Thread: Livewell DIY - water intake problems

Possibly a bypass vavle at the pump discharge will help it get rid of the bubble. Once the bubble is gone the vavle will be shut to allow normal operation

I had a similar problem with my factory built live well. The intake was at transom. It would develop an air lock and I had to back up to clear it.

not sure about drawing,looks like u could elimanate 90 an be good.

i mint to say could u use flex tubing an not 90.

I have a wareagle with livewell on starboard side. Intake is through side of hull just like yours with pump mounted right at side of hull. It is a nightmare it times to get it to pump water. Boat rolls just a bit and it sucks air. I’m thinking we both have the same problem. To close to surface so not enough water pressure to help force water to the pump. I have thought about trying to rig a 90 on the outside but then I always think it would get broken off. In your particular setup think I’d replace that one 90 with a 45. Seems to me that would make a big difference. Bringing the intake down more level with where pipe goes into well.

Originally Posted by Keith K

not sure about drawing,looks like u could elimanate 90 an be good.

that's probably right, its a big mess. Long story on how that happened, its hard to explain.

The thru hull was straight so I drilled the hole right next to the seat. Being straight it pointed up making the hose higher and a big air bubble in the hose. So I cut the hose adapter part and 1/2 the treads off so I could screw a elbow on that would point down. But since it was so close to the side of the seat I couldn't use a elbow with hose adapter, no room the screw it on.

Here's what I ended up with. Probably gona have to find a thru haul 90 degree to replace it all with or try to patch the hole and put in the bottom of the boat. Really don't want to make another hole in my boat.

Cray, sounds like we have same problem. I also thought about putting in a downspot in the thru haul on outside of boat but eventually would get broken off loading the boat. WIth hole so close to the surface there's no pressure just slow gravity flow of water to prime the pump. I even tried sitting on the edge of the boat to push the hole down lower but all that does is raise the pump higher. Guess I'll just keep bucketing water in until I get it working.

Originally Posted by Charly

that's probably right, its a big mess. Long story on how that happened, its hard to explain.

The thru hull was straight so I drilled the hole right next to the seat. Being straight it pointed up making the hose higher and a big air bubble in the hose. So I cut the hose adapter part and 1/2 the treads off so I could screw a elbow on that would point down. But since it was so close to the side of the seat I couldn't use a elbow with hose adapter, no room the screw it on.

Here's what I ended up with. Probably gona have to find a thru haul 90 degree to replace it all with or try to patch the hole and put in the bottom of the boat. Really don't want to make another hole in my boat.

Seems to me like a 45* coupler would work just fine in place of that blue fitting , with a straight plastic male hose barb on the end.

I have also seen where people have made angle blocks to straighten out the thru hull, and make it parallel with the water. Might help some, although you would need a new thru hull that is long enough to go through them.

If you are having issues with clearance while assembling those parts, you can always back off that thru hull, rotate the 90 away from the seat and floor, assemble the fittings, then swing it back into place and tighten the thru hull nut.