what is the best minnow bucket

[big minnow]

I like this!!! I had the Plano version of this bucket and it kept the minnows in the heat & cold with no problem!

$5.00 insert and your own bucket . and a pump . 3 doz. will keep all day with a little ice . never tried any more than three doz . works great .Attachment 95935Attachment 95936

[canebreaker]

I got one of those buckets a few years ago as a gift. It looks like a 7 gallon bucket with a sit-on lid, with a foam liner and lid inside the bucket. Some were sold at walmart, had something that looked like fish on them. Others had some beer brand on them. Some were camo. I found others too, free ones. The foam liner will fit a 5 gallon bucket, may have to trim the top with a blade for a lid to fit onto the bucket.
Academy Sports has a Lid that fits a 5 gallon bucket for about $2.00, it has a hole for the air hose, a slot for the air pump to hook on and a vented lid to get to the minnows.
I went to a warehouse clearance and found some min-o-life foam buckets that are made to fit the steel wire frame, with lid for a dollar. They had 7. The minnow net with the float handle for 35 cent, they had 9. A few other things but one of my good days shopping.

[G.Gordon]

Just about anything will work if it: Keeps minnow cool and provides oxygen. I have a Frabil Magnum bucket and just installed a Marine Metal 12v aerator pump to the boat's electrical system. It comes on for one minute and goes off one minute continuously. Other than the air going into the bucket you can't hear the pump. I installed it in a storage compartment and ran a long air hose.

[Saltine]

I use a Frabill Min-O-Life 8qt to transport from the bait shop to the lake. I gradually temper the water in the cooler with the lake water, then dump them into the on-board bait well.

[superfly]

I use a 5 gallon bucket. Freeze 2 liter mt dew bottles (cause that's what I drink) I have a cheap power inverter that plugs into the 12 volt lighter plug and an aquarium air pump from Walmart. Works great for me. Just always have at least 2 bottles frozen and keep one in the cooler. When the 1st one melts and the water gets warm just put the other in.

[Bobo Greybeard]

Here's my cheap solution...I'd acquired surplus coolers over the years, so I added a pump to one, and some PVC piping with a dozen or so small holes drilled on the bottom of the horizontal pipe. Cooler was paid for years ago, unsure if I'd had the pump laying around or bought it (but they aren't expensive) and maybe $5 worth of PVC and wire/clamps. I don't leave it run constantly, just kick it on every hour or so for 5 minutes. I do keep ice in (which also adds oxygen to the water) it if it's hot outside though. I've been told (by talking to the guys at the bait shops) that keeping minnows at around 50 degrees is best.

I was thinking of making one of these and using it as a live well / minnow bucket in my 12' jon boat. My question is this. How would you covert the power supply to run off of the trolling motor battery? Electrical always was my week point when I was an automotive tech. Would you have to use an inverter or could you just run it straight to the battery via positive and negative wires off of the motor? Thanks, Bobo

[flycaster]

I was thinking of making one of these and using it as a live well / minnow bucket in my 12' jon boat. My question is this. How would you covert the power supply to run off of the trolling motor battery? Electrical always was my week point when I was an automotive tech. Would you have to use an inverter or could you just run it straight to the battery via positive and negative wires off of the motor? Thanks, Bobo

The circulation pump is labeled as a 12V motor, which would be a 12 volt DC motor. This would indicate that you would have to take the wires, RED would go to the POSITIVE terminal of the trolling motor battery, and the BLACK wire would go to the NEGATIVE terminal. You might have to add some length to the wires on the pump. I would go with adding some alligator clips to terminate to the battery terminals.

[Bobo Greybeard]

The circulation pump is labeled as a 12V motor, which would be a 12 volt DC motor. This would indicate that you would have to take the wires, RED would go to the POSITIVE terminal of the trolling motor battery, and the BLACK wire would go to the NEGATIVE terminal. You might have to add some length to the wires on the pump. I would go with adding some alligator clips to terminate to the battery terminals.

Thank you for the information. I was not sure if it was an AC unit or DC. With it being DC it will be pretty easy to hook up. Again Thanks for the info. The more I look around this site the more I seem to learn. That is a good thing. Bobo

[CrappiePappy]

Thank you for the information. I was not sure if it was an AC unit or DC. With it being DC it will be pretty easy to hook up. Again Thanks for the info. The more I look around this site the more I seem to learn. That is a good thing. Bobo

You might also want to consider adding a toggle switch in line with your pump, so that you won't be running the pump continuously (& possibly running your TM battery dead). Cheaper than buying a separate battery for the pump system !!
That Rule 360gph pump will draw ~2amps/hr, on top of what your TM is drawing, if it's running continuously.

I think that's right, but if I'm mistaken ... I defer to those with more electrical knowledge, to correct me.

You "could" purchase a livewell timer (between $30 & $40) and not have to manually flip a switch. But, that would depend on your budget, and cost vs convenience of use & how often you'd use it.

... cp

[Bobo Greybeard]

How long would you run the live well for at a time? Bobo