Live Well Question

[Hvymtl]

New to fishing boats. Have a 2002 Crestliner Nova aluminum 17ft boat (like a tracker). It has a live well that I'm not sure how it works. I have a manual and automatic switch on the cockpit. Inside the well there are two tubes one at the top (where the water is pumped in from the outside and one a bout 3/4 up the tank (that goes to a overflow port out the bottom of the transom). My question is what keeps the water from coming back in the boat if I leave the overflow plug open and if I want to add periodic fresh water to keep bait/fish alive how does the overflow work when the hole is "below the waterline"? Is it just simple physics that the water cannot rise above the level of the overflow pipe?

 

[midcarolina]

The hose going to the transom should be the suction of the aerator pump..........the above water line hose should be the overflow/discharge line..........On you live well control panel do you have an adjustable knob next to the manual automatic switch......... the auto side should periodically run to keep fresh water in live well....... manual would constantly recirculate water...........

 

[Silvertip]

You have a very conventional system. With the console switch set to MANUAL, the live well pump dumps water into the tank from the aerator (the tube at the top of the tank). With the vertical tube (called a stand pipe) inserted into the bottom of the tank, the drain is essentially blocked so water will rise to the top of the tube and then run over into the tube and out the drain. Take the lid off your toilet at home and see how the water flows down the stand pipe if the tank gets too full. Your live well works exactly the same way. After the water level reaches the top of the stand pipe, switch to AUTO mode. The pump will then run for a minute or so to add fresh water (not recirculated water) and then shut off automatically for about 3 minutes. If there is a timer adjustment knob, that knob can be set to whatever on/off times you want. You do not need to manually add water -- that's what the AUTO function is for. When done for the day, pull the stand pipe and the live well will drain. Here is where physics enters the picture. If the bottom of the live well is below the level of the lake water, water will rise in the live well until the lake level and level in the tank are equal. The solution is simple: Pull the stand pipe, get on plane until the live well is empty and then replace the stand pipe.