Raw Water Wash-down and Live Well

J

JJRJR

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Hello ladies and gents:

A couple of buddies of mine borrowed my 1992 Gulfstream and they are fishing off Fort Lauderdale as I type this. On the dash is a switch that appears to control both the livewell and the washdown pump. They said that when the flip the switch to either the livewell or the washdown, they can hear a pump running, but no water goes into the livewell or through the washdown hose.

This boat is new to me and we are feeling our way around to see how things work.

Any thoughts on what could be the issue here? Is there some type of valve that needs to be turned on?

I would have thought if you flip the switch to "livewell" it will fill it up and keep it running.

On that issue, how does the livewell actually work? Once it fills, does it continue to run to keep the water fresh? I'm curious to know how it keeps the water aerated.

Thanks all,

John
 
I am not familiar with the particulars of the Gulfstream system, but Grady has the owners manuals available on line that will show the schematic and valves along with operating instructions. My guess is the seacock (valve) is closed. Most all thru hulls have a seacock installed. If there is only one switch and pump for both livewell and washdown, there is also likely a valve that selects either washdown plumbing or livewell plumbing. If they open the washdown nozzle and there is pressure water, then at least you know that seacock is open, assuming it is common to both systems. Most live wells use raw water from a thru hull and have a removable stand pipe that keeps the water at a certain level. Water going into the top of the stand pipe is simply drained overboard, typically above the waterline. Some live wells also have an aeration system that recirculates aerated water. Check the owner's manual for details. Hope that helps!
 
THANK YOU!! I appreciate the reply. I'll check the schematic.

Best,

John
 
in my 94 tournament i have a button labelled the same way but the boat doesn't have a livewell installed and is not drilled for one. the switch works the washdown pump only which is fed from the freshwater tank.

so it could be you have no livewell pump and the fresh water tank is out of water.

my washdown pump is located in the stern starboard battery compartment.

fresh water tank in mine is in the floor between the helm and companion seats and can be checked by popping the deck plate,

water is filled through a filler located on the front wall of the platform on which the companion seat sits.
 
As stated, check seacocks. It could be a bad impeller as well. The motor will run but no flow. I had one fail where the motor hummed - not even sure was rotating. They are usually an easy replacement if the pump is bad. You can usually get a direct replacement online after inspecting the mfg and model you have.
 
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