Livewells filling on their own!!!

[C.O.L.]

I purchased my first boat a couple months ago. It is a 1994 LOWE 1730 fish and ski. I really like the boat, and it is powered by a Johnson 70hp. The boat is going in sometime soon for a spring tune-up. I took the boat out for the first time today on the river (because all the lakes are frozen) and thats when I discovered that the boat engine needs a tune-up, but I also noticed that when I pulled the boat out of the water I had a bunch of water drain out of the boat. So I open the rear livewell and notice that it filled up and drained out without me turning the pump on? The front one was also wet too. Im worried about this because I know livewells are not supposed to be filling up on their own and need to get this fixed as if it fills up too much It could become a potential sinking hazard. What do you guys recon I do?

 

[saumon]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

Is your drains plugged?

If not, they will fill up to the floatation level, which is normal.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

I think your problem might be somewhere else and you maybe you just have a leak, livewells almost always drain over board and the inlet is on the back of the boat so you can't fill them underway.

I have seen the hoses going to the livewell crack and if they are under the water line the boat will get a lot of water but I don't think it is from the livewell itself.

Maybe drop it back in the water and see if you can find where the water is coming from.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

My older style live well, drains into the bilge, and the bilge pump, will pump it out. My pump is mounted to the inside bottom of the transom, and the pump shouldnt let water through until it runs. I would guess if its broke inside, it could let water through to the live well if backing down hard. Just my .002

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

I purchased my first boat a couple months ago. It is a 1994 LOWE 1730 fish and ski. I really like the boat, and it is powered by a Johnson 70hp. The boat is going in sometime soon for a spring tune-up. I took the boat out for the first time today on the river (because all the lakes are frozen) and thats when I discovered that the boat engine needs a tune-up, but I also noticed that when I pulled the boat out of the water I had a bunch of water drain out of the boat. So I open the rear livewell and notice that it filled up and drained out without me turning the pump on? The front one was also wet too. Im worried about this because I know livewells are not supposed to be filling up on their own and need to get this fixed as if it fills up too much It could become a potential sinking hazard. What do you guys recon I do?

yes it is normall as the pipes that let water out will also let water in. you can plug the drain lines but you can not plug the over flow lines so the rear will still get proberly get some water in it as you come off plane. If filling the livewells on a boat was capable of sinking it then that would be a design problem. The livewells if installed correctly have there own drain lines and do not drain to the bilge so plug the drains at the back if you dont plan on using the wells as this will help get the boat on plane easier by reducing weight but do not plug the overflows that exit the side off the boat and remove the plugs when back on dry land to allow the wells to drain ( some yuppie models have a switch or lever to work a valve that will shut off the drains most just use a small plug )

 

[C.O.L.]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

Ok, that makes me feel better. I know it was the livewells that filled because the rear one had a new roll of paper towels in it, and lets just say they used up all of their absorbing power. I also know that I have to replace my bilge pump and already have a new one.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

How your live wells fill and drain depends on their design. Remember, water runs down hill. If the bottom of the livewell is below water level when the boat is in the water, water will run into the livewell until it is at the same level as the water the boat is in. Obviously when you pull the boat out, the water runs out the again. It is the Overflows that normally drain out the side of the boat. The more basic livewells like yours have a standpipe that sits in the drain hole in the bottom of the livewell. The pump pumps water into the tank until it runs over the top of the standpipe and out the drain. If you don't know what a standpipe is or how it works, lift the lid on your toilet tank. That pipe in the middle of the tank is a standpipe. To keep water out the livewell you must have the standpipe in place or there must be a plug in the drain.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

There are quite a few different designs for livewell plumbing, you'll need to spend some time getting familiar with yours. I'd suggest makig yourself a diagram of where all the hoses, valves, and pumps are and how they inter-connect so that you have a full understanding of your sytem. My fish-n-ski has a very basic system where the livewells drain to through-hull fittings which both happen to be beneath the waterline when the boat is standing still. I keep those plugged whenever possible to reduce the chance of taking on water due to a leaking or broken drain hose (one of the first times I took the boat out after buying it I stored sandwiches and drinks in an unused livewell - needless to say we went hungry that day :facepalm. If I ever need to use the livewell those plugs have to come out because the livewell overflow goes to those same drain lines. Yours may or may not be similar.

 

[Floridaguy32514]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

Maybe I'm just the one thinking worst case scenario, but, Are you SURE it was just the livewells? you said your motor needed a tune up, and there was a lot of water when you pulled the plug. Are you sure your motor just wasn't bogging out because the amount of water in your boat under the deck?

 

[rolfe]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

My Lowe did the same thing unless I plugged the drain holes, otherwise they fill up to the ambient water level.

 

[zimm17]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

Check the supply line coming from the water pickup. On my grady, there's a seacock (love that word) under the floor that has to accessed from a pop out access hole in order to open and close. When open, the livewell will fill just from the water pressure of being on plane. The prior owner said to be careful because he once filled up the livewell where he was storing his lunches for the day by leaving the valve open. The pump lets the livewell fill while not moving and also circulates the water through.

 

[bqtoot]

Re: Livewells filling on their own!!!

My bass boat was doing the same thing. The problem was the Flowrite valve which lets water in/out of the livewell was old and needed replacing. Solved the problem immediately. While waiting for the new valve to arrive, I just pushed a cork into the inlet hose and secured it with tape. Here's the valve I used. Try to look for something like this. Good luck.
https://www.flow-rite.com/marine/product-info/valves/v4-valve