Ranger livewell problems

[MASTER Brian]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

No, one pump is in rear, one is up front.<br /><br />I'm not sure why/how the front gets filled, but it does. Actually, I sometimes use the front well as a cooler, because when set to empty it doesn't take on the water that the rear one does. When set to fill, it does seem to take water on and both fill and empty are cable driven, so they aren't turning a pump on.

 

[KCLOST]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

The pumps do fill it up beyond what water will enter through boat position in the water.... It will fill up until it reaches the overflow... All the overflow water exits back to the lake...<br /><br />All the water that enters the livewell comes from the lake, except when you are running, then the flapper kicks in and circulates the water...

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

So the pump both circulates and fills the wells depending on what you have your flapper set at?

 

[KCLOST]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Yes...<br /><br />If you have it set at empty, the pump will run through drawing from lake water only. But the water should drain out even with the waterline on the boat. If you are running the boat and the intake is not taking in water it will not pump of course.<br /><br />But if you have it set on fill, the pump will draw water from the lake and fill... But if you start cruising the flapper will allow the pump to draw from the livewell for recirculation.<br /><br />I know it does this because if you partially fill up your livewell in the driveway it will just recirculate. If you turn it on while in the lake it will fill up to the top overflow which requires more water drawn from the lake to fill it that much.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

So it will fill it to the standpipe if you have it on fill. And will circulate if you take off down the lake. That is with the pump on?

 

[KCLOST]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Yep....

 

[KCLOST]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Yep, With a Ranger set-up anyway....<br /><br />And I guess I should have added that I too have a front and rear livewell and each one has a seperate pump, flapper valve and switch with timer settings... <br /><br />I've never seen what the gambler set-ups are like...

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

We have a switch/control for each well that has open/close on them.<br />Close to fill/airerate which is different and open to drain.

 

[dtherrien]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

I have a 97 ranger.....i had problems like you discribe.....i took the valves apart and cleaned them out. I get a little water in the live wells sometimes when i launch the boat.<br />when you move the levers to fill...they should fill up....just like if you had a hole in your boat.<br />In the empty position they empty when you are moving.<br />When you take your boat out of the water....put the lever in the middle and any water left will drain.<br />You should take those valves apart once ayear to remove sand and grit.

 

[sixfingers]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Hey guys. I realize this is an old thread, but wanted to share some info I found regarding Ranger Live-wells. I have a 1985 350v and the live well setup was a mess when I bought the boat.

The flapper system was missing altogether, although the cables acuators were still there. There was only one pump for both livewells. The front live-well was plumbed so the overflow was dumping into the bilge...lol :^

Anyhow, Ranger was no help in replacing the old flapper system. I did however find a company called flow-rite controls. They build live-well systems for all the popular boat companies.

http://www.flow-rite.com/marine/index.html?open_menu=1&sub_menu=1

I bought 2 system 3's. Needed 2 valves to cover both the front and rear live-wells individually. You can order which ever type of aerator best suits you. (beneath water or above etc.)

I'm still waiting on my order to arrive but I will post picks of the installation when I'm done.

(not sure why the attached pic didn't show...here's another one from photo-bucket)

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Boy am I glad you posted that. This is one of the next tasks I plan on tackling on my 86 Ranger 373V.

I do have some questions I hope you can answer....

Nevermind, I think I am finding the answers while looking on their site. I would love to see how this incorporates into your existing system as I'm sure we have the same setup. I'm going to see if I can just replace the switch, cable and control with their setup. It seems much better than what I currently have.

Thanks!! ...and please keep us updated!

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Ok, I looked around their site and this looks to be a great system. The only questions remaining are, do you just buy the pieces individually or is there a package? I also am interested in the system 3's.

I also am not finding anything on the pumps. Do you just use any pump? If so, then hopefully mine would work as they are all still working.

All I'd really need is the valve, the cable and the control as well as possibly a few misc fittings.

Did I mention how thankful I am you posted this info, I was just about to call and order new cables from a Ranger dealer, but this seems like such a better setup.

 

[sixfingers]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Brian, I thought from some of the literature that they had kits also, but that is not the case. They only make kits for boat manufacturers. Unfortunately you will have to order items individually. Its a bit confusing at first, but take your time and the system items will start to make sense. Also, they do not sell pumps....just use what you have, or order whatever you need. They recommend 750 gph. I have a 500 gph pump that I'm going to try to use for the front LW, and ordered a 750 gph pump elsewhere that I plan to install for the rear LW.

Use flow-rites interactive builder if you haven't already, and you can click on each individual piece to see exactly what you need. Be sure to take note of the QL - quick lock items they incorporate. The 'Quick lock' items are designed to fore-go typical hose clamps. You install the ql clamps to the hoses you wish to use that on, and then they just snap onto any QL valve or aerator. If you don't want QL's then just order the barbed version valves etc and use a normal hose clamp. I went ahead and got the QL valves and aerators just to make it all easier. All the quick lock items part numbers end in -QL.

If you already have the pumps and hose, probably all you need for system 3 is, 2-V3R valves, 2 RK3 actuators, and 2 cables (measure the length of your current cables before purchase).

Rangers default aerator idea was just a PVC cap screwed onto the pipe with a notch cut into them that sprays water in the well. I purchased the power stream aerator for the front LW (for delicate bait), and a power nozzle for the rear LW. I may switch the rear one to a power stream style also once I see it all working.

You can use their contact page and call them if you have any other questions. Roger is the guys name that I spoke with. Very nice fellow, and very helpful.

I should be getting my parts this coming weekend. I will definitely take pics during the install and show them here, since the Ranger livewell issue on older boats seems to be difficult to find info on. Not much info on-line anywhere that I could find, so I would be happy to share.


I can't wait to get this thing working....tired of water (and bait) flooding the bilge....lol :^

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Well, your system definately sounds like more of a mess than mine, but I need to do something as well.

I was thinking my rear livewell was setup more like the Power Stream, but maybe I am wrong. Maybe I will change it out as well. Do you have any idea on how one would go about changing the front system's aerator out?

Also, do you mind if I ask what you are spending on the entire system? I priced up the system with 2 actuator's, 2 valves and 2 cables and a few other misc items and was around $120 before shipping, but now you have me thinking of replacing everything, but I'll have to pull out my batteries, oil tank, etc to figure out what all I need and what I can get to.

I use my boat about 50% of the time for recreation with friends/family and when I do that I like to use one of the livewells for a cooler, so the idea that I could pull out the screen and easily insert a plug is really cool. Of course, I could also aerate the contents and cool things down in a hurry!!

Oh yeah, did you buy the clamping tool or is there another way to clamp the hoses to the fittings using the QL valves?

Thanks again...

 

[sixfingers]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

I was thinking my rear livewell was setup more like the Power Stream, but maybe I am wrong. Maybe I will change it out as well. Do you have any idea on how one would go about changing the front system's aerator out?

If I recall, Roger told me changing one out was as simple as unscrewing the pvc cap, and screwing their aerator on. I decided on the powerstream in the front because I'd like to use that lw for delicate bait like shad. I have a feeling the power nozzle might be a bit harsh for them. Like I said before, I will decide once I see them both working.

Also, do you mind if I ask what you are spending on the entire system? I priced up the system with 2 actuator's, 2 valves and 2 cables and a few other misc items and was around $120 before shipping, but now you have me thinking of replacing everything, but I'll have to pull out my batteries, oil tank, etc to figure out what all I need and what I can get to.

Keeping in mind that I needed everything minus one pump (I purchased new hose as well), my expense came to about $220 which includes shipping. The largest cost seems to be the valves and aerators.

Yeah, everything should be right under where your batteries are. If your boat is like mine, theres very little room foreword once you get up against the rear livewell, so I'm sure its all right there in the back. Also, you should have 4 holes in your transom. Two 3/4" holes for intake/drain to each LW, and Two 1-1/8" holes, one for draining the bilge, and the other is for overflow on both LW's. Roger suggested a T adapter to connect both overflow hoses to one of those 1-1/8" holes. I would definitely check this as yours might be plumbed a bit different. Perhaps you have 5 holes in the transom?

Oh yeah, did you buy the clamping tool or is there another way to clamp the hoses to the fittings using the QL valves?

No I didn't buy it from them. I'm pretty sure I can get one cheaper from Sears or Lowe's. I suspect you could use a normal hose clamp to to attach the QL thingys to the hose if you had to. Probably even a pair of small needle nose pliers should do the trick. Anyhow, I will keep you posted and provide picks of each step once I get my order.

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

I believe it will be easy to unscrew the stock setup, I am just curious where you access it from. Maybe you can get to it from under the front floor drain. I'll have to check once I uncover my boat again. It's supposed to rain here for the next few days, so I'm at a standstill since my boat is outside.

The rear livewell should be easy as it's all accessible from the bilge area.

Thanks for your totals it gives me an idea of how I might proceed.

I have 4 holes and you are probably correct on the size of the holes/hoses for them, but I understood them to do different things. One of the 1-1/8" holes is for the bilge, I thought the other 1-1/8" hole was for the intake on both LW's and that the 2 smaller 3/4" holes were for the overflows. The reason I thought this was the other Large hole has a screen on it. Of course it's been a while since I traced them.

I can't hardly wait until you get your parts!!:^

 

[sixfingers]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

You are correct Brian. The front LW plumbing can be accessed from the front floor drain. Its a bit tight, but I can easily get my arm in there and reach all the pipes. How difficult it will be to tighten clamps etc remains to be seen...lol I did not get the QL for the front area so I could use the existing pipes in there.

You may be right about the 4 holes also. The setup I described was to be able to operate both wells independently (2 separate flappers, one for each live-well). Each valve needs a separate intake/drain in order to use the recirc feature - separately. I don't know how that would work trying to recirc both wells at once. I guess you could engineer it differently, perhaps even drilling an extra hole in the transom if you absolutely had to. This was just the way Roger suggested plumbing it for my setup.

I can't hardly wait until you get your parts!!

Me too! Fishing with working live-wells? I've been deprived for too long....lol

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

I hadn't even thought about the need for the intakes needing to be seperate. :%

Maybe, my system T's off before the 1st valve. If not that might be the way I work mine. Of course the downside to that would be a slower fill on both livewells. So maybe it would be best to keep those seperate and T off of the remaining one for the drain. I also believe the two "drains" on mine are different sizes, but that may just be the interior dimensions of the fitting.

Now if this rain will just go away so I can go look!

All, I know is I don't want to drill another hole.

 

[sixfingers]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Got all my parts. Just waiting on the pump to arrive from basspro and the rain to let up now.

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: Ranger livewell problems

Well, the rain may be starting to let up here, so now I just need to find the time to tear into my current setup and see if I need to order any of this stuff.

I'm curious to know how yours is going, if you got the pump yet.