Aerator pump problem

My aerator pump takes suction thought the transom. It works fine when the boat is at anchor or moving very slowly but once I get the boat up top speed the pump loses suction and no water gets to the bait well. Is this normal? How would I correct the problem?

Re: Aerator pump problem

Normal

Re: Aerator pump problem

Ever look at the stern of another boat that's on-plane? If you did you will see that the stern is fully above teh water line which means yours is too and that the livewell intake is also above the water line. At that point there is no water to suck -- only air. That's why some livewells have a "recirculate" function. It allows recirculating the water you do have.

Re: Aerator pump problem

Absolutely right, if you want a steady pick up you'll have to go tru-hull with a strainer pick up for your water. Be aware at planing speed you can force feed a lot of water into your live well. I had a 1 1/2" discharge line off the side on my above deck livewell and could move a lot of water. If you don't want to cut a hole in hull, you can mount a pick up tube just under the keel but if you trailer, make it easily removable. Recirculation is the easiest if you don't have long distances to run and the bait is fairly hearty. The worst thing you can do is have a filter clog up with scales and stop the bubble flow to the bait unless you want to make chum for next trip.

Good luck and safe boating ya'll

Re: Aerator pump problem

Thanks for the input. I think I may try to run an extension from the transom aerator inlet down to just below the keel to see if it will keep the water to the aerator pump while planing. Do you see any downside to this?

Re: Aerator pump problem

Thanks for the input. I think I may try to run an extension from the transom aerator inlet down to just below the keel to see if it will keep the water to the aerator pump while planing. Do you see any downside to this?
Edit/Delete Message

Re: Aerator pump problem

I really don't know what the inlet looks like, but it will help if you have the pick up facing the water flow. it's a straight tube, put a 90 degree elbow on it if it won't pick up water while running with the tube pointed down. (that could actually syphon water from the live well). Take the boat out and test it.
Good excuse to run the boat.

One other way would be to glue (5200 or similiar) a block of primed & painted or glassed piece of wood to the transom. Cut a 3/4' hole and mount your strainer pick up to this. Then run a hose up to a plastic ball valve. Make sure your wood block is perfectly even with the angle of the hull and what you will have is a small extension of the original. At full speed you might have to close ball valve slightly if input exceeds outflow.