Engel Bait Cooler

I recently purchased a 13 qt Engel Bait Cooler, and the dc charger that comes with the aerator is not practical. I was thinking about removing the piece that goes into the 12 volt receptacle and replacing it with + & – alligator clips. I would then hook it up to a 12v 9ah battery. I don’t want to have to keep buying D batteries. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I’d just ditch that pump all together. I switched to a rechargeable lithium pump off Amazon that will run all day off a charge. Keep it plugged in when I’m at home or in the ice castle with the generator running. Works great and waaaay quieter than the engel pump

That’s what I will do eventually. I’m planning on waiting until the Engel aerator craps out, which won’t be long according to internet reviews.

Cooler is good, pump is junk. Swap it out to a different brand. I get around 3-4 days of runtime on a set of batteries with my current setup. I plug it into 110 when I get home and let it run for days or weeks on end.

Good advice guys. Anyone have a link to what you’ve gotten, or Smellson whatever it was you got on amazon? I’d much rather go with rechargeable than going up north with 10 pounds of D batteries for the aerator it comes with.

Smellson wrote:

I’d just ditch that pump all together. I switched to a rechargeable lithium pump off Amazon that will run all day off a charge. Keep it plugged in when I’m at home or in the ice castle with the generator running. Works great and waaaay quieter than the engel pump

Smellson, can you provide the brand and model of pump you purchased?
Thanks

Clam used to have one, that’s what I did.

I have the 13 and 30 qt w/rod holders. Use the 30 mostly to hold ice and a few fish. Or a trip I need bait for multiple days. Usually run the pump off boat battery, Optima in a Minn-kota box or 2-9amp in an ammo box. 110 when not fishing. But agree the pumps are junk. Would like to have the rechargeable lithium option. But more important a good pump. I have 4 junk ones I’m nursing along.

Pump, wonder if this is the one, on sale
pump

Clam has a rechargeable pump. Used all last winter and some this summer. Works good so far.

Igotone, can you use the pump while charging? I had a Bluetooth speaker that was rechargeable and you couldn’t use it while it was charging, that was a pain. That looks like a pretty small pump to do 100 gallons though

100 gallons ? engel coolers are not that big
it also shows a chip on the back.
looks like it would fit right on the bait cooler which would be nice

got this info on amazon site:

Question:
Can it work while charging?

Answer:
YES

This is the one I have. Has the same metal clip on the back to clip onto the side of the engel, too. I’m guessing the other linked would also work well? And yes, it can still aerate while charging.

Those pumps look better will have to swap mine-you can though keep minnows alive for a long time just by keeping them cold and changing some of the water, doing that I might run my pump maybe 10 min. a week. Make sure the water is treated if you use city water and is at the same temp as the old water.

Be careful getting one on amazon. A lot of those aren’t rated to be in cold weather for long. They have a tendency to crap out fast.

Been using the Clam lithium rechargeable pump for 4-5 seasons now. Works great. It’s quiet and the battery last all day. Will buy another if this one ever takes a s***

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I use the cheapest one I can find…usually one of those Mr. Bubbler ones from a Fleet Farm on sale for $9. I get a few seasons out of one. I don’t fish with live bait in the summer at all hardly, and in the Winter it’s amazing how long fatheads and crappie minnows will stay alive with nothing. With that tiny cheap bubbler I can keep bait a month, by just flipping on the aerator when I remember for a couple hours and occasionally adding some snow.

igotone wrote:

100 gallons ? engel coolers are not that big
it also shows a chip on the back.
looks like it would fit right on the bait cooler which would be nice

got this info on amazon site:

Question:
Can it work while charging?

Answer:
YES

I only said that because I looked on their website to see if they worked while charging, which they don’t say, but said they were good up to a 100 gal aquarium.

Agree with bucky. Keep em cold and swap out the water once in a while and they will live forever

A bigger aerator stone will also extend battery life – less resistance to pump through. I changed to the linked stone below and at least doubled the run time of the original Engel aerator.

Interesting, might have to try the larger stone idea. Do your selves a favor guys and buy a cheap fish tank aerator for 110 use, super quiet just unhook the hose from the pump and hook it to that. I only use the battery pump when I am on the run or if the generator is not running in the castle. And yes agree you can go a long time without running it, if we are not talking shinners.

!4-what brands ‘crapped out’ on you?

tim hurley wrote:

!4-what brands ‘crapped out’ on you?

None, I’ve had my two engels for 4 years and still have the factory pumps. Have heard from friends who have gone the chinese route without much success.

My OE Engle pump lasted 1 season and 1 set of batteries. I ran it on 12v in the boat and 110 in the garage. Had to buy another Engle because I didn’t want to change pumps everytime from boat to garage. Could not find a combo (12v/110v) pump online that I liked.