Will this aerator pump work for my ballast system?

I am going with a 3 bag system, 6 aerator pumps. Will this pump work, I found a great deal on them?

yes, but it will be very slow. Those pump are normally very cheap, like the $20 range.

Low end ballast pumps are around 1000-1100 gph. Ballast puppy is about twice that at 2000-2200 gph. Your picture shows 500 gph.

They are 11.95 a pop, but I dont need to fill up instantly. I am going to run 2 250s in the back and 400 locker and eventually maybe 400 up front. So fill times shouldn't be so bad with a dedicated pump per bag.

I am not sure what budget you are on, but I bet that if you spend a little more, you will be happier. Keep in mind that the actual output will be lower due to hose length and a host of other factors.

You might be thinking that a 400 pound bag divided by 8 pounds per gallon = 50 gallons. With a 500 gallons per hour pump = full bag in 6 minutes. It usually doesn't work that way and I bet you should about double the time. 12 minutes is a long time when you are watching some wally getting ready to carve up the glass and you are waiting for ballast to fill.

Just my .02

Keep in mind that your ballast system is only as quick as the slowest pump filling the biggest bag.

If a 500gph fills 250lbs in 5 minutes, it doesn't matter because the other 500gph is still working on the 400lbs sack for another 3 minutes.

Your 400lbs sack is 48 gallons. At 350gph your looking at 8.22 minutes to fill the center sack. (I'm figuring 350gph because the pump may not perform as stated, and hose resistance, and pumping up hill)

I'd personally go with the 1000gph pumps. You can find them for $33 or so.

8 minutes is fine, I am not in hurry. By the time we drop the boat in the water, someone parks the truck, pays for the parking, walks back, we drive to our riding spot, get the board off the rack, and put it on - it atleast takes 20 -25 min.

Also just trying to save a few bucks here and there, so a total of $71.70 for the 500 gph or $198 for the 1000 gph. I gotta to do the 500.

Thanks

They'll work fine. Ballast puppies aren't very fast or reliable, and they are very expensive. Aerators are the way to go, and Rules are by far the best aerators.

Nautiques I've seen use those Rule 500's for drain pumps.

Oh yeah, make sure they are upright or that the outlet faces straight up, they'll prime more reliably that way.

I also have a question :
I have Ballast Puppy's. As stated above not reliable.
I want to change to aeriator pumps. To my understanding, I need one for filling, and one for draining on each bag.
Is that correct????????

Go with some tsunami aerator's for 20-35$

Jason, something else to consider is that you may want a smaller wake for some people because they'll prefer it and it will save you gas money.

It doesn't seem like a big deal if it takes 10-15 minutes (you have to have positioning time, etc.) to fill you bags until it's getting late, you've yet to ride and you want your good wake. I'm buying a second 1100 gph pump so I can fill both sacks at the same time next summer. Notice how everyone is telling you to get a more powerful pump.

You need one fill and one drain pump per sack with aerators. You will need some check valves as well, and you will need to plumb things correctly to make the system fill and drain reliably. The factories started using impeller pumps because they simplify things quite a bit, but stopped after so many warrantee issues with them.

I have a 2000 gpm fill pump connected to my thru hull, and it fills the back sack and primes the front fill pump (attwood 750). I have a Rule 1100 drain pump on each sack.