What’s this lever for?

[MeatyPortion]

I purchased a 1994 Nitro 180 TF for my son that I’m cleaning up and restoring a few things. I don’t know what this lever is for. I’m guessing a valve for the live well but not sure.
the lever under the control.

 

[cceguy]

It's a cable operated live well valve. When it is open, the live well will fill (or drain) to the same level as the boat's waterline. So you can drain the live well by opening the valve while the boat is on plane.
I almost sunk my boat (1993 Nitro 190 TF) the 2nd time I took it out after I bought it August 2020. The 1st trip seemed ok. The second trip the boat seemed sluggish. After sitting all night pulled up to my campsite, it was sitting very low in the water. I found out that my live well valve was broke, and always open. Also my live well was split from top to bottom at each end of the divider. The water was up to the top of my batteries. Glad I didn't tie up to the dock. I think I will put in an automatic bilge pump.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Ok, so your answer helps a bunch because when we took the boat out for the first run our bilge had to be run almost the whole time. We noticed it when the water was already 1/4 way up the batteries. If I didn’t kick it on every few minutes we would of had an issue. We could not figure out where water was coming into the boat. I was assuming it was from the backwash coming over the transom but it seemed too much for that. I’ve decided the same to add an additional automatic pump.
Looking at the way the live well is plumbed it appears I would need to remove the full tank to get to it. Do you know if that’s correct?

 

[cceguy]

I took both fuel tanks out, since I needed to repair the live wells. You probably can access the valve by disconnecting the drain hose at the live well and transom. Then pull the hose towards the rear until you can remove the valve control cable. A new valve cost about $30. I shortened the hose between the transom and valve. Now I can access the valve without removing the drain hose at the live well, which on mine is very hard to disconnect. I also installed a new drain hose between the tank and valve, instead of inserting an extension. The old one was brittle, and I needed a longer length since I moved the valve. The new valve is an improved design. It shuts off both inlet and outlet ports when closed. The old one only shutoff 1 port. If you move the valve, you may have to change the cable to the opposite side of the valve, or get a longer/shorter control cable.

 

[cceguy]

If your boat is filling with water, the valve probably isn't the problem. You may have a leak in a hose or the tank. Another possibility is a clogged overflow hose.
As the water flow in increases, so does the money out. Or something like that.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Thanks for the info. I have a feeling the water was coming from one of the hoses since your original response got me thinking. I’m going to pull the fuel tank out and check out all the plumbing and degrease the bilge area. I filled the tank up to the top when fuel in my area was down to $1.68 a gallon. So now I have to find something to put it all in. My oil system was deleted by previous owner so my fuel is mixed so I can’t use it in any other vehicle I own. I’d much prefer if the tank was empty and just pay the current 2.90 a gallon now.
Thanks again for the help.

 

[olefisherman456]

take the fuel you drain out and use it in your truck or car. it will not hurt anything. i used to drain all the fuel from the boat every spring and put in my truck. upper lube for the valves.

 

[cceguy]

I'm almost in the same boat as you. I have to mix my oil and gas too. I drained my gas into 3 portable gas tanks for my 9.5 hp john boat. Had to add more oil. The rest of the gas (about 10 gallons) I put in 2 5 gallon gas containers, which I'm using in my lawn mowers and some other small engine equipment. Haven't had any problems. I prefer mixing my oil with the gas. About 50 years ago an oil injector failed on a 2 cylinder motorcycle, breaking a connecting rod when the piston seized. After rebuilding the engine, I started mixing my oil and gas. Never had another problem.
By pulling the tank(s) you will be able to check the fuel lines better. So it isn't such a bad thing.
Does anyone know what the purpose of the Plexiglas divider in the live well is? Is it only on the TF series?

 

[Panfish Pappy]

I believe the divider would be to separate certain species of fish, or to keep your fish separate from your spouse's (in case there's a contest...)