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[dsafety]

Originally Posted by pbb

Well, I could try removing the intake assembly from the livewell and blowing back through it, and shake it underwater. Worst case I would need to take the end off.

Hell, the whole intake assemblies cost less than $8. You could carry two if it was giving you a lot of trouble.

Although I agree that if you are going to put mesh over the intake, then the approach of putting it at the very front/outside, rather than an inch inside would probably be less likely to get blocked and easier to clean, although more work to install.

One could probably use something like the stainless steel drain strainer at the bottom of the scupper, rather than in the intake.

Maybe this is not really necessary. Are you suggesting that if the intake gets blocked it will burn out the pump? Otherwise, it does seem better to be safe than sorry.

My approach is much simpler. Yes the screens get plugged up and there is not much you can do to prevent this. Rather than try to prevent this problem, I have discovered an easy and quick way to unplug a blockage.

I keep a little piece of plastic pipe in my tank that easily fits into the intake hose inside my tank, (see photo).
P1020503.jpg
Whenever something gets plugged up, I simply insert the pipe in the hose and blow some air through the system. If you need to quickly prime the pump, just suck a little water back and you are good to go.

Bob