Using raw water washdown for live baitwell

T

Thynne

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2018
Messages
12
Reaction score
6
Points
3
Age
63
Model
Fisherman 222
I am about to purchase a 2007 GW 222 Fisherman. It does not have the fitted livewell, so I am looking at some sort of retrofit. Could I use the raw water washdown (with a Colman ice box)? Would the amount of water be too rough on baitfish?
 
Don't see and reason it would not work for short periods. The GW livewell has a small drain hole at the base of drain pipe that constantly allows the water and fish waste to drain and be replaced with new water. I would guess you could do the same if your Coleman has a drain at the base.
 
Legend said:
Don't see and reason it would not work for short periods. The GW livewell has a small drain hole at the base of drain pipe that constantly allows the water and fish waste to drain and be replaced with new water. I would guess you could do the same if your Coleman has a drain at the base.
Click to expand...
It may not be that simple but as mentioned for short intervals it might work out, First of all, the wash down pumps are generally rated for intermittent use not constant. It may overheat.
The livewell usually drains from the top of the water not the bottom. That maintains a set water level. By adjusting the rate of fill and the rate of drain, you may be able to maintain a fixed level but that won't be easy.
The feed is also usually near the top of the water to promote circulation. I guess that having the supply nozzle at the bottom would do the same thing
The most critical factor is the rate that the water is exchanged. That means how many times per hour the tank volume is changed. If two low, the bait will die from oxygen starvation. Too high and the fish will be stressed due to the fast current.
Of course if you use an adjustable nozzle, you should be able to adjust the flow rate.
 
Suggest taking a look at the amp draw of your washdown pump and comparing to typical livewell pumps. Some washdowns have a high draw and would be a heavy drain on your battery. Don't know if yours is, but suggest you check.
 
SkunkBoat said:
There are ways to utilize one existing thru hull pickup for BOTH livewell and Wash down pumps. Google diagrams.
Click to expand...
Hi, Thanks for that. could you point me in the right direction on Google Diagrams? I'm not really sure what to search for. Many thanks in advance.
 
I see that there are many aerator pumps on the market. My oldboat had a livewell that relied solely upon fresh seawater being pumped in constantly and the surplus being flushed out through overflow. That seemed to keep all bait very healthy for many hours. Do these aerator systems achieve the same. I am thinking of a simple Coleman cool box and a Rule aerator pump which is supplied with suckers to attach it in the box and a simple sponge like filter. I could also add a bucket of fresh sea water every now and then throughout the day. Any thoughts much appreciated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ozz043
I used to use an aerator pump for years before I got a livewell. They do work very well as long as you refresh the water regularly because the water heats up to ambient temperature. We had a tap on the drain plug to empty and then simply tipped in a bucket of water....not rocket science but it works very well.
 
I see no reason why you cannot connect a short length of hose from the RWW outlet to a hose fitting installed in the lower portion of a cooler. I would then drill out a drain hole at the top edge of the cooler so the overflow can drain out onto the deck and out the scuppers. You can control the water flow from the console switch or you can leave the switch on if you install a simple ball valve somewhere in the inlet line and control it from there.
 
glacierbaze said:
Lot of pumps now have a second outlet, which lets you add a second pump with one thru hull. The outlet is before the pump.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=818&bih=467&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=kMXbW77GO6ud5wK256P4Cw&q=+Dual+Outlet+Livewell+pump&oq=+Dual+Outlet+Livewell+pump&gs_l=img.3...43184.52513..52985...0.0..0.70.970.15......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i67j0i24.k80kElFmdh4
Click to expand...

or look at this from Rule Pumps (xylem) MTC_03_Livewell_Baitwell_Pumps.pdf

exactly! you can just add a live well pump using the existing wash down thru-hull inlet. In google type "live well/washdown diagrams" and you will get lots of images of various layouts.
You can set it up with an on-off switch and/or a live well timer.

Aerators don't even compare to live wells that exchange water.
 
glacierbaze said:
Lot of pumps now have a second outlet, which lets you add a second pump with one thru hull. The outlet is before the pump.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=818&bih=467&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=kMXbW77GO6ud5wK256P4Cw&q=+Dual+Outlet+Livewell+pump&oq=+Dual+Outlet+Livewell+pump&gs_l=img.3...43184.52513..52985...0.0..0.70.970.15......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i67j0i24.k80kElFmdh4
Click to expand...
Sorry, I am probably being a bit think here, but have I understood correctly? So, you have a thru hull to feed the RWW pump and you can change the pump to one with a second outlet and use that to feed the livewell tank? I guess this is controlled by the RWW switch on the console? Probably a stupid question but if you have one switch controlling both outlets how do you stop livewell running when you want RWW, and vice versa?
 
Rustygaff said:
I see no reason why you cannot connect a short length of hose from the RWW outlet to a hose fitting installed in the lower portion of a cooler. I would then drill out a drain hole at the top edge of the cooler so the overflow can drain out onto the deck and out the scuppers. You can control the water flow from the console switch or you can leave the switch on if you install a simple ball valve somewhere in the inlet line and control it from there.
Click to expand...
I really like this idea. Thank you. My only concern is that I have heard that RWW pumps are not designed to be run for long periods of time. Having said that it seems that there are very inexpensive pumps available that are.
 
SkunkBoat said:
or look at this from Rule Pumps (xylem) MTC_03_Livewell_Baitwell_Pumps.pdf

exactly! you can just add a live well pump using the existing wash down thru-hull inlet. In google type "live well/washdown diagrams" and you will get lots of images of various layouts.
You can set it up with an on-off switch and/or a live well timer.

Aerators don't even compare to live wells that exchange water.
Click to expand...
Many thanks to you. My gut said that aerators would not be as good as a water exchanger type solution. I am in the UK and we use live sandeels as a killer bait for our most sporting sea fish, bass. Different from striper bass but, like all bass, just as capable of causing a seriously unhealthy obsession with catching them. Problem with sandeels is that they are a/ very hard to find in some areas and b/ die at the slightest 'inconvenience'. Our shore bass anglers use buckets with little battery operated aerators but, from what I can gather, with very mixed results. I suspect that the water exchanger type of livewell is the way to go for them and one that does not have too much energy because since they have a death wish too much or too little flow will kill them. From what I have read to date the ideal would be one that changes the volume of water in the livewell every 8 to 10 minutes. Thanks to all for such helpful advice so far. What a great thing this internet thing is!!!
 
Ozz043 said:
I used to use an aerator pump for years before I got a livewell. They do work very well as long as you refresh the water regularly because the water heats up to ambient temperature. We had a tap on the drain plug to empty and then simply tipped in a bucket of water....not rocket science but it works very well.
Click to expand...
Love this answer. Thank you. Completely pragmatic, very Aussie!! Difference here in bad weather UK is that the water needs to be refreshed not because it goes up to the ambient temperature but because it goes down to it! Actually I am joking but that does raise another thing I have been thinking about. I have an idea (based upon zero science) that fish will survive longer when water temperature is lower. Is it worth maybe adding a couple of ice box coolers blocks to the water to bring the temperature down? (And adding that bucket of new water from time to time)?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ozz043
Thynne said:
Sorry, I am probably being a bit think here, but have I understood correctly? So, you have a thru hull to feed the RWW pump and you can change the pump to one with a second outlet and use that to feed the livewell tank? I guess this is controlled by the RWW switch on the console? Probably a stupid question but if you have one switch controlling both outlets how do you stop livewell running when you want RWW, and vice versa?
Click to expand...
Think of it as installing a pump with a second inlet, rather than a second outlet. That second inlet is like adding a tee connection under the pump. The pump that you install in that second inlet has its own wiring and switch, and it’s own outlet to the live well.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.