2012 Sundeck Sport 211 livewells will not function

bandt

Has anyone else had problems with the livewells?  I have had my boat in for service several times (a lot!) and can not get them to work properly.  Also can anyone tell me if yours work in the fill position when under way? 
 
Any suggestions on how to get them to work would be great!  The last time I had it at the dealer they cut a large access hole in the splash well so I can get to the pumps and valves but dont know what to look for.  They also lowered the high speed pickups so that they protrude into the water about 1/4".

Ernest_T

First of all make sure both the intake line and the drain line valves are open. On my boat both lines have a valve that can be accessed through the round ports just in front of the outboard. Second make sure the pump is actually running. You should be able to hear it. Third, the pump has to be primed for it to work. If I haven't used it in a while when I turn the pump on nothing happens. Most of the time I can get it working by putting the boat in reverse and backing while I let the pump run. This pushes water into the intake on the back of the boat. It may take a few minutes of backing the boat to get it working, so find an clear area to do it and just keep on backing it will finally kick in. In rare cases I can not get a good prime by backing the boat, and have had to prime the line with a water hose from the livewell. Hope this helps.

bandt

All of the lines are clear but I dont think they will stay that way with the high speed pickups as low as they are.  The dealership that I have the boat at told me they have three Hurricane boats all with the same problem.  I am told you should not have to prime them and they should still work as long as you stay under 26 MPH.  The back one holds water but the front drains if I turn the pump off.
 
Has anyone else had this problem and been able to fix it?  The dealership offered to install a thru hole pickup on the bottom of the boat and redesign the livewell system but I hate to spend money on something that should already work.  Also I dont know if that would void the warranty on the boat.

Ernest_T

My pump has to be primed just about every time if I go more than a couple of weeks using it...........its even in the boat manual. Maybe your boat has a different design. I agree, its not the greatest system, and could have definitely been designed better. Fortunately for me I'm not using it that often. It would really tick me off if if I had primarily bought the boat for fishing. Good luck getting it fixed!

bandt

Thank you for the response.  I pulled the manual out after I read your post and the 2012 version does not say anything about priming, as a matter of fact it describes a livewell with a "removable overflow tube" which I do not have.

Ernest_T

Yours definitely sounds different than mine. I have the removable overflow tube. You would think the livewell would be a priority on the 211, since it is more of a fishing design type of boat. Hope you figure it out!

cjjjdeck

The livewell location on your model seems to be located near the bow like my SD237.  Mine has not worked since I bought the boat over a year ago.  I have tried many things including priming the hose, as Ernest suggests, and still no luck.  I have a good dealer, but he's as frustrated with the system as I am.  We had it working once.  He found the pump was wired backward.  He reversed the wiring and it started to pump....... the relief didn't last very long.  I went to the lake the next day and it wouldn't work.  Understand, the pump "runs" but no water makes it to the livewell.  The pump also doesn't "sound" like it's pulling water either.  We though maybe the pick-up area was getting airbound, so we drilled a hole in the pick-up housing/shield to make sure there was no air trapped.  Worth the effort, but no results.  My dealer is going to look at it again in the spring (I have it in winter storage..... always a sad day) and check for hose "kinks"  or just flat out pull through another hose to make sure there isn't a problem there, especially since the pump has to pump the water pretty far (about 20 feet on mine).

I do use my boat for fishing half the time on the water and ordered the boat with all the "fishing" options (bow pedestal seats, trolling motor, "livewell" etc.) , so this has been a frustration.  Even with this happening, it hasn't soured me on the boat overall, I still love it.

Sorry I don't have a solution to share yet ..... I really wish I did.  I guess you're not alone.

bandt

I spoke with the company that supplies the livewell system (Flow-Rite) and learned this.  The valve used is not designed to be used with a high speed pickup.  What happens is if in recirculate the water pressure will bend the spring that holds the valve shut making it useless.  I am also told the orientation of the pump discharge should be facing up and not straight and the drain in the top of the livewell should be mounted two inches below the fill to prevent overflowing and so the hole in the top of the fill spigot can function.  I will post when I get a fix from Hurricane.  

bandt

Still no response from Hurricane!

bprovs

Your not saying if your problem is electrical or intermittentlly runs some times and other times not. If its not electrical, and your assured you got power to the live well pump, then are you aware of the shut off valves located in the stern splash well? Through the access plates there are 2 valves  that need to be opened to operate the livewell. One valve is under the live well intake pump, that needs to be opened to run water up to the well ( you should hear the pump running if you have it turned on from the dash board-having someone turn the dashboard live well switch on and off while your near the pump, might help you find the pump and the valve should be between the pump and the back or bottom of the boat) and the second is the drain valve that returns the live well water into the lake. There should be a removable over flow tube in the live well itself that when installed into the drain hole it allows water to fill up that high before over flowing onto the deck. When you are through using the live well, you can remove the over flow tube to drain all the water from the livewell. My owners manual for my 2010 Fundeck F226, instructs you to shut those valves off when ever the live well is not being used. I think their logic is that if those hoses, that run from the back of the boat up to the live well spring a leak, while no one is attending the boat, when it is the water, they won't flood the boat. Hope this will help you and hope this didn't insult you if you already knew all this.

bandt

bprovs it is a design problem as I have spoke with the manufacture of the livewell parts and my livewells dont have a removable drain by the way.  I am told know one else is having the problems but I think it because the livewells are not getting used.  By the way my livewells overflow into the boat sometimes.
 
 

kylepaul

I also had a problem with the livewell on my 2012 SD217.  The dealership found that it was plumbed incorrectly at the pump with a kink in the hose.  That being said I still experience problems with the livewell working at times when I arrive at a fishing hole.  It is as if an airlock is created if I drive for a while and then try to fill the livewell at destination.  My standard procedure now is to fill the livewell while still at the dock and then see if it will fill after driving.  Right now it works about 75% of the time which is very frustrating since Hurricane has taken 100% of my money!  When it does work though it has a tonne of pressure and fills very quickly so I'm not sure why it randomly doesn't function.  I have not tried to run the pump while underway.

bandt

I do know that Hurricane is meeting with the manufacture of the livewell parts today to correct the design that Hurricane is using.  I am not sure if they use the same design on your model but will post when I get a response.  This is very frustrating for me and the dealership but Hurricane said the warranty will last as long as it takes to fix the livewells.

bandt

Had a conference call with Hurricane yesterday and looks like the high speed pickups will be taken off the boat because the system is not designed to be used with them.  The drain holes are to be relocated in front and rear livewells and look at rerouting the front livewell plumbing to prevent airlocks.  I have not found out how they intend to make the high speed pickups work yet but will post when they have a fix.
 
Keep in mind I am told by Hurricane this livewell system is unique to the Sundeck Sport 211 and 231 boats.

bandt

Update :  Boat is still at dealer.

bandt

Update:  Boat is still at dealer.