Stinky Livewell

[Fishnut]

Hi everyone,

Could someone please help me out. I have a 1984-85 Alumacraft Classic 16 with a side compartment livewell. The thing works great, but I have to spend an hour after each fishing trip scrubbing the thing out, or it becomes unbelievably stinky! Is there a way to prevent, or minimize this. Currently my procedure requires scrubbing with bleach and water, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat.......

[Ristorapper]

aluminum or plastic lined livewell?

Mine is made of some type of plastic. All I do after each fishing trip is rinse out the livewells with tap water(I do this on the slope of the drive-way with the plug out), let that drain then plug them and fill them up with tap water and leave them sit full of the tap water for several hours. If I happened to have kept some northern pike I would probably let the livewells sit full of tap water overnight.

The chlorine in the tap water has taken care of the smelly problem in my livewells and of course after I drain them I will never shut them tight, leave them open to air out just in case.

Hope this helps

BW(ND)

[Fishnut]

My livewell is aluminum lined. I tried rinsing it out and leaving it full of tap water, it just seems to bring out more of the smell. I think the seams hold the fish slime, they are slightly discolored, and I can't seem to get them totally clean.

[Kdog]

I use Simple Green in my live wells,works good for me.Just rinse it out with water when your done,that way the walleyes wont turn green,lol.Kdog

[Chad]

Try some bleech. Make sure to wash it out well before using again. Bleech will kill what ever is making the smell. Bleech's active ingredient is Chlorine as Ristorapper made reference to but the bleech will be much stronger then your city tap water. Also, not all tap water is chlorinated.

[REW]

Livewell cleaner.
I had the same problem as you, when I had an aluminum livewell.
I happened over to the boat dealer one day, and they had a couple of bottles of livewell cleaner on their close out shelf.
I purchased both bottles for about $1 each and used it as long as I had my boat.

I don't know exactly what was in it -- but it was a cleaner that was specifically made to clean aluminum livewells. It worked very well indeed.

I suspect that there might have been a very mild acid solution in it, because it would actually make the aluminum shiny after use. No pitting at all, but very clean.

I have used bleach with some success - prior to using this but the actual cleaner worked much better.

Check out a few supply stores, cabellas etc and see if they have something specific.

The smell that you are smelling is basically from rotting organic material. Any of the good "killers' on the market to kill bacteria, in general will kill the smell. This will typically be bleach, or other compounds contining clorine.

Take care

REW

[JimmerAB]

I also suffered from "Stinky Livewell Syndrome" last year. At the time, I didn't know where the smell was coming from, but man it stunk! I rarely used my livewells (plastic) so had not thought that they were the origin of my problem. Turned out that water would sometimes backflow into the livewells via the overflows, and sit there for days in an sealed environment.

Now I carry a sponge with me, and check both livewells after every outing. I mop up any extra water, and leave the livewell lids open to breathe when I'm off the water. Problem solved.

This may not solve your problem, but hopefully it can help. Best of luck in eliminating the stench...


Jim

[St Croix Boy]

I always leave the lid open while in the garage. Dries right up, No smell. I have a plastic, and an aluminum live well.
St Croix Boy

[GORD]

My buddy had the same problem. He started cleaning it at the carwash on the way home. Worked for him. Keeping the lid open and letting it air out helps a lot too.

[Link]

I agree with St Croix Boy. Leave the live well open to dry out between trips (prop open with 2x4 so it can dry). Rinsing after you take out the fish is also a must. Link