ballast electrical solenoid valve

I would like eliminate having to use the manual valves for the ballast tanks on an 02 SAN. Does anyone know if these solenoid valves are ignition protected and water protected? Can they be used in the bilge and engine compartment of an inboard boat? Are there any other valves that can be used? Thanks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Electric-Solenoid-Valve-12-Volt-Water-Diesel-B21N_W0QQitemZ290320962534QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item43987a53e6&_trksid=p4634.c0 .m14.l1262&_trkparms=%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A 30

Looks like a diaphragm valve. This will not flow nearly as much as a full port type valve will.

Like Tony says, these are diaphram valves which resist flow. You will need to get an electric solenoid ball valve. Be prepared to spend $200 plus for each valve. I bought 2 of the 3/4" valves from that same person on E-Bay and installed them on my 01 SAN. They are now in my garage and I went with manual cable valves.

I also bought those exact same valves, from that same ebay seller. I installed them in my system, and tested it on the lake. My sacks didn't even get completely full before I decided they were coming back out.

My fill time went from about 6 minutes to over 20. Unacceptable to me.

I bought those same valves. I flow tested them against two kinds of sprinkler valves and two kinds of solenoid valves. Jamie, you have a priming problem if you can't get those valves to flow.

It doesn't matter what "style" of valve it is, it is the design application that's important. They are gravity feed valves, meaning that they require no pressure to open. Yes, they are ignition protected. There is no spark hazard from a sealed DC electrical coil.

My ballast fill time went from 20+ min to 6 min by changing out those valves, probably fixing an air leak or two. I had 1/2 in. solenoid valves before.

I'm sure they did flow, but not fast enough for me...

They may be better than sprinkler valves, but they certainly add a certain amount of restriction to the system.

Psyclone, what kind of pumps are you using?

The whole application totally depends on the pumps. The valve you mentioned works fantastically with a rule 2000. My fill times are under 8 minutes now thanks to Psyclone and his post on the ebay valve. My system also has been upgraded with 1" hose and bored fittings. Check my post below for additional details.


http://www.wakeworld.com/cgi-bin/Discus4/show.cgi?3183/702327

I removed my Valves. They were the biggest pain. I replaced them with vented loops. Wakemakers.com helped me out. I wanted a better flow into my ballast bags. I will post pictures as soon as possible.

For what it's worth, this is the reply I received from the ebay seller of the solenoid valves:

Hello. Unfortunately, they are not ignition protected. They can handle water being splashed on them but cannot be submerged in water.

Any one know of a valve that might work? What kind of setup is being used on new boats?

I would say to contact the guys at www.wakemakers.com They have been very helpful with my system. I own a 07' Moomba and had the sprinkler valve system. Boy did I hate that. I removed all the valves and purchased a vented loop system from them I ordered 3 loops and 20' of extra ballast hose. Now that I am finished, and still need to test, I have the exact same set up as a Malibu boat. I also upgraded my scuppers. I went from 1 3/4" scupper to 3 1" scuppers. I am using one for each bag that I have. I also took out the single 500gph pump and installed 3 Tsunami 1200gph pumps. Here is a link to my post
http://moomba.com/msgboard/showthread.php?t=7138
http://moomba.com/msgboard/showthread.php?t=7992

As you can see from the post, I ran into a few difficulties. I really hope that with this new system, that everything should work fine.
Tazz

(Message edited by tazz3069 on July 04, 2009)

There is no spark hazard from that type of valve, it has a sealed electrical coil. There are no electrical contacts, it's just a potted coil. It is safer than an automotive relay. I have them right next to my gas tank, btw;) I think that the person who replied doesn't understand what ignition protection is. As they are suitable for transferring diesel and gasoline, I think they'll be OK. Certainly safer than a Simer pump!!

I've never tried a vented loop, I'm interested in what they could do for my system. Thanks for the info, Mark!