Blaster Bilge pump

[prettyricky218]

Hello,

I have very little experience working on jet skis. I purchased a wave blaster 1 last fall, and it runs well and is a ton of fun, however I notice that water accumulates in the engine bay slowly. I assume it's getting in there somehow when I constantly tip it over and am trying to remount. My issue is, if I ever bring it to a lake where there isn't a beach to pull it up on to and pull the two plugs in the back to train the water it's just going to continue to collect which makes it harder to remount, adds weight, etc.

How much can I expect to pay to have a bilge installed or is this something a newbie can do?
Any info/advice is appreciated as my moms lake falls into the category of not having a place to drain this thing regularly so I'm going to need to get a bilge in it.

Thanks,

 

[OCD Solutions]

I'm not 100% sure the Waveblaster 1 came with one but most Yamaha products have a built in siphon bilge that uses the exit nozzle on the pump to "draw" water out of the bilge area. If the pumps turning, the bilge is sucking.

They are usually adequate so before you go and spend any money, I would do a quick check to see if you have one and then maybe see why it is not working. Parts are pretty cheap and very available but the most common failure is caused by mud dobbers (wasps) building their nests inside the tubes and blocking them off.

If that particular model did not come with one ot is simply not keeping up, then yes, you can add an electric bilge quite easily. It's fairly straightforward and you should be able to do it yourself with basic tools, including a set of terminal crimpers.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, there are drop in kits that take all the guess work out of it and all you need to be able to do is drill a couple holes for the exit nozzle and switch mounts and glue the pump base to your hull.

I'm sure if you dig around for a bit you will find a few different write-ups with pics on how to do it all.

 

[DamonB06]

The blaster does come with a siphon bilge. You should make sure that is operational first as OCD said. Mine is working but water does still accumulate if you are not doing much high speed riding and are in the water a lot.

I have read that the versiplugs like the ones JM sells bellow really do a good job of clearing the water and negate the need for an electric bilge on the blaster. They are worth a shot for $30 and an easy install.

http://www.x-h2o.com/index.php?thre...-outlets-hose-mounts-etc.120942/#post-1448926

 

[prettyricky218]

Where and what does this siphon bilge look like? I can get out and look at the ski on Friday and would like to look and get this taken care of sooner rather than later. I know I have a plug on each side that unscrews from the back of the ski that drains water out, but last year after a little bit of riding I'd pull the ski up on the beach and pull those plugs constantly. When I first got the ski one of my cooling lines came off and was pissing the water into the engine bay rather than outside the ski and with all the water in there it was really difficult to get back on (I was also brand new to this) When there is no water it's a breeze.

Any info on what exactly I am looking for is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

 

[OCD Solutions]

There's a couple different styles over the years so yours may not be exactly the same as this.

One style has a hose coming off the reduction nozzle that the. runs to a tube that goes through to the engine bay;

Inside the pump is a small protrusion into the negative pressure zone of the jetstream;

The older units had a larger diameter hose that comes right off the pump body itself but it tees off and runs to a tube through to the engine bay.

Inside the hull there will be a hose that comes from the tube through the bulkhead, runs up high in the back right corner, hits a plastic 90deg fitting and then runs down to a white plastic strainer pickup.

 

[prettyricky218]

Thank you!! I'm going to check it out tomorrow while I'm out at the hangar.

 

[prettyricky218]

So I checked it out, there was nothing in the little box with holes in it that sucks the water up. Perhaps my issue is that I never just go fast in a straight line. I'm always dorkin' around and stuff. I really expected the engine bay would stay a bit dryer though. I pull the ski up onto the beach every chance I get and pull the two plugs on the back and always get a good bit of water out of it. When looking under the hood I seem to always have a good 1-3 inches of water in there?

Being new to skis and stuff I was also wonder do people ever replace the foam in the inside of the these skis? Can't they get water logged over time and really add a ton of extra weight to them?
Is this hard to do, and how often to people generally do it?

Thanks!

 

[OCD Solutions]

I joined the forum back in 2006 and have seen your questions asked and answered by others a few hundred times now. The answers are out there if you know how to find them.

If you find the forum search function "lacking" search using google and add site:www.x-h2o.com with your search criteria.

For example;
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=waterlogged+superjet+foam+site:www.x-h2o.com

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=siphon+bilge+site:www.x-h2o.com

 

[modularjunk]

Put in 2 veras plugs like i did and forget about it. Never have to pull plugs again. as you are moving the water will go out. Had this set up for over 2 years and dry as a bone.





And no need to refoam a wave blaster because it is a completely different foam and set up than stand up skis which use 2 part foam in the trays. Blasters are just large foam blocks that dont hold much water if any. Same foam you will see in the front of your ski.

Get a hold of @JetManiac by message on here and order up 2 versa plugs and your set. No need for a bilge

 

[JetManiac]

Agreed hull drains end water problems in blasters, but a bilge is good backup for safety. Versiplug can get debris in it and cause leak. You can breakdown and you will be happy to have a bilge pump to help until you can get towed in, etc.