Livewell Chiller...

[topwaterrob]

The last tourney I fished, there was a larger (to me) amount of fish that died than i'm used to seeing.  I think it had alot to do with the extreme heat here in south florida and the fish cannot take being in the livewells for hours as well as they can in cooler months.  I've heard of putting ice in the wells, but read somewhere that the chlorine and other chems used to purify the water prior to turning it into ice can be harmful to the fish as well.  I looked for other ideas and found some radiator style systems, but I dont want to tap into my boat's plumbing system as that's a major pain in the butt.  I got an old transmission cooler and a bilge pump and i'm going to try to construct a "portable" chiller that i can use during the super hot months to lower the temp in the livewell.  It might be a bit trashy looking, but if it works and helps keep my fish from suffering then it'll be worth it.  Ill post some pics if i can figure how to do that...  Anyone else use something like this? 

[buzzbait4me]

I just freeze milk jugs and then put then in the livewell to cool it down. This hasn't let me down yet.

[00 mod]

I just freeze milk jugs and then put then in the livewell to cool it down. This hasn't let me down yet.

 

 

Same here, but we use old Gatorade bottles.  The plastic seems to be a little more durable.  keep them in your cooler and add a new one every hour and a half or so!  Also recirculate that water often!

 

Jeff

[slonezp]

Charger Boats wraps lines around the cooler and the livewell(s) and uses a pump to circulate the livewell water around the cooler, removing heat in the process. I use frozen milk jugs. I have read you don't want the livewell water temp more than 10* cooler than the water the fish were pulled out of. I'm not sure if it shocks the fish or it does something else. Warm water holds less oxygen than cool water and chances are lack of oxygen is causing the majority of the mortality. I started keeping hydrogen peroxide on the boat after a close call this year, but haven't had to use it http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/bass-fishing-hydrogen-peroxide.html

 

I run the pumps all day long and I have a jump box on the boat incase the battery dies. 

 

There is a company that makes some type of aerator you install in the lids of the livewells which forces air into the wells when you're on plane and supposedly remove CO2.

[topwaterrob]

I just freeze milk jugs and then put then in the livewell to cool it down. This hasn't let me down yet.

Doesn't that beat the fish up while you're running about or do you strap them in place? I tried two liter bottles but could hear them crashing around which I figured was pounding the fish so I stopped using them.

[Todd Driscoll]

I started keeping hydrogen peroxide on the boat after a close call this year, but haven't had to use it http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/bass-fishing-hydrogen-peroxide.html

I work as a fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and we have scientifically evaluated the effects of hydrogen peroxide on livewell oxygen levels.  You can take a look at the link below for the results.  We conducted 12 separate real-world trials in three different bass boats with limits of bass ranging from 8 - 23 pounds.  The dosage mentioned in the video was used (1 ounce/3 gallons) and all of the trials had nearly identical results.  Hydrogen peroxide did increase oxygen levels, but only for 30 - 50 minutes.  Also, specific effects of peroxide on fish physiology are not known and could be harmful.  Therefore, the addition of peroxide would only be recommended in extreme cases when livewell pumps fail.  This would be a one-time dose to allow you 30-50 minutes to get the fish to weigh-in.

 

http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/hydrogen-peroxide-for-bass-boat-livewells

[PoorBoyBassin]

Ive only got a small two man bassin buddy, and fish out of because all the lakes my club fishes are electric motors only.

 

Room is a big issue for me.. but I prefer to have the biggest cooler I could find that would fit between the two seats.

Mind you i've been through 3 coolers to find the one Im using now.

Heat has always been an issue but this cooler Im using... I put two gatorade bottles frozen in it.. an it keeps the water the same cool temp

for the entire tournament. I leave my pump running most of the day as it doesnt really drain much on the better.

I would guess that its because the cooler is insulated, and able to maintaine the temp better.

It works well for me.. since I've been using it.. have yet to lose a fish.

Also throw a cap or two of the fish alive in.. once in the morning.. once around noon.

[james 14]

Don't over-think it...just use frozen jugs. They won't hurt the fish and it'll cool the water nicely.

[Sam]

Buzzbait and OOMod hit it on the head first.

Go with frozen bottles of water in the well.

If you really want to help the fish consider the Oxygenator system. You can find it via Google.

[jhoffman]

Heres another tip with gatorade bottles.

 

Take your empties and fill them out of a local stream you know holds fish. Take them home and add the dosage of U2 or Please Release Me to the bottle for the size of your livewell. Now freeze it and when you wanna use it let the cap off. As the ice melts it will introduce the chemicals as well. If you feel you dont need the chemicals that day let the cap on and just freeze it again.

 

Another thing you can do is buy closed cell foam and coat the underside of your lids. Some pros do this to every compartment in the boat.

 

If your livewell doesnt have a circulate switch they can be had aftermarket for $40.

[topwaterrob]

Don't get me wrong my livewells are great I got two sets of intake and recirculating pumps. I run them all day just to bring in fresh water and recirculate. The problem is that when fishing shallow like lake okechobee, the water itself is really warm. I'm probably being over zealous but I'm almost done building my contraption so ill see if and how it works this weekend.

[Downeaster2010]

I would think that would be the next big thing in bass boats.  A chiller surrounding outside the livewells, with plenty of insulation

maintaining a cool water temp all day long.

[jhoffman]

Ideally you wouldnt circulate water at all, the temp would remain consistent and you would inject oxygen, bps doesnt eject their tank every hour.

[topwaterrob]

 

Here is what i got.  Pretty simple and portable.  I'll put it in the wells and give it a run here in the next day or so..

[quanjig]

So your chiller unit goes into a cooler with ice, then you pump your water thru the cooler unit and recirculate to the wells with cooler ( temp wise) water??!! Sounds like it should work. Like Slo said, you really don't need to have your livewell water but about 10* cooler than the surface water. If you have it colder that that, releasing the super chilled fish back to the lake will certainly be too much of a shock to survive. Just a thought. I keep a floating pool thermometer in the livewell to keep an eye on livewell conditions

[BuckMaxx]

I haven't read this on anyone's posts prior so I will post it. First of all stress kills more fish than temp. don't handle them anymore then absolutely needed. Leave the lid closed for two reason they are more comfortable in the dark and everytime you let cooler air out and introduce new hot air.When in doubt a small Gatorade bottle frozen half full. You drop a bass with 80 degree body temp to 60 suddenly and it will shock them.

[Todd Driscoll]

I have no experience running "coolers" or "chiller units" and they may work great. But, to me it's pretty simple to do it this way. I use frozen 12 ounce water bottles. A total of 25 are enough to keep 2 livewells 5-10 degrees cooler for a 9-hour tourney day, even during the hottest day of the summer, and I keep these in a soft-sided cooler bag that fits in one of my back storage compartments. Initially, five bottles will get a 20-gallon livewell cooled 5-10 degrees.  Then, I periodically add a few throughout the day to maintain that temp.  I have Lowrance EP-80 temp sensors mounted in my livewells so I can closely monitor the temperature of each and compare that to lake surface temperature - I have all three temps plotted as overlay on my Lowrance units. Or, you can go with a thermometer in the livewells. Both floating pool thermometers and the ones you use to measure your vehicle AC temp work well. Bottom line here is that if you are adding ice, you must measure temp to be sure you within the desired range.  As mentioned by others, this range is 5-10 degrees cooler than ambient lake surface temp. Cooling more than 10 degrees is stressful when fish are released back in the lake and can kill them.

 

With all this said, I’ll use this discussion to point out that there is no question that low oxygen levels are responsible for most fish deaths while in livewells.  The reason for cooling the livewell water is two-fold – 1) to reduce the metabolism and oxygen consumption of bass since they are cold-blooded, and 2) increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of water – cooler water holds more oxygen.  Along these lines, anglers must run their livewell pumps continuously anytime the water is over 75 degrees, or when you have more than 10 pounds of bass in the livewell.  Pumps ran on a timer may be OK outside of these two criteria, but to be safe, I run my pumps continuously any time I have fish in the livewell.

 

Without question, the absolute best way to maintain ideal oxygen levels under any condition is the use of an oxygen-injection system (bottle with pure oxygen, regulator, and fine-pore diffusers).  The difference here is that we are injecting pure, 100% oxygen, whereas livewell pumps just inject air (21% oxygen).  I have been running this system on my boats for the last 3 years (over 40 tournaments) and wouldn’t have it any other way.  Detailed info and equipment specs are provided at the link below.  $300 will buy all that you need.

 

Because tournaments are so popular and frequent in Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologists have conducted several scientific evaluations of fish care equipment to ensure that tourney anglers have the information to take best care of their fish and minimize tourney-related mortality.  I have been involved in each of these evaluations.  You can contact either me or the other fisheries biologists listed in the links below with specific questions.

 

Livewell oxygen-injection system - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/livewell-oxygen-injection-8773301

 

Oxygenators – how effective are they - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/the-oxygenator-how-effective-is-it

 

Evaluation of hydrogen peroxide in livewells - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/hydrogen-peroxide-for-bass-boat-livewells

[topwaterrob]

Excellent info.... Thankyou

[quanjig]

Wonder if we can get the mods to pin a section on

Livewell care?

[slonezp]

Wonder if we can get the mods to pin a section on

Livewell care?

It's in the "video" drop down titled fish care

[quanjig]

Oooops, didn't even see it there!!

[slonezp]

Since you are not circulating water thru the fins of the radiator, you would get more heat transfer if you put the radiator in ice and pumped the livewell water thru the coil. If you wanted to get creative, you could hook up a thermostat of sorts to the bilge pump. It would circulate the water thru the coil. Once it reached a certain temp, the switch would open. If the water temp rises above another setpoint, the switch closes, bilge kicks in again and circulates water until it opens again.

[topwaterrob]

Ok so I finally got a chance to try out the chiller.  I filled up the wells and the temp was 85 degrees.  I put the radiator in a pumped ice water through it and to my surprise it worked really well.  Inside of 10 minutes it brought the temperature down 7 degrees.  It quickly melted the ice in the cooler but worked pretty fast. 

[Sevenl]

I use a 120 qt Coleman in an open 16 ft G3 without a consul.  Lakes where I fish are limited to essentially 20 hp.  Inside the cooler water is introduced by a pump placed in the lake.  In the summer I will add enough hose to sink the pump 6 to 8ft with a decoy weight to pump cooler water.   In the cooler a brass garden hose splitter is attached to the side of the cooler.  The pump is the attached to the input side.  One output is angled at the surface for circulation of the water.  The other is routed to a filter basket attached at the along the side as close to the top as possible.  I purchase bulk activated carbon filter medium used in large commercial bait tanks. The carbon is placed in a zipped mesh bag that comes with the charcoal.  I regulate the flow of water with the ball valves in the brass garden hose fixture. (Anyone who has had to keep shad alive knows the importance of removing the ammonia created by the fish waste).  I use a 12 volt aerator with an airstone to help introduce oxygen.  Essentially it's an aquarium.  I will fill the cooler first thing in the morning.  Filling it a little better than half way gives me better than 16 gallons.  I start the day with 3-2 liter bottles frozen.  With 80 plus degree water this will usually drop the temp to around 70.  I add a granular treatment and will also use a liquid calming chemical (Tranquil) used for transport of fish and minnows especially at weigh-in to reduce stress and lower metabolism.  There is an aquarium thermometer in the water so I can monitor temps. If needed (rarely) I will add ice from my drink cooler.  I use ice from my deep well so chlorine is a non issue.  It's a lot but it works. 

[MN Fisher]

10 years since the last post - 5 years since the OP even signed on....