Livewell pump installation

[Benzeenees]

My boat came equipped with a 500gph livewell pump. It is mounted inside the transom with an inlet that sticks out thru the transom, near the bottom. The first pump lasted about 4 years, but I didn't use it much for the first 3 years. When I relaced it I found that the impeller hadground away part of the base. The second one has been used a lot - pretty well 8hrs on each trip - maybe 70 -100 days. While it still pumps, it loses suction when travelling at more than about 10 kph and is quite noisy. I've just installed a new one and thought I might connect a U shaped fitting to the inlet so that it faces forward - a scoop. The manufacturer recommends against this saying it could cause the pump to fail and flood the hull. Seems unlikely that the hull would flood. Has anyone tried connecting such a scoop?

[Geoff]

If I understand the situation correctly , the pump is relying on water being around the transom to work effectivly & once you start moving the water reduces from around the pick up.

I suspect the noise you are hearing is the pump running dry which is not good.

Fitting a scoop will fix the water flow issue provided it is installed correctly to avoid any leaks into the bilge.

Geoff

[Geoff]

A further thought , if concerned about leakes , fit a float switch to the bilge pump so if a leak does occur the pump will start up allerting you to a problem prior to the water comming up over the floor boards.

Geoff

[Benzeenees]

Thanks Geoff. I've fitted a scoop made from 2 90 degree irrigation bends. The pump was noisy even when it was pumping well. But I imagine it was running dry when I was travelling. The new one is quieter. I'll report on performance after my next trip out in about a week.

[Benzeenees]

My bilge pump comes on automatically if there's a lot of water in the bilge.

[cc6264]

My previous boat had a live bait tank with a scoop so went you went along the bait tank would keep filling automatically - you didn't need to have the pump on. Only problem was it drained into the hull!

Bit of a problem when I took it out for the first time without the bung in the live bait tank. It "flooded" the hull. Should not be a problem if it drains outside the hull though. :-)

PS: Bought the boat that way - sold it that way.

[Marlin01]

I have run a stainless pickup mounted to the bottom of my external live bait pump for 20yrs and it works great.

. I don't get how the scoop is a hazard if the pump fails. Won't the water just flow into the live bait tank and overflow out the external overflow?

I also run a tee piece and a set of valves before the live bait tank and I use the other leg to feed a low pressure deck hose, certainly comes in handy for keeping the boat tidy and much less baked on smuck when washing at he ramp!

Cheers

Marlin

[Benzeenees]

that's what I think. But there is a warning on the packet. Perhaps one person had a problem so they decided to add the warning. The scoop is in place and I'll report on its performance. If you don't hear from me again, assume the boat filled up and sank.