electric motor apart, how do I get the damn bushes re-attached to the motor!

Here's a thread that shows my trick for reassembling them:
http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/...ad.php?t=42810

[lazyade]

Originally Posted by bcd

Here's a thread that shows my trick for reassembling them:
http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/...ad.php?t=42810

I should have done this update a number of months ago, but the post above worked brilliantly. We were able to reconstruct one pump (by gluing in the magnets and using the cotton trick to hold the bushes back). We put the repaired pump back in the boat and used it to drain the full tanks (damn that water smelt bad)! Just need to repair the other ones now. We did try the manufacturer for spares but it seems as though you can't buy spares for the motor, just the new impellers.

I think I'm right in saying you guys recommend the green impellers right? If so who manufacturers them, I don't think it's Jabsco (they seem to just list the two black ones).

[GoneBoatN]

Originally Posted by lazyade

...I think I'm right in saying you guys recommend the green impellers right? If so who manufacturers them, I don't think it's Jabsco (they seem to just list the two black ones).

Yes, Green:
http://www.wakemakers.com/jabsco-bal...-impeller.html

[dsword]

You could try one of these if you are just looking to empty the ballast tanks while working on the boat.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...5746&SHOPZILLA

David Sword

[XStar08]

Drainmastermarine.com?
Or you could go the way CC is/was going: one kind of bilge pump in the tank to empty, one somewhere outside to fill (but then you have to take into consideration that they are not selfpriming). However you would get rid of the impellers and would never have to care about having them run dry. On top you would get much faster fill/empty times.

XStar08

[jfw432]

You can gravity drain the tanks if there is no obstruction. You could also dump them into the hull if you really have to. In addition to gravity draining, if your hose is hooked to the bottom of the hull and the line is open, the negative pressure from driving will forcefully suck the water out.

[lazyade]

Originally Posted by jfw432

You can gravity drain the tanks if there is no obstruction. You could also dump them into the hull if you really have to. In addition to gravity draining, if your hose is hooked to the bottom of the hull and the line is open, the negative pressure from driving will forcefully suck the water out.

Thanks, however there's a light problem the boat is a bit of a project and not running right now (hence the desire to get the ballast water out) - see my other post under engines...

https://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk...ad.php?t=50535

Having stripped down the Jabsco pumps they look like they've been under water too and are pretty corroded. We have however come up with an idea, attach a drill to the opposite end to the pump, and get the drill to do the turning - hopefully this will allow us to empty the ballast.

[JRW160]

Johnson makes some ignition protected pumps as well. You can get some really cheap non ignition protected ones from harbor freight for $30 or $40.