JFro Posted May 21, 2021 Report Share Posted May 21, 2021 If I stock up my live well, can I plug my battery charger in, at the dock, overnight and leave the live well running to keep bait alive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamaskeet Posted May 21, 2021 Report Share Posted May 21, 2021 I have with good results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFro Posted May 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2021 Thanks! Just didn’t want the charger to have some “safety” feature on it that wouldn’t allow charging and pulling voltage at the same time. then I show up, bait is good but boat won’t crank 🤷🏻♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Troy Posted May 21, 2021 Report Share Posted May 21, 2021 It will work but many a boat have been sunk doing so. Some smart chargers may not work so test first. Make sure your drain set up ain't prone to clogging cause an overflow on the wrong set up can sink you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted May 21, 2021 Report Share Posted May 21, 2021 Bait pen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFro Posted May 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2021 Bait pen was my 1st thought but the one i have is so large, it would take up most of my room in the truck bed. Anybody have a smaller one that they like, maybe a collapsible one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shallowminded6 Posted May 22, 2021 Report Share Posted May 22, 2021 If its shrimp get a 12v bubbler and use that. Bait pin or a good over flow aystem. Mine has a hole that goes out the splashwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted May 22, 2021 Report Share Posted May 22, 2021 An ideal setup would be a bubbler system with a timer on the livewell pump. That way the pump could be set to come on for a short period of time to turn over the water but reduce the chance of filling the boat. Depending on the bait the bubbler alone may be enough. since you are plugging the battery charger in I assume you have shore power. Just get some aquarium 110 pump and plug it in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted May 22, 2021 Report Share Posted May 22, 2021 On 5/21/2021 at 4:16 AM, JFro said: If I stock up my live well, can I plug my battery charger in, at the dock, overnight and leave the live well running to keep bait alive? what bait ? white baits or shrimp ? the recommendation is different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted May 22, 2021 Report Share Posted May 22, 2021 On 5/21/2021 at 7:16 AM, JFro said: If I stock up my live well, can I plug my battery charger in, at the dock, overnight and leave the live well running to keep bait alive? Like Bamaskeet I have run my bait well pump all night with dock side power plugged into my Stealth battery charger with no problems and good success. I leave the baitwell lid open an inch so if it were to overflow the water would "self bail" from the deck or splash well. I just turn the latch to lock position and close the lid, leaves the lid slightly open like I want. If you are really worried, get a spare battery, fully charge it and build a "FUSED" cord to go from the spare battery to the bait well Pump plug. (I used an old extension cord to do this on my old boat) On my 22 TRS the bail well pump Deutsch Connector Plug is easy to get to. You can set the spare battery on the dock or on the deck of the boat, which ever you are comfortable with. You could even get a 120 volt ac to 12 volt dc transformer and do the same thing. Some of this is assuming you have a MBG boat in good condition. All that being said....Most guys use bait pins but if you do not have access to one then... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin-addict Posted May 23, 2021 Report Share Posted May 23, 2021 First don’t overstock the well. What type of bait and type of water, salt or brackish and water temp. Have had both good and bad results. If shrimp, I used a cooler with a fish tank air system and keep it in the house the day before going out so I can get an early start. 5 doz. hand picked size. Many who travel to the Bahamas by plane use a cooler with layers of newspaper with shrimp in between and the paper being wet. Very effective. Have done that on key trips knowing shops would still be closed at time of arrival. Fin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted May 24, 2021 Report Share Posted May 24, 2021 I would not run my live-well overnight. I sunk a boat at the dock years ago, doing the same thing. Some bait died and clogged the over flow, boat filled with water and sank. The problem with leaving the live-well lid loose is that; if bait dies and get pushed out of the top of the live well, they will clog up the floor drains. The only bait I keep overnight is Pinfish. I made a bait pen out of a round, plastic laundry tub. Drilled a hundred hole in it and added a Plexi-glass lid with hinges. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted May 25, 2021 Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 Collapsible bait pen wont take up truck space. We use them all the time for white bait. My baits stay very fresh overnight as long as water flow around the dock is decent. Like others have said... I wouldn't run a well unattended all night unless you REALLY TRUST your setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFro Posted May 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 Thanks for all the great feedback. the boat is a 2021 2600TRS, so I’m confident in the system, but based on the feedback and leaning towards playing it safe, I plan to pick up a collapsible bait pen. On a side note, i reached out to the charger company and got this response: Make sure the battery that's powering up the livewell if connected by the charger's bank #1 (the output that's right next to the AC power cord). Bank #1 can sense the draw on that battery and push charging to keep up with the draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FooFoo502 Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 ok, probably 10 years ago, left mine running on a timer overnight with only a 4" standpipe w/strainer. Conflation of cluster-flocks followed. Just enough eel grass mixed in with the shrimp to clog the strainer...live well filled up and overflowed into the bilge. For some reason, the timer took a dump so the live well pump kept pumping and even with a float switch, the bilge pump couldn't keep up. My buddy across the canal called me at 6am saying my boat was underwater...about crapped myself. Luckily for me, this all happened at an extreme low tide so only the starboard side stern was submerged just barely above the cap. The lines to the front of the boat held her at an upward angle so no water got beyond the starboard helm hold area. Together, he and I were able to drag the boat onto my lift, and with an extra battery (water had shorted starter battery), got the bilge running and pumped it all out. Immediately flushed the entire bilge out with fresh water, salt-awayed everything, then filled the bilge up with fresh water again and drained it then let it sit with the plug out and the hatches open for about a week. The old workhorse 139 Saltwater started right up too...so long story short...I simply got lucky as hell. I did have to rewire everything within that first year as gremlins and shorts began to happen often enough that it could only have been from the dunking. So to me, just isn't worth the chance when there are so many viable and relatively cheap options. Case in point, my floating bait well that hangs off the front of my dock now...I'm on a canal off the ICW so get plenty of water flow to keep them frisky and I don't keep them in there longer than a day or two to keep the crab burglars at bay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Just use artificial baits! Use that bait well for extra storage! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Trail Posted May 30, 2021 Report Share Posted May 30, 2021 Ive done this and the charger wouldn’t keep up with the pump and the batteries were dead the next morning. It wasn’t a self draining boat and a thunderstorm hit and the bilge pump didn’t work because the batteries were dead so it almost sank. Don’t do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernWake Posted June 2, 2021 Report Share Posted June 2, 2021 How does everyone do with a floating bait pen and mullet? Leaving a mullet pen in the marsh has been an idea floating in my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted June 3, 2021 Report Share Posted June 3, 2021 Get a collapsible one with soft sides, netting, kinda what Lapitup was talking about. You get a hard sided plastic container they will beat themselves up. Make sure it is big enough to allow them to swim freely. Mine keeps them alive and well only to have some scumbags come by in the middle of the night and steal my bait!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 On 6/2/2021 at 8:09 PM, MuddyBottomBluz said: only to have some scumbags come by in the middle of the night and steal my bait!!! I hear ya. Had this happen the night before a tournament on LGI. You wouldn't think your bait would get stolen on a barrier island you can only access by boat! 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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