Super Bait Tank II pump and light

[drag4striper]

Hello folks, looking for suggestions please. Haven't fished very much latley, but last time I was out I notice my bait tank pump has gotten louder.
I figure it's going bad and the light has stopped working awhile ago.
I bought my tank from Dwayne at Captain's Quarters and he's closed for the winter.
Can you guys suggest other places that keep pumps and lights in stock/ or I can order from if need be?
Thanks

[mwardncsu]

It’s just a manual bilge pump so some of the marinas may have one, or try Gander, Academy, Walmart.

Watch out for the new version of the Rule pump. It has a thermal breaker in it which seems to trip when the pump is run continuous. Read this may be getting addresses but not sure. I’m currently searching for a good replacement but if you can find the good old Rule 500 gph model 25D then buy some

[drag4striper]

Thanks for your suggestions and time mward.

[Yam]

In terms of the light, my biggest problem has always been the switch. Water finds its way into the cavity of my tank and corrodes the switch. I finally decided to modify the opening for the switch with my own creation. The trick here is to completely coat the switch with 5200 (get the slow cure stuff.. 1 week cure). Assume water will get in there and thus coat the contacts heavily.

My latest light is a THMarine light and I really like it.

www.amazon.com/Marine-LED-51867-DP-High-Intensity-Underwater-Light/dp/B008YWG3AW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546946686&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=th+marine+underwater+marine+lights&dpPl=1&dpID=41tq9k1GTJL&ref=plSrch

I was using the light strips but even with 30 pound adhesive tape, they just didn't hold up well in my bait tank.

[mwardncsu]

That TH Marine light is what I put on my overkill bait tank that I built last year. It does seem to be one of the better constructed & sealed lights from all the various ones I've used. I tried the LED "tape" strips and they lasted about 2 trips. One thing, given the tank is HDPE plastic, tapes will have hard time adhering to it - and especially on the top with its slightly textured surface - pretty much need to use some form of mechanical connection for anything like that.

[drag4striper]

Thanks for the ideas fellows.
I'll cheak my light switch for corrosion. I was just asumming the light had burned out.
I ordered a green replacement for the cool look.

I had found a rule 25 D replacement pump but, it only lasted 30 minute so I returned it.

Gave Ron Vest a call (a very nice gentleman by the way) and talked to him about using a different brand pump. I had told him I was using a Dannco Venturi instead of the original keep alive air system. He
said, a different brand pump would work fine.

A marine dealer suggested I try a Johnson cartridge type pump.
These pumps also have a 3 year warranty and would be a little easier to change out on the water if it went bad. Just twist in another cartridge and connect 2 wires. The housing would stay hooked up. Supplied
are a 90° and straight barb fittings for different configurations and a check valve insert to reduce water flow if needed.
Also the 500 gph thru 1200 gph pumps all use the same size housings , best I recall.

I will let you know how it works out.

[mwardncsu]

I'm about to experiment with something similar..... I have seen some folks say they don't like cartridge pumps for some reason - but honestly, I think the key here is the fundamental design differences in bilge pumps vs. livewell pumps - bilge pumps just are not designed for continuous operation where livewell pumps are. One thing to look at is the impeller design - and potential for scales to jam up the impeller, etc.


The downside, is many of the true livewell pumps only come with plumbing affixed to connect to a thru-hull or traditional livewell. Had not seen the one you posted above - that one looks interesting, though also a bilge pump so I wonder how it will do with long run service times.

I'm going to be playing with a Pentair ShurFlow Pirana livewell pump - www.pentair.com/content/pentair/en/applications/enjoying-water/marine/water-delivery/piranha-livewell-pumps.html

You can remove a few screws to take the plumbing "flange" off the bottom of the pump, and then take the strainer from one of their bilge pumps (not a Rule pump, but one of the Shurflo pumps) and pop it on. The ShurFlo pumps seem to be well regarded and have the benefit of the cartridge as mentioned which makes future maintenance a bit easier. Maybe not the cheapest option out of the gate unless you can buy just the strainer (I need to check on that), but I have a couple from when I bought a number of different pumps trying to find something that would work for my big tank I built last year.