Livewell Pump

Hello all, I am going to put a new livewell pump to fill my two live wells in my boat. The back one never worked but the front one used to and that was OK with me. Now neither of them work so I am going to replace the pump and wiring to get them working. After doing some googling I cant seem to find the difference between aerator pumps and live well pumps or if there is any. I know that aerator pumps are for recirculating the water inside live well but what kind of pump do I need to fill it. If I google live well pump or aerator pump it comes up with aerator pumps. Can I use these pumps to fill my tanks? My tanks don't need a separate pump to aerate. They have an over flow tube and just pump in fresh water every couple of minutes. Also they have these kind of pumps that have two outlets. So I am hoping that I can just put one pump that can fill both live wells separately. Is this a possibility or am I way off?

A fill pump adds water to a live well.

A re-circulation pump recirculates the water inside your live well. Some people also call this an aerator...re-circulation adds air into the water. They are the same thing just call it which ever one you want too.

The internals for a pump for aerator/re-circulation and fill are the same. I can switch my re-circulation pump with my fill pump and everything would still work the same. Mine have a male/female wire connection. The pump is a cartridge that twist and connects to the housing. I can change a pump in less than 60 seconds...un-plug wire...twist off old pump cartridge...twist on new cartridge...plug wires back in. I am done.

Some pumps will be permanently attach to the plumbing/housing. If that is the case you have to change the entire unit. That's the reason I prefer the quick disconnect cartridge type. As for the pump itself they are all the same internally. If you use it as a fill it's a fill pump. The same pump can be use to re-circulate water,now it's a re-circulation pump.

If I understand you correctly all you have is fill and no re-circulation. Also if I understand you correctly you have found a pump housing that has one inlet that splits into two different supply/fill lines. If that is the case you could fill two different live wells with one pump. If that is correct and that is what you do I would get a high volume pump if it's going to be split. I would want 1000-1200 GPH as a minimum for one pump filling two different live wells. If I was running one pump to one live well I use a 750 GPH pump.

Thanks for the info! The pumps that I have in there name are plumbed into the intake on my transom. The have a garden hose that goes down to the pump that sits in the bilge. I hope it's easier to get to than I think with the fuel tank there.

On the one pump for two tanks. Do you know if I will be able to fill each tank individually or will I have to fill both at the same time? If it was both or none I think I will just got back with the one live well and leave the other on as a trash can. It depends on how easy I can get to the pumps and how easy the one is to change.

[QUOTE=Aquaman;532053]

On the one pump for two tanks. Do you know if I will be able to fill each tank individually or will I have to fill both at the same time? [/QUOTE]

Without looking at your set up I would assume you would have to fill them both at the same time. However I "think" I know a fix to that issue...go someplace that sells plumbing supplies. Buy a gate or ball valve that fits you hose. Install one on each line that supplies water to the live well. Then you can select which live well you want to fill or you could fill both based on which valve you have open. In "theory" that should work.

The only issue I see is access to open/close the valves. Most every bilge I have looked in is a tight area. If you were on the water and filling the front live well and decided you wanted to fill the back (or vise versed) could you reach the gate/ball valve you installed.

Personally I would want a pump for each live well. On a one pump set up if it goes bad you have lost both live wells. On a two pump set up if one goes bad you still have one live well that is operational.