# Livewell over flow plumbing.



## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm going to be building a livewell into my new boat like the last one, but this time i was thinking of a baitwell in the center console instead of the rear of the boat. So my question is how do you run the overflow for the well? 

In a rear or side well it's obvious, but it's not like I can just dump it over the side if it's in the middle. I don't want to run into a situation like my last boat where it didn't drain out fast enough so if I didn't turn it off and switch to the recirculator pump after a while it would spill into the boat. So how is it done? Large bore tube down and out the back? :-/


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## floridanative1028 (May 30, 2009)

That's how I did it. I used 1 1/4" PVC straight back under my false floor but my coffin box has a bulkhead to the rear of the baitwell for pumps. I put a PVC shut off valve right behind the bulkhead so I could use it as a recirculating well or aerated. If that doesn't make sense I'll post pics but my boat is upside down being painted until tomorrow. Since water is self leveling just make sure your thru-hull is lower than the top of your overflow tube.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Well I won't refuse pictures if you are willing 

Basically what you discribed is exactly what I was thinking, but I had a 1 1/4" overflow on my last one, and it didn't keep up with the 500gph pump I had. The thru-hull was set about 3 inches lower then the over flow vent so maybe it needed to be lower?


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

When I was building a livewell for my offshore boat,
I was told that the diameter of the overflow pipe
should be at least twice the diameter of the input pipe.


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## floridanative1028 (May 30, 2009)

I was told the same thing as you Brett about the overflow being twice the diameter but my intake is 3/4" so I figured 1 1/4" was close enough.  I have a 500 gph pump as well so if it doesn't drain fast enough I can just cut the tube and let it drain into my bilge but I'm not too fond of that option for a few reasons.  

I'll let you know how my setup works because I have been wondering the same thing as you as far as the difference in the height of the tube and the thru-hull affecting the efficiency of discharging water.

...as a matter of fact I'm going to do some science experiments in the garage right now.  results coming soon.


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## Swamp (Jul 12, 2010)

Firecat, did you have a valve you could partially close on your inlet? If you have one you can always restrict inflow so that you can't overwhelm your drain.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

No I didn't have a valve to restrict flow, but I did have a spray nozzle that I cranked down a ways so I know that did restrict flow somewhat. I will probably just increase the size of the over flow to 1.5" or 1.75" if I can find it, run it down and out the transom and hope for the best.


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## floridanative1028 (May 30, 2009)

Took me a while to respond but the weather was too unpredictable to paint for a while there.

I got the whole thing rigged and tested it on the water and it worked flawless. 500 gph pump draining into a 1 1/4" pipe was all I needed. My discharge is below the waterline so I don't know if the tension already on the water helps it drain smoother. The difference between the top of the drain tube and the thru-hull is about 14-16 inches. I'll get some pics soon but my boats at my brothers house and my camera was dead when I went over there yesterday.


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## B.Lee (Apr 29, 2008)

Drain it thru the floor, out the bottom.

My livewell is in the rear deck, but far forward of the transom, and not much different than yours in the center console area.

I used the 2:1 rule, the drain is only gravity fed, and is 1.5" diameter. The fill (although not yet plumbed) will be 3/4". 

In my case the overflow drain also doubles as the tunnel vent, but you could easily use it as a drain only. If you angled the thru-hull in the hull bottom at 45* or better, it wouldn't get any backflow when running. There are many things you could do here, but it's not an issue in any case.

At rest, the thru-hull is below the static waterline, so the drain is silent. I'll get some more pics and dimensions if your interested. I also fabbed all my parts from epoxy and glass, no plastic here! the thru-hulls are part of the hull and livewell.


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