# DIY Livewell



## Yaksquatch (Mar 23, 2009)

Over the past year or so I've been working on my custom livewell project. Finally got all the kinks worked out and it runs like a champ for half the cost of the hobie livewell or other high dollar wells that still don't work properly after dropping all that $$$!

Here are pics from a few different angles:









The tank is a $20 pet food storage bin from petland or petsmart. Internal volume is 9gal, I have it setup to hold 7gal of water equal to the hobie livewell.










The pump is the exact same model that hobie puts in theirs. The pump costs about $20 at wal-mart, academy sports, etc.










Siphon kit with priming bulb was about $10 from aquarium section of petsmart/petland. The flexible tubing came with it and the intake goes down one of the scuppers.










Drybox for battery. I drilled 2 holes, one for power wires coming from pump, and the other for a simple on/off switch wired into the positive wire. Sealed with silicon calk to make the battery box COMPLETELY waterproof compared the the hobie battery box.










The box can house up to a 12vt sealed battery. The pump is rated for a 12vt 8amp hours battery but can be run with a 6vt or 8vt too.










Output drains. I only had one to start with but realized using a 12vt battery resulted in more flow than the drain could handle so I added the other. The water from the piped outflow goes over the gunnel, the other drain empties into the tankwell and down the free scupper. Might make that one go over the side eventually too.










Last touch I almost didn't put in but now I'm glad I did. Bulkhead fitting with a simple drain plug. That way I don't have to worry about landing in rough surf with 70lbs of water in the back of my yak!










Alex


----------



## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

very nice Alex, thank you for the post I have been debating if i should build or buy one.
This motivates me to build.


----------



## Yaksquatch (Mar 23, 2009)

oxbeast1210 said:


> very nice Alex, thank you for the post I have been debating if i should build or buy one.
> This motivates me to build.


Definitely build it! Even with "R&D" on the bits that didn't work properly at first, I still ended up spending much less than if I'd bought a fully assembled livewell like a Hobie well. And those still don't work properly out of the box even though they're over $250!!!

Another plus is that you can set it up exactly how you want it to fit your kayak and rigging.

Good luck!
Alex


----------



## MrPhoShiz (Sep 22, 2010)

no pictures at work so im gonna have to wait till i get home. Great read!


----------



## YakFlies (Oct 3, 2008)

Looks good Alex! Gonna have to steal the priming bulb idea for mine. However, I would suggest putting a fuse on that thing in case it shorts out and catches on fire. Seen it happen on someone's livewell before while out in the gulf.


----------



## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

wow... cool man!


----------

