Along with the various lighting I am adding to my boat as we speak, I would like to upgrade my livewell/baitwell. Right now I have a small bilge pump in a rubbermaid container below the deck of my boat found on the projects page. This gives me good aeration, but leaves a lot to be desired. 1) I have to manually fill the well with a bucket or the like. 2) The pump in the well takes up space, and allows a place for smaller fish to hide.
I am trying to get an idea of how to plumb a livewell in the simplest way using 1 pump. I have an idea of what I want to do, but no matter how I cut it, I am coming back to a problem of either draining it, pumping it, or keeping the water aerated.
I had considered using a pump in the transom with a high speed pickup. This would constantly fill my well with fresh water, and reduce the amount of aeration I would need to do. It would fill through a stack that would prevent drain back when the pump was turned on. I would have an overflow tube in the side of the baitwell that would prevent it from getting above a certain point. This setup would give a constant fresh water feed with no recirculation. When I wanted to drain it, I would just pull the stack off and let everything drain back down out of the pump. The only worry I have with this setup is that stale water at the bottom has no way of being picked up as the fill and overflow holes would be roughly the same height. There would also be an on/off valve in the fill plumbing so I could use the well as storage during duck season, or whenever I didnt want there to be water in it. What does the tinboats braintrust think? Will I probably be alright keeping the water fairly well circulated and oxygenated with this setup?
I am trying to get an idea of how to plumb a livewell in the simplest way using 1 pump. I have an idea of what I want to do, but no matter how I cut it, I am coming back to a problem of either draining it, pumping it, or keeping the water aerated.
I had considered using a pump in the transom with a high speed pickup. This would constantly fill my well with fresh water, and reduce the amount of aeration I would need to do. It would fill through a stack that would prevent drain back when the pump was turned on. I would have an overflow tube in the side of the baitwell that would prevent it from getting above a certain point. This setup would give a constant fresh water feed with no recirculation. When I wanted to drain it, I would just pull the stack off and let everything drain back down out of the pump. The only worry I have with this setup is that stale water at the bottom has no way of being picked up as the fill and overflow holes would be roughly the same height. There would also be an on/off valve in the fill plumbing so I could use the well as storage during duck season, or whenever I didnt want there to be water in it. What does the tinboats braintrust think? Will I probably be alright keeping the water fairly well circulated and oxygenated with this setup?