Cannot get water to livewell?

[Speedfreak95]

Hello I have a livewell infront of my center console. I changed the pump which was a direct replacement shurflow. In the water I've turned the pump on I hear it buzz but never any water. I've opened and closed the cut off and still nothing. I've read I need to prime it so I've turned the pump on and drive the boat in reverse and also turned a hose on and blasted it to the drain and still nothing it just seems to come in the livewell on the bottom in the drain nothing seems to come from the top into the well. Any ideas how I can get some suction going? The guy I bought it from said he never used it so didn't get much help there.

[love2fish]

If your intake us under the boat, and you have a clam-shell thru-hull, driving in reverse will probably not do anything, actually might contribute even more to the problem. If/when this happens to mine, I will stop the boat, in calm water, and unscrew the pump from the housing, then slowly crack the sea-cock to allow the intake tube and pump housing to fill with water, then reinstall the pump, open the valve, and you should be primed.

99% of the time though, my livewell valve is open and if underway at any speed above idle, water will flow into the livewell. Turning on the pump increases the pressure/waterflow

[Speedfreak95]

Okay awesome I will give that a try. Should I always leave the seacock open? I read in an article on hull truth to keep it closed if I'm not using the bait well. I'll report back to see what happens hopefully Saturday heard the weather should be nice

[love2fish]

personal preference. and maybe on your first time doing the "remove pump and open sea-cock to fill", try that at the ramp while your boat is still on the trailer (with the boat in the water obviously),,, just incase things get crazy, she wont sink....

as far as leaving it open, it's personal preference. just make sure you leave the drain line open as well if you leave the intake open.  I leave mine open 99% of the time. if just cruising , the livewell tends to become a trashcan, so it keeps things from getting sticky in there, and also keeps the lines "fresh".

[Aswaff400]

my fountain has a hard time getting the livewell pump to prime when the boat is first launched and sitting still. i just leave the valves open and once under way i flip the switch on and it starts filling. will stay primed until the boat is pulled out of the water again

[Speedfreak95]

Just closed on my house been packing moving unpacking haven't had a moment to take the boat out hopefully this weekend I'll post what happens wish me luck