Livewell plumbing

I installed a center console with a livewell.
I have an 18′ Lowe Olympic jon.
The guage panel, fuses, switches, and steering are done.
Now I have to install the water plumbing.
Before I put any holes in the hull
I want to have a plan layed out
for the entire onboard water system.
It looks like I need 3 pumps.
Bilge pump
livewell fill pump
livewell recirc pump

It seems like there should be a livewell overflow line.
I want to minimize the number of holes in the hull and livewell.
Use the least number of valves and “T’s”
And be able to drain it for storage/trailering.

I have penciled out several different layouts/schematics/configurations.
But, they don’t seem to really be the optimum setup.

What do you guys feel would be the absolute best
onboard water system configuration.
And what kind of valves PVC, copper, or galvinized.
I’ll probably use 3/4″ automotive heater hose for piping.
I don’t want to use the cheap plastic accordian hose they sell at walmart.
Any input would be appreciated.
Especially if a diagram is included or linked to.
Thanks

It doesn’t seem like you need a recirculating pump. Don’t most livewells work on the basis that bringing in new water is better for the fish than just recirculating the old water. When the livewell pump is running then it is bringing in fresh water and they have a vertical PVC pipe which fits in a drainwell in the bottom of the livewell. When the water reaches the top of the vertical pipe then it flows out the drain so that you can continuously add new water without overflowing it.
I’m not sure what kind of hose they use in a typical livewell but you may want to consider that soft plastic that is used for things like aquarium air hoses. It comes in all different sizes and I just saw it at Menards in the plumbing area.

I found this site that has a pretty good explanation of livewells.

http://www.nccoastalfishing.com/index.htm?livewells.htm~main

I’d be leary of automotive heater hose. You can get the premium hose that is made for livewells at Cabelas. It’s 1.59 a foot for 3/4 inch. The corrugated stuff is .65 per foot. Also the fittings for through the hull and the livewell.

Go to their website and look under the marine section.

OK, here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
Having one thru hull fitting at the transom.
Then first a main shutoff valve.
Run one hose the 8′ distance up to the livewell.
Next have a T for the overflow to tap into.
Then a T for the drain line with a valve in it to tie into.
Then the pump inlet.
The pump outlet can be piped to a spray bar at top of livewell.
This rig would let me have one hole in the boat hull,
one pump, 2 valves, 2 T’s, and about 14′ of hose.

I have a full custom aluminum floor in the boat
so going straight down thru the hull is out of the question.
I could drill the hole in the side, below the waterline.
I have several “services” on the right side of the console,
so one more wouldn’t be a big deal.
I have no idea where a boat livewell pump inlet hole/fitting “normally” is.
The inlet line from the hull fitting and the overflow line,
I believe would need to be twice the size of the pump outlet,
to keep it from over filling.
It may even need a throttle valve on the pump outlet.

Having the drain line tie into the pump suction
would allow me to shut the main shutoff at the hull,
open the drain valve, and run the pump in a closed system recirc mode.

What do you guys think?
Am I on the right track here?
This will be my first real livewell,
so help is definately appreciated.

You might also need a valve on the overflow line to keep the pump from sucking air. That will probably depend on how large, how deep, and how long the run is from the thru-hull connector.

Ah, good point
thanks

Ok;

Stupid question……….

For the discharge hose (primarily the overflow), I would assume that the tube end needs to be lower than the livewell drain hole?

When the “overflow” comes into effect, will it automatically start to siphon on its own?

The scenario that I’m picturing is a tube with a screen on the top, fitted into the drain hole of the live well. When the water level reaches the “full” mark and starts to drain, don’t you need to stratigically place the exit hole out the boat?

Most livewells have the base below the waterline. So with that said, how do you get the water to pump out? There is no pressure to push it out………..

Pumping water in is the easy part, but getting it out of the livewell, when the boat is in the water is confusing.

Sorry, but physics are really screwing with my picture of this…..

The overflow is gravity.

Most livewells will overflow into the boat to some degree.

Just hit the bildge switch from time to time.

Don’t over GPH the intake.