How does a LIVE WELL work?

[beckoning]

My "new" 19' Sea Nymph Great Lakes Special has a live well up front with pump at the stern. How does this all work? I don't think I have any use for a live well, but won't know until I understand how it works and what it does. Any help will be appreciated. The live well is a metal box under the deck. It has an overflow tube and what appears to be an inlet. At the stern are 2 drain holes (besides the bilge drain) with drain plugs. What does all this do?

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: How does a LIVE WELL work?

Keeps your live bait alive..

 

[Fireman431]

Re: How does a LIVE WELL work?

Basically, it pulls external water in thru a pump, it gets aerated ans it spills into the tank, and as the water level rises, the excess goes thru the over-flow tube back into the lake/river. Some have an adjustable valve on the water outlet so you can set the incoming flow to match the outgoing overflow.

 

[seabob4]

Re: How does a LIVE WELL work?

Basically, it pulls external water in thru a pump, it gets aerated ans it spills into the tank, and as the water level rises, the excess goes thru the over-flow tube back into the lake/river. Some have an adjustable valve on the water outlet so you can set the incoming flow to match the outgoing overflow.

Pretty much...
You might also notice that if you leave the valve open on the aerator head in the LW, it will fill by itself WITHOUT the pump on when on plane. This is normal as livewell pickups are what we call "scoop strainer", or "high speed" pickups, as opposed to a simple mushroom head pickup. You can stop this by either closing the shut-off valve at the pickup, or closing the aerator head valve. Lot's of people who don't use their livewells like to use them for dry storage. Kinda sucks when you get to where you're going and your stuff is soaked...