2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

mattsmall1972

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2006
Messages
238
Hi - I bought my boat new a couple of years ago, but I still do not understand how the livewell operates. There is a toggle switch on the dash board that runs the aeration. There is a hole just above my transom drain that looks like a water inlet/outlet with something that looks like a flapper. Additionally, there is a water valve inside the livewell that seems to always have water pumping through it, whether or not the livewell aerator button is on. My questions are 1) How does it get water 2) How does the water drain 3) How can I prevent water from getting into it when I don't want it 4) the valve seems to run whether or not the aerator is on - what's going on? I need some detailed instructions since the boat did not come with any. I cross-posted into the Sea-Pro forum as well, but it seems really slow. Thank you.
 

mattsmall1972

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2006
Messages
238
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

How about *any* information on operating a livewell?
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

You have not provided enough information. Live wells are simple devices. What you are calling valves are probably not valves but rather are the aerator/fill nozzles. You said you have a switch on the console "for the aeration". What is the label on that switch. Does it say "Livewell" perhaps?

While there are several different types of livewell systems, that boat probably has the simplest of the bunch. The livewell switch turns on a livewell pump located somewhere at the stern of the boat. The water inlet to the pump is located below the water line very close to the bilge drain plug. From there the pump pushes water through a line to the spray head in the live well tank. The livewell will have either a plug for the drain hole in the bottom or it will have a standpipe that pushes into the drain hole. When the water gets to the top of the standpipe it simply runs over to prevent filling up your boatd should you forget to turn the switch off. OR, you insert a plug in the drain hole and there is an overflow near the top of the livewell that drains excess water through another hose with the drain going out the side of the boat. The bottom of some livewells is below the water line so whether or not the pump is running, some water will always get into the tank unless you insert the plug. If you don't understand what a standpipe is, take the lid off the toilet tank in your bathroom. The pipe in the center of the tank is a standpipe. If water gets too high, it runs down the pipe -- otherwise it would run over onto the floor. If you had a high end boat there would be some recirculation and drain valves operated by solenoids or manual levers somewhere in the vicinity of the console. I don't think you have that design.
 

riverkeg

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
83
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

To add to what Silvertip states (which is exaclty right), there should also be 2 modes of the switch operation - manual and automatic. If you have only one switch, it should be a 3 postion toggle with up being one or the other, bottom being the opposite and the middle position being off. There is also the possibility that a separate adjustable timer is linked to the automatic pole in the switch. Basically, you use the manual position to fill the livewell (with the standpipe or plug in) and, the automatic position after you start putting fish in it. Keep in mind, if it's the simple type mentioned, they usually cannot pull water in while the boat is up on plane. So if you have a long run back to the launch and you want your fish alive when you get there, you should stop every 10 minutes or so to pump some oxygenated water in. Hope this helps.
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
15,417
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

Sea Pro.......could be.

Do you have a scoop type intake for your livewell on the bottom of the hull? If you do, there should be a seacock (valve) where the intake passes thru the hull. You'll need to close that valve to stop the flow of water to the tank.

I have a scoop intake with a seacock. As long as the seacock is open, and the boat is under way, I have water flowing to my livewell. Even if the pump is turned off the water pushed right thru the pump.
 

mattsmall1972

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2006
Messages
238
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

Thanks for the information. I will take some pictures of the stuff I have and post it. I'm most concerned with understanding how water gets into the livewell and how it drains. Here are more details:

I do have a toggle switch that says "Livewell". As far as I recall (I'm at work at the moment), it is an on-off switch, not three-way.

The livewell has a valve - meaning a faucet-type thing- that can be turned on and off with the valve. It always seems to be able to push water through whether or not the switch is on. So now I have no idea what the switch is for.

The livewell has a drain in the bottom that can hold a standpipe. The drain in the lviewell goes to a hole just above the bilge drain hole. It seems like there's a "flapper" type of piece in there... but I'm not sure that's what it actually is. When I pushed on it, water did not come rushing out as I expected it to.

Silvertip seems to be correct in his understanding of my setup. My confusion stems from the fact that sometimes it seems that water gets in there without me doing anything. Sometimes it does not. And after my most recent trip, I could not figure how to get the water out that was in the livewell, even though there was no drainpipe or plug in it - maybe it's plugged up?

Thanks again. I will post again later.
 

5thFish

Cadet
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
21
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

To prevent water from entering the livewell... 1) Make sure the livewell power switch is "off". 2) At the top of the livewell is a white water-spicket with a black on/off knob, turn to off. "Off" is when the black knob is in the perpendicular position. 3) At the bottom center of the livewell is a drain hole. When the boat is moving water can back-flow up through this drain. Make sure you plug this hole. The dealer should have a simple rubber plug for it if you don't already have one.

To use the livewell... 1) Screw the stand-pipe that Silvertip mentioned into the center drain hole. It's just a simple tube about 18in long with a rubber threaded end that screws into the drain. The top is open with small holes to allow water to flow from the top of the tank out through the drain in the bottom... without taking any of your bait with it.... 2) The black knob on the spicket should be opened or parallel to the valve. 3) Turn the livewell power switch "On".

Note: The livewell pump pulls water through a through-hull valve located in the bilge. This valve must be open to operate the livewell pump. Do NOT operate the pump when this valve is closed. It's not dangerous but it will damage the pump pretty quickly.
I'm assuming you know where the through-hull valve is at...

I think SeaPro uses "Tsunami-Series" livewell pumps (at least mine does). Look into your bilge and see if you see something that says something like "Tsunami Series 800" or 500 or 400 or whatever... That's your livewell pump.

That black flapper on the transom drain hole is a problem. I have the same thing and it seems to do a very good job of holding water in and not letting a lot of water out. It's easy to unscrew and remove. Make sure there isn't anything plugged up behind it, clean it off, maybe flex it a bunch and screw it back into place.
 

Home Cookin'

Fleet Admiral
Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
9,715
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

consider as well that the valve on the "spigot" in the live well is broken.
My Sea Hunt is rigged like Dinbat's. intake is on the bottom, so I get water flowing into the system when running UNLESS I close the sea **** (valve) at the intake in the bilge. Good idea to keep it closed if you're not using these things incase of failure.
My drains are gravity, out the side. i don't think I have an overflow drain (poor design) just rely on the standpipe.
Go to the hardware store and get a flat plug to keep any water from backflowing into the livewell, if you want to keep it dry (and after you resolve yuor intake issue).
Never seen the 3 way switch; yours is a 2 way like mine. My same pump also runs the raw water wash-down, so I get water forced through it as well.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

Getting water OUT of the livewell (draining it) depends on whether or not the bottom of the live well is below the water line. If it is, anytime the boat is stopped, water will flow through the drain (back up through it) because as you know, water flows down hill. This is a dumb design because once you use the livewell, there is no way to drain it with the boat in the water unless there is another person around. You get on plane, pull the plug, and when the water is gone, the other person inserts the plug. If you fish alone, you are forced to run around with a half full livewell with no fish in it. I fixed mine by installing a second pump, plugging the drain and running the pump outlet overboard. The livewell can now be emptied at will, it never has water in it when I don't want it in there, and there is no chance of a broken drain line sinking my boat.
 

Home Cookin'

Fleet Admiral
Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
9,715
Re: 2007 Sea Pro 186 DC - How to operate livewell?

agreed, dumb design. Hadn't seen it before, although some are close! But his Sea Pro will probaly not have the below-line wells
 
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