Best temporary way to plug livewell/baitwell in my 620FS Cup?

[gbin]

Is there an easily insertable/removable plug I can use in the livewell and baitwell of my (2020) 620FS Cup so that they remain reliably dry and I can put stuff in them when I know I won't be using them for their intended purpose? Their valves definitely don't stop water from coming in no matter the setting.

Gerry

[REW]

For your particular boat - if the valves are remote from the actual tank, then one should be able to simply put a plug in the drain of the livewell and plug it up.

If you have an open hole in the livewell, just take your boat to a hardware store and go into the store and pick up a half dozen expandable rubber stoppers and keep trying until you find one that fits perfectly and seals up the hole and then return the rest to the store.

Best wishes.

For example:
One of these type plugs that have pretty straight sides and a just a touch smaller then the hole in the bottom of the livewell so that when the insert is made tight, the plug remains solidly in the bottom of the livewell.

If you choose a plug with tapered sides, it may not stay in the drain hole as a plug with straight sides.

If you can find a plug in this style, the extended handle would make insertion and removal quite easy.
https://www.amazon.com/SEACHOICE-Twi...144949&sr=8-57

[REW]

If your livewell has a screen in the bottom of the livewell, these screens normally screw into a threaded hole. If that is the case with your boat, you should be able to unscrew the screen from the bottom of the livewell and locate a matching plug and simply screw it into the bottom of the livewell to create a permanent plug.

These screens normally have a straight thread on the ends of the pipe and are NOT the Tapered National Pipe thread style.

The straight thread type of thread would be a MIP type plug. The IP stands for the straight - non tapered plug.

For example:

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...092797&ipos=12

However, your fitting in the bottom of the livewell, if threaded is likely a plastic drain. If so, I would NOT use a stainless plug, because if one cross threaded the stainless plug in a plastic fitting, it would strip the threads out of the drain hole.

Perhaps this style if it comes in a small enough size:
https://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...266732&ipos=21

Perhaps this one, if it comes in the right size and if your livewell has threads in the drain hole.
https://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...054558&ipos=49

[David Anderson]

Originally Posted by gbin

Is there an easily insertable/removable plug I can use in the livewell and baitwell of my (2020) 620FS Cup so that they remain reliably dry and I can put stuff in them when I know I won't be using them for their intended purpose? Their valves definitely don't stop water from coming in no matter the setting.

Gerry

Your boat is still under warranty, it should not leak water into the livewell when the switch's are in the recirculate position. The recirculate seals off any outside path for water to leak out when running, and should do the same regarding letting in water.

[Like2Fish]

I have a 2007 619. I plugged my front bait well for the reasons you describe. I'm pretty certain that Ranger is using Flowrite components for there live well and bait well plumbing. I took the screen off the drain and used a plug similar to the ones below from Homedepot.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Charlott...00HD/203811708

I'm not sure if the above cap is the same that I purchased and if it is threaded the same as mine.

The above cap also comes in a 3/4 inch size. I capped mine so long ago that I don't recall the size. On the side of the bait well there is an overflow drain. I plugged that too and I don't recall what I did there, perhaps I just used a cork. As another poster stated you shouldn't get water in the either live well if you live well switches are in the recirculate position which mine is for the bait well. I just decided to cap my bait well anyway.

[Ozark Bob]

Just don't move your selector for any reason or your formally dry stuff won't be anymore. May have been old age and I learned a lesson. 6 months after the mistake everything in there was real bad!(Hat,gloves' sweatshirt etc) Every mold known to man. I go for a more foolproof way to do it. Good plug and recirculate. At least for me! Bob

[gbin]

Originally Posted by David Anderson

Your boat is still under warranty, it should not leak water into the livewell when the switch's are in the recirculate position. The recirculate seals off any outside path for water to leak out when running, and should do the same regarding letting in water.

I understand the shoulds and shouldn'ts of how the valves are supposed to work, but I appreciate you and Like2Fish making sure.

Fact is mine didn't work to keep water out from the time I brought it home new last year, no matter the setting. Asked the dealer to take care of the issue when I brought it back for other warranty work this year, he said he did, but he apparently didn't because it still doesn't keep water out, no matter the setting.

From what I've read online, this seems to be a VERY common issue, including after folks have replaced their valves, so I'm never going to trust the livewell/baitwell to hold dry goods without having some kind of plugs in them, anyway.

With respect to what plugs, I just figured someone here with the same or a similar boat has surely done what I mean to do and might be able to direct me to exactly what I need or at least the specific size(s) I need. I have no desire to go in and out and in and out and in and out... of hardware stores trying to figure it out by trial and error, only to end up stripping the threads in my wells and/or thinking I've got a good seal just to find out I don't after getting a bunch of stuff soaked. Much rather find out what I need and buy that, if possible.

Originally Posted by Like2Fish

I have a 2007 619. I plugged my front bait well for the reasons you describe. I'm pretty certain that Ranger is using Flowrite components for there live well and bait well plumbing. I took the screen off the drain and used a plug similar to the ones below from Homedepot.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Charlott...00HD/203811708

I'm not sure if the above cap is the same that I purchased and if it is threaded the same as mine.

The above cap also comes in a 3/4 inch size. I capped mine so long ago that I don't recall the size. On the side of the bait well there is an overflow drain. I plugged that too and I don't recall what I did there, perhaps I just used a cork. As another poster stated you shouldn't get water in the either live well if you live well switches are in the recirculate position which mine is for the bait well. I just decided to cap my bait well anyway.

Maybe we have something different. When I look in my wells I see mesh domes over the drains with no way to screw the caps you linked over them. Assuming I can screw those mesh domes out of the drains, I reckon I would still need male plugs to screw into them, not female caps to place over them.

Originally Posted by Ozark Bob

Just don't move your selector for any reason or your formally dry stuff won't be anymore. May have been old age and I learned a lesson. 6 months after the mistake everything in there was real bad!(Hat,gloves' sweatshirt etc) Every mold known to man. I go for a more foolproof way to do it. Good plug and recirculate. At least for me! Bob

I reckon that's why I saw at least one person online recommend that you should pull the fuse(s) or otherwise disconnect the power to the wells if you plan to use them for dry storage. You must not be the only one to make that mistake! Come to think of it, even if I manage to remember, I've a fishing buddy who likes to push buttons and turn knobs and THEN ask what they do; maybe I should plug AND disconnect power, too, for his sake.

Gerry

[Like2Fish]

Originally Posted by gbin

Maybe we have something different. When I look in my wells I see mesh domes over the drains with no way to screw the caps you linked over them. Assuming I can screw those mesh domes out of the drains, I reckon I would still need male plugs to screw into them, not female caps to place over them.

Gerry

Gerry,

I too have the mesh screens over the bait well and live well drains. I just unscrewed the screen and screwed on the cap I mentioned above and left the screen laying in the bait well. Perhaps the drains are different now as I did use a female threaded cap.

After doing a little search on Flow Rite website I think your drain might me designed a bit different than mine from 2007. Below is a link to their catalog. Scroll down to page 9 and note the section towards the bottom of the page titled "Drain screens and Plugs" Perhaps part number MA-045 or MA-050 will work for you.

https://www.flow-rite.com/wp-content...log-052121.pdf

I will guess your cable needs adjustment in order to stop the unwanted water from entering your wells. I've rebuilt my live well valves 2 or 3 times. Replacing the flappers each time. If you look at the valve there is a nub at the end of the cable, that nub needs to be up tight against the part labeled "I" in the diagram below. If the cable is not up tight against that part you will get water. Don't ask me how I know. A call to Flow Rite and a few bloody knuckles and I was good to go.

https://store.flow-rite.com/valve-re...ngmpa-060.html

[REW]

Depending on whether you want to stop any water from coming into any part of your boat, you could remove the screen on the outside of the boat that feeds the livewell pump and replace the screen with a cap - after putting teflon tape on the threads to insure a secure fit. If no water comes into the boat through the livewell pump, no water will come in through that path.

If you have another hole in the back of the boat, that goes to the livewell, you could put a plug into that hole or if it is threaded, put a cap on it. If all holes in the back of the boat are plugged, there will be no water coming into the boat.


Take care

[gbin]

Originally Posted by Like2Fish

Gerry,

I too have the mesh screens over the bait well and live well drains. I just unscrewed the screen and screwed on the cap I mentioned above and left the screen laying in the bait well. Perhaps the drains are different now as I did use a female threaded cap.

After doing a little search on Flow Rite website I think your drain might me designed a bit different than mine from 2007. Below is a link to their catalog. Scroll down to page 9 and note the section towards the bottom of the page titled "Drain screens and Plugs" Perhaps part number MA-045 or MA-050 will work for you.

https://www.flow-rite.com/wp-content...log-052121.pdf

I will guess your cable needs adjustment in order to stop the unwanted water from entering your wells. I've rebuilt my live well valves 2 or 3 times. Replacing the flappers each time. If you look at the valve there is a nub at the end of the cable, that nub needs to be up tight against the part labeled "I" in the diagram below. If the cable is not up tight against that part you will get water. Don't ask me how I know. A call to Flow Rite and a few bloody knuckles and I was good to go.

https://store.flow-rite.com/valve-re...ngmpa-060.html

Thanks, L2F, that information should prove helpful after I remove my mesh caps and can see for sure what I'm dealing with. With any luck it'll then be obvious exactly what plug(s) I need.

I don't really see much point in adjusting or replacing stuff to try to make the wells function properly, especially after having turned the boat over to my dealer to do so once already. If/when I want to use them as wells they will do fine, and to use them for dry storage - after what I've experienced and especially what I've read many other folks have experienced - I'll want them plugged, as I mentioned.

Seems like a meaningful design/manufacturing issue given that so many people experience the same few problems (bad valves, poorly adjusted cables) so often, doesn't it? I'm a lifelong fishkeeper as well as a fisherman, and I can assure you that no one in the fishkeeping hobby would tolerate such; the second time a person had a valve fail to close for whatever reason and an aquarium leaked out on the floor, word would go out far and wide and that device would stop selling in pretty short order. Maybe Flowrite needs more competition.

Gerry