livewell question

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water bouy

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Looking around on how to do a livewell I came across this diagram which is kinda what I had in mind except the overflow looks too close to the sprayer. Wouldn't it be better if they were on opposite sides so new water has to circulate? Probably drain mine through the side instead of the back.

OYRhHnIh.jpg
 
The position the pump line comes out in that diagram is important. I didn't have the hose connection straight vertical off the water pump when I put mine in and it traps air and blocks the pump from functioning.
 
I admit to a love/hate relationship with a livewell, so that is why it was eliminated from my refit. The livewell I did have made the overflow and drain go through the same pipe by using a stand pipe that screwed into the drain outlet. Top of the pipe was the overflow, unscrew it to drain. cuts out a few connections under the floor.
In design it was slick, but it never drained right in my boat. The problem came to light when I stripped all the deck and found the drain hose with a tight kink in it. Installed that way from the factory.
 
Even with the drain hoses being 1" and the fills being 3/4" the pump will push more water in than the overflow can shed, so you can overfill the well and get water in the boat. If I were designing my own I'd have 2 overflow outlets from the livewell, preferably one out the side of the boat well above the waterline.
 
Why not ditch the sprayer and locate the inlet near the bottom? Leave the outlet where it is. Good circulation of FRESH water should beat sprayed water anytime. The fish don't hang out under a spray head in the lake #-o . My tank I built for saltwater has a 3/4" inlet and 1 1/2" outlet and run a 500ghp pump with ball valve.
 
Lots of good idears. That diagram is a Lund. Saw one in a Crestliner with the top 2/3 of the overflow pipe shielded so water has to come from down low which they said is where bad water builds up.

Looks like a livewell is gonna have to be fabricated in aluminum since I can't find anything that would fit the space behind the front deck. It'll be about 36 x 11 deep x 10 wide. Side mount would be easy but then the boat would lean to one side. Kind of looking forward to doing it right but also not sure if I should bother with it at all. :?
 
This is a good read. Lots of this info will cross over to live well construction. https://www.livebaitlarry.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=22.
 
water bouy said:
Lots of good idears. That diagram is a Lund. Saw one in a Crestliner with the top 2/3 of the overflow pipe shielded so water has to come from down low which they said is where bad water builds up.

Looks like a livewell is gonna have to be fabricated in aluminum since I can't find anything that would fit the space behind the front deck. It'll be about 36 x 11 deep x 10 wide. Side mount would be easy but then the boat would lean to one side. Kind of looking forward to doing it right but also not sure if I should bother with it at all. :?

Harbor freight sells an inexpensive metal brake.

I considered that too, but ended up using a Plano sportsman's trunk for a tank, however the dimensions are 28x14x12 if I remember right.
 
Aluminum prices have gotten crazy so I may try making the livewell with 1/4" acm paneling. It's going everywhere else on the boat and if I frame it tightly and use 5200 it might work as well as anything else. Wonder if anyone has tried it.
 
Made mine out of PVC sheeting, with PVC angle supporting the outside corners where the sheets join. Sealed/joined with std plumbing PVC cement.
 
How thick and which type is the sheeting, 102. I was looking at HDPE which is pricey and glue doesn't work on some of those plastics.
 
I think I used either 3/16" or 1/4" from this website:

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23056

I ordered the PVC angle from them as well found here:

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23195&catid=733

I'll look and see if I have any scrap left over and if so see what thickness I used as I didn't get pictures of building the livewell in my thread. I supported the 4 sides and the bottom with foam, so the weight of the water in it won't cause it to crack. I stacked pieces of scrap and glued them together to thicken up the bottom at the point I drilled through to mount the 90 degree fitting for the drain, then cut it flush to the bottom of the inside of the tank so water wouldn't stand in the well.
 

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