Installing an aerator in livewell

[rob123p]

Hi Guys, I'm trying to install an aerator in my two livewells in my bass boat. Ok so I just got the used bass boat and it's my first one. Inside the livewells I have the holes where the water comes in and then I have two empty holes. I assume one of them is for the aerator and one for the overflow. There is no aerator currently in the livewells. Here is my question. On the dash I have an Aerator ON/OFF switch, should I be looking to see where the wires are going because I have a feeling he used that switch for something else. Also it is almost impossible to work on the outside of the two holes. How would you guys go about installing the aerators .

 

[SkaterRace]

I am not sure but posting some pictures will help those who can assist you.

 

[fhhuber]

A few ways to go about it... depending on how yours is plumbed.

A common one is a T on the drain, to an adapter fitting for the right size hose for the aerator.

On my current bass boat, I had to trace the hose to find the old broken aerator mounted to the transom hidden back under the spashwell as hard to reach as possible.
My previous one didn't have an aerator, just the pump to recirc the water and spray it back in from above the livewell max fill (before overflow)

 

[Captain Caveman]

My livewell switch rocks both ways. Pressing the bottom fills up the livewell with a constant flow of water. Rocking the switch to the top position, labeled "Aerator," makes the pump turn on at regular intervals. Your current pump may be set up the same way.

 

[rob123p]

I will try and post some pictures when I get back on working on the boat this Sunday. I'm also going to look and see why I have no access ports to access the livewells. There must be a way, I mean the engineers must have thought about repairs when they built the boat.

 

[fhhuber]

I will try and post some pictures when I get back on working on the boat this Sunday. I'm also going to look and see why I have no access ports to access the livewells. There must be a way, I mean the engineers must have thought about repairs when they built the boat.

No they didn't....

Consider the 3 years of Corvettes you had to PULL THE ENGINE OUT to change spark plugs.

 

[rob123p]

Yeah, either way looks like it's going to be a big job, I think this sunday I'm going to just focus on pulling out the gas tank and try and clear as much room as possible so I can get to the water pumps and start looking at the plumbing and wiring. I guess we'll take it from there

 

[fhhuber]

Really... the designers should be required to tear down and put back together anything they designed.
Its all too common for a repair to be : You can't get there without sawing the boat in half.

 

[Silvertip]

In your installation the spray bar or nozzle (where the water enters the tank) is the aerator. If the sprayer is a nozzle, then it can generally be adjusted for the spray pattern and force. Setting the switch to aerate merely runs the pump on a timed basis. What youj are apparently missing is the standpipe that goes into the drain hole. If you don't know what a standpipe is, take the lid off your toilet tank. That big pipe in the middle is a standpipe. When water in the livewell reaches the top of the standpipe it simply runs over the top of the pipe and out the drain.

 

[rob123p]

That might explain why I do not have a livewell pump on/off switch on the dash and only aerator on/off switch. Is there any way that u guys can think of that I can test the pumps when the boat is not in water?