alpha 211 livewell system

[bassperks]

what is best way to run system during summer? do you leave it in auto all day pumping hot water in and hot water out? how does recirc work? Love my boat, just use to being able to put it in recirc and it you can see it recirc. mine don't do anything in recirc

[jus10keith]

My 2011 has 2 separate buttons...1 for FILL and 1 for RECIRC/PUMP-OUT. It also depends on what you have your 3-position switch set at. I keep mine on RECIRC while I'm on the water. The RECIRC head in the LW should be the RED one on the driver side. It needs to be PUSHED IN to recirculate and PULLED OUT to PUMP-OUT.

If the water is HOT (like it is here now) I put 2-3 bags of ICE in first thing and fill the tank as soon as I set down on my first spot. I do not let it run out the overflow because the cool water will be gone. As soos as the 1st fish goes in the box the recirc pump goes on AUTO. I run it on MAN as the day goes on and when running spot to spot. This past Saturday the water in the box was still cool at the end of the T when I took the fish out.

Hope this helps.

[btsmbass]

Run the lever on auto as much as possible. If in an area with poor water quality run it on recirc. Hot water is fine as long as it's flowing and bringing in oxygenated water. If the water is hot and you are concerned, have the hour galss switch on manual and not auto.

[jnaumuk]

I do about the same as Keith.

Fill the livewell 1st time you sit down so you get cooler lake water to start. Selector switch in Auto and push the fill button (has the picture of the livewell and the fish on it). I let the livewells fill up completely, then turn the selector to Recirc and turn the livewell fill button off. I have an oxygenator and turn it on immediately, this thing really works, never lost a fish and it gets hot here. I then squirt a little U2 livewell juice in the water and push the Auto button for the recirc pump. When I add my first fish then I add a frozen bottle of water or ice. When I think about it I freeze bottles of water vs. adding ice. The bottles last longer than ice and you don't have to worry about what's in the ice. Remove the labels from the bottles so you don't have to worry about trash cloggin your pumps. I then replace the ice bottles throughout the day as they melt. 1/2 way through the day I will turn the selector switch to Auto for a little bit to get fresh water in. I then add more U2 juice and more ice. The reason I don't run Auto selector all day is I think the water in my livewell is better quality than the lake water. It's cooler so it has the capacity to hold more oxygen, I've got my livewell juice in it and I'm making oxygen for the water. I think too much ice can shock the fish and do harm so I just try to keep the water cool not cold. Water temperature here this weekend was 88 so if you pull the fish out of the lake and dunk him in 60 water that is a big shock, then if you take him from 60 and throw him back in 88 it's a big shock. I also sometimes take a white towel and dunk it in the lake water enough to get it damp and lay over my livewell lids. I think this helps keep the deck a little cooler directly over the livewell.

I don't add hydrogen peroxide or anything else. I've been following this procedure for tournaments for the last 4 years and have never lost a fish.

[hookR2]

You aren't the first one to be stumped by the configuration of the livewell.
But - like everyone else who has gone through this, once you get it figured out, I think you'll agree it is a very flexible and solid system.

The other guys gave good advice on how to run the system - follow what they recommend.

It helped me to remember that the Dial is for the valves (no power), the panel Buttons are for the pumps (power).
Dial:
-Recirc = valves closed, water locked in
-Auto = valves let water in and out

Buttons:
-Hourglass Auto - pumps on timer
-Hourglass Man - pumps always on

Remember, the Dial valves don't really do anything if the Buttons aren't pressed to either Auto or Man to make the pumps run.

If you treat your wells with chemicals, you need the Dial in Recirc.
I've cleared out my pretty blue water in a matter of minutes by accidentally having the Dial on Auto.

I rarely run the pumps on Manual - I'm too nervous about draining batteries. I will do it when I pull the boat out before weigh-in to keep water always moving in the parking lot - with the Dial in Recirc. (and when I want to pull the red valve & pump-out)

My last tip - ALWAYS turn your dial to EMPTY as part of your end-of-tournament routine. ALWAYS. When you are strapping things down and making sure the power is off, just get in the habit of turning that Dial to Empty. Helps to keep the critters in their own body of water.

[Tracker Tim]

I wish the auto timer was adjustable. Sometimes it doesnt need to run so often.

[Brett M]

Recirculate-- Manual when its hot. anything else just heats the water in the well as the day goes along. Use Ice, an oxygenator if you have one, and a good chem treatment. Temp is probably the most important part of the equation. Fill the well early in the morning then recirculate.

[South TX Legend Boy]

One other question and I think I might have the anwser from this post.

But if you have the Valve in Recir position and puch the manual pump in button and over fill the live well where does the water go?

I have not found and over flow valve, and with the hotter months recently been taking on a bunch of water inside the boat. When I pull the plug the water drains for ever. No holes or anything, but I think its coming from my livewell.

Does the over flow dump the water in the bottom of the boat when the recirvalve is on?

[LouO]

Rodney, give me a call at the factory, 870-481-6750. lou.

[Rmax]

I have the same question and boat. The little instructions I got with the boat isn't nearly as informative as it should be. Is there a more descriptive manual out there? Maybe I just didn’t get mine because it was a demo. Can you give me a call when you get a chance 817-313-2878

[Tneal903]

Ok i have 08 legend but my livewell seems to have an issue it will pump water but won’t recirculate. Only time it pumps water out is when it over flows and the bulge kicks in. I’ve pulled the red knob and still nothing