Hobie Bait Tank Problem
 

I bought a Hobie with the Hobie bait tank about 2 months ago. The bait tank came with a 6v battery (not sure how old it is). I hear the motor turn on and when moving there is water pumping, but if I sit in one spot or slowly move it will not pump water into the bait tank.

My question: Is the battery bad or the pump bad?

I cleaned the pump and there's nothing clogging/stopping it. Which one to replace?

I was thinking of using my FF battery (12v) to try to see if it can pump water out of a bucket or something to determine the problem.

Your thoughts?

There is a black plastic fitting on the end of the pick up hose, make sure the opening is pointing towards the bow of your yak, pumps usually go all the way bad, so I would try the f/f battery, this should be done in the water. Good luck.

Perhaps the tubing isn't the correct length. Shorter for outback, and longer for PAs. If trimmed too short, I could see your scenario play out.

I hooked up my 12v battery to it and it works perfect! I have it recycling water in a bucket right now to see how long this battery will last.

The old 6v battery must have been very weak because now I can hear the water pumping and the pump going. With the old battery I could barely hear the pump but thought it was working.

Thanks! :)

Step

1. Install bait tank on kayak like you normally do
2. Take of intake
3. Post picture of intake tube
4. 999.99% chance that we'll be able to tell you exactly what's wrong

The 12 volt batter works that pump on overdrive, so of course you hear it, and I am sure you can see a difference in the volume of water your pumping. The problem is that you really do NOT want all that volume. It will beat up the bait in the tank. All you really need is a little circulation and aeration. The 6 volt batter running that pump is ideal.

The first thing I would do, is check the pump like you are doing, but with the volt battery fully charged. If everything is good, then it has to be one of 3 things, 1). hose to short, or too long, as mentioned, 2). or the intake is sucking air. Or 3). the intake is getting clogged (kelp perhaps).

I'll charge the 6v fully and try it again in the bucket. If it works i'll take it out on the waters to see if it work. I'm pretty sure the tube and everything else is fine. The tube sticks out about an inch under the kayak. I'll try to get pics next time.

Have you checked your battery with a voltmeter?

I tried to check how much "juice" is left in it but not sure how to do it. Searched it, and I think I need to use a resistor or something. I believe just using the voltmeter alone will only give you the reading of how much "juice" it can hold.
correct me if I'm wrong.

It should be very quiet with the 6v. Also the pump at 6v should be trickling water in so don't expect a fire hose. A voltmeter will tell you how much voltage is coming out of the battery. Non lithium batteries will vary in output voltage depending on the battery and what kind of condition it's in. Odds are if the battery is good, at fully charged you will get at least 6 volts if not 7. As the battery drains somewhere below I think usually around 30% you will see voltage begin to drop and the pump will slow accordingly. Be sure the voltmeter is set to VDC 20V when you use it.

Make sure your intake tube is primed!!!

Sounds like the pump is loosing it's prime. Your intake tube may be a little short.
-What model hobie do you have ???

Looks like he's got a Revo...

eliminate battery from equation
 

your pump is fine , you have already tested it at maximum voltage . a new hobie battery will test out at 6.7 or 6.6 volts . a strong battery is gonna be 6.5 - 6.4 vlts. , and so on . a questionable battery or bad battery is obviously under 6 vlts . putting the battery under a load would be ideal . ;) . maybe autozone will check it for you . :luxhello: .assemble the tank and attach it to kayak . turn kayak over , and check how far the tube is hanging down under the kayak . the tube needs to be protruding below the water line of kayak . as mentioned above ,the induction side of the tube needs to be facing the front of kayak . have you eliminated this from the equation ? the tube should have a zip tie to attach the tube , and a rubber o-ring to make a complete seal . if the guy sold you a working tank , i would think the induction tube is long enough , but maybe he cut the length to fit his kayak . and finally already mentioned also , you can test the tank by placing in a 5 gallon bucket full of water , you will need to prime tank manually by inhaling on outlet side of pump . this can be done with a hose extension attached to the outlet side of the pump . there are posts on this modification . a constant supply of water will need to be added to bucket , like a garden hose hooked up to outlet . if none of this makes sense , feel free to pm for pics . :confused:

Yes I've got a revo 13. I hooked up my charged 6v and it seems to be circulating water fine. I'll try to get some pics up soon of how far my tube sticks out from the kayak to see if that is the problem.

I see you are in Cypress. If you don't have the equipment to test your battery then bring it into JK electronics in Westminster. They should be able to test it for you. It is also a great resource for switches, wiring, shrink tubing, etc. Very knowledgable good people.

Pictures
 

Alright I finally had some time to take some pictures..
The tube is facing the front of the kayak! :)
Let me know what you guys think.

Longer tube for sure

How much longer should I extend it?

If say at least a couple inches. Where it's sitting is a high spot in the hull and water isn't always getting to the intake


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