Axis Wakeboard Boat Forum

This should be a simple answer, but I couldn't figure it out. When I'm filling the rear ballast, I have the factory tanks and 750s. The black valve switch should be in what position to just fill the factory tank? What should it be in to just fill the pnp bags? Also, when I want to drain the ballast, I believe the pnps drain into the factory tank? So what position should the valve be in?

Thanks,

John

Unless it's been modified you cannot just fill the tank or the bag. There is only one pump. The pump pumps water into the bag which then drains into the tank filling both the bag and tank.

The standard for ball valves of all varieties is that when the handle is inline with the hose, it is open and flowing. When the handle is at 90° to the valve/hose, then it is in the closed position.

I'm sure you know, but that handle turns 180 degrees. That's why I thought you could fill the pnp or the factory tank.

One would think that if you closed the valve is just like having PNP but no bags attached and it would fill the hard tank.

Isn't that what happens when you have plug and play and you've never attached any sacs?
I don't have it so I'm just asking.

Yeah, this is actually how it works (for some years/iterations). Axis uses a brass check valve to control the direction of the flow for the bag-to-tank vent line. So unless water pushes past the drain pump, no water should enter the bag when the valve is closed.

It should be noted though, that Axis was never very consistent with the ballast design. My early 2013 built boat has (well, had) the brass check valves, but DIDN'T have the ball valve to turn it on/off. They made some tweaks to the 2013 ballast design on boats built later in the model year. Since I don't have the on/off valve, I removed the brass check valves and just let the vent flow bi-directional, so that it acts as an overflow vent and a gravity drain to/from the hard tank.

I didn't know the ball valve was a 180° valve though. There is one easy way to find out, which position is which. Unhook the hose and flip the fill switch on, you'll figure out real quick which is which lol.

In all reality the black valve becomes completely useless as soon as you hook up your bags. The single fill pump goes through the vented loop, to the "y" fitting, one side goes to the tank, the other to the black valve and into the bag. You would think they can separate it but what happens is even if you close the black valve, the tank will fill, then push water through the two lines coming out of the tank that are connected to your bags drains. It just fills the tank and then fills the bags.

So if I wanted to fill only the hard tanks,
Could I fill the bag and the hard tank and then drain them until the bag is empty leaving only the hard tank full?

Just wanted to make sure I was aware of all my options. thanks

This is getting confusing but boardjnky is giving some sound advice.

Shut the ball valve (handle intersects/not in line with hose) to fill only the hard tank. However, you have to pay attention bc once the tank fills it eventually starts pushing water up through the bag. When you hear the water trickling into the bag just turn the pump off and then you'll have hard tank only.

Open the ball valve (parallel with hose) to fill both hard tank and bag. Water flows through bag and hard tank, tank fills first.

The ball valve, if you have it, just bypasses the bag.

There SHOULD be a check valve on the front hose that would stop the tank from overflowing to the vent. The rear hose might end up filling overflowing into the bag, but my guess is that it would ALSO be overflowing out of the side of the boat also, so the driver would need to recognize the overflow and cut the fill pump.


In my experience, Malibu/Axis "Ballast Engineers" are almost as good at their jobs as the weather man...