Thread: Aerators -- Does ANYBODY make a good one?

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I've got the same kind that Scrat has.

Bubs daddy the best medical grade aerator made in st marys ohio

Look him up on the web at bubs daddy.com.

I bought one last year that takes the Dewalt 20v battery. Does a great job

i got one with the 4 rechargeable bats its unreal well worth the money.

If a fella minnow fishes much it would take long to recoup the cost in battery savings

I've tried the more expensive models from air pumps to circulating agitators. None have performed as expected for the additional cost vs much less expensive models. I've reverted back to the cheaper, D battery operated Marine Metal Products Bubble Box. I use only the 3V models (Two 1.5V D batteries inverted). Not the 2 D batteries in series ( which is a 1.5V motor with two in series batteries for a little longer battery run life.). The 3V motors are much stronger and pump a lot more air. You can hear the difference if you run one next to the other and see the difference in the amount of bubbles produced. I've gotten significant life out of these. They are cheaply made so care is a must. I keep mine sprayed with WD40 to minimize the internal moisture. This is a key factor in the life of these. Any rust or oxidation that forms reduces the voltage and increases the load on the motor windings. I've actually had one of mine I've taken the best care of for probably 7 years now. The "O" rings in the pump will wear out eventually decreasing air flow. At around $8 for one these days, if I get another year out of the oldest one I have now I figure at $1 a year that's pretty more than sufficient for a return on investment for an item like this. I've left these running for up to 4 days non-stop on one set of batteries without issue. Now, for quality care for bait you have to do one of two things when seeing bait for more than one day. Either invest in a low volume circulating pump and filter system, or change the water daily. As all who use live shiners for bait well know these critter crap............ a lot....... Keep the water fresh and cool is a must. The fresher and cooler the water but more residual O2 in the water at all times. Warm water does not retain as much dissolved O2 as cooler water, and decaying matter consumes a lot of the "free O2" from the water whether warm of cold converting it to CO and CO2 naturally. Those little blue O2 pills work great. They impede the decaying matter from consuming a lot of O2 if you can find them and want to spend a few extra $$.

Getting back to the care of the cheaper aerators, if you neglect them even once and let rust or oxidation start you have allowed a non-reversible process start. You can slow it down by cleaning and caring, but once it starts it can't be stopped. You only prolong the inevitable. But, even with that you should get decent life out of it with a little extra TLC.

Now, this is pretty much for a bait bucket and not a built in live well. I've used them for this too and they work, just have to add something to your boat to hang it on and make sure it doesn't get moisture in it.

Another important thing is the diffuser. Not all are equal. If you're not getting a ton of bubbles it's probably because your diffuser is too dense and requires a higher pressure to get through. When you see this you need to trash it and try a different one. If you're not able to push through with ease you'll wear out your motor and pump much faster. I also always use two aerators in my bucket. I also keep a fine mesh scoop net to sift the crap once or twice a day depending on how many shiners I have in the bucket. I always have a 5 gal bucket on board for "personal use". The bait buckets usually have an insert you can lift out with your bait. I take it out and pour the water through the fine meshed net in to the 5 gal bucket then back in to the bait bucket and put the insert with the shiners back in it. This gets all of the big stuff and probably 50% of the little stuff out cleaning the water significantly. The shiners stay fresh and lively all day. Process takes every bit of 2 - 3 minutes. Well worth it.