Washdown and livewell pumps

[TBarCYa]

I need to replace the washdown and livewell pumps in my boat and I want to make sure I replace them with the right pumps. Right now the washdown is a Jabsco 5GPM / 60PSI pump which I think is perfect for a raw water washdown but the livewell is a Flojet 4.3GPM / 50PSI pump and I would think that the livewell would want higher flow with less pressure as to not terrorize the bait.

Am I thinking about this right or is that kind of pressure typical for a livewell pump? It's not an aerating or recirculating pump, it just pumps seawater into the livewell.

Thanks.

 

[dingbat]

It depends on how your live well is setup to operate.

If you have spray bars for aeration you need the pressure. If your simply circulating water then you want flow.

Keep in mind that (pressure) pumps are rated with closed ended flow. Running a pump open ended flow will result in pressures much lower than pump ratings.

My bait well is setup strictly for flow. I have Flowjet on my wash-down and a Rule 1100 GPM on the live well.

 

[TBarCYa]

There's no spray bars in mine so I'll be looking for more flow than pressure. Right now both pumps are the washdown type, as in they are screwed to the bilge area and connected to the thru-hull via hoses rather than mounted directly to the thru-hull. Since my thru-hull doesn't have a built in strainer, I'm likely to stick with this method which I assume I can do with a standard livewell pump if I get the right fitting to screw onto the end?

 

[garbageguy]

As said by another - depends on setup. Pump selection should be based, in part, on the heads the pump will see when operating under a few expected conditions. Although in the real world, they are often selected on what's available, what is typically used in a similar application. So your finding out what others use in similar conditions is a good idea.

 

[dingbat]

I have separate intakes for each pump to prevention starvation when both pumps are in operation.

The bait well pump is screwed directly into the seacock (straight threads) on scoop type intakes (thru hulls).

The washdown pump is mounted remote locatio. A hose with an in-line strainer connects the seacock to the pump.

There is good and bad to this configuration. The good, I don't have to run the bait well pump while running or drifting. The bad, the bait well fills unless I turn the ball **** off at the input.

Not a big deal unless you store things in the bait well from time to time. Last trip out the lunch bag was floating....lol

 

[TBarCYa]

Hmm... Now that the boat is in the water, and hopefully staying there for a couple months, I'll probably either use a Y on the hose from the seacock (as it is now) or a livewell pump with dual outputs, one to feed the washdown. Next time the boat is hauled I'll look into another thru-hull / seacock with a strainer.

 

[sam am I]

I have a T valve I tapped off of live-well for my added wash-down ..........Intake comes from thru hull scoop type under the boat, goes then through sea **** to spin off screen to high(er?) pressure/volume pump that has a auto shut off, then to the live-well/wash-down "T"........Auto shut off is nice if your washing down using a spray nozzle and a fish hits, otherwise when switched over to the live-well, there really isn't any back pressure so run constantly as needed.