Advice on electric fan......
10-10-2009, 07:38 PM
#1
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Advice on electric fan......
Hello everyone, so Im planning on getting an electric fan installed soon. If you have one installed please tell me what you got and is it worth it... Thank You...
10-10-2009, 08:06 PM
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Overall is it worth it?
It has some advantages if you're crossing over streams and rivers where the factory fan might be submerged but overall, nope.
Though an electric fan doesn't put 'pull' on the fan belts "directly", it takes voltage to turn the fan so even if the fan doesn't pull from the belts 'mechanically', it will pull from the battery when it turns on and then will pull heavily from the alternator.
For the record- they started putting electric fans on cars not because they pulled too much power or something, but rather because the engines and chassis designs weren't "conducive" to having a fan on a pulley at the end of the engine. Look at an early 80's Trans-Am for instance where the hood sloped sharply downwards ahead of the engine but the engine itself had the crankshaft inline with the fore/aft centerline of the vehicle: using a fan mounted to the end of the engine wasn't a practical installation since a radiator with sufficient flow could not be mounted perfectly vertical in that chassis and therefore a direct-engine-driven-fan could not be mounted either.
Likewise, it's really obvious on a transverse-mounted engine such as what's used in most front-wheel-drive cars since the end of the crankshaft is next to a wheel, and not pointing towards the front of the car.
It has some advantages if you're crossing over streams and rivers where the factory fan might be submerged but overall, nope.
Though an electric fan doesn't put 'pull' on the fan belts "directly", it takes voltage to turn the fan so even if the fan doesn't pull from the belts 'mechanically', it will pull from the battery when it turns on and then will pull heavily from the alternator.
For the record- they started putting electric fans on cars not because they pulled too much power or something, but rather because the engines and chassis designs weren't "conducive" to having a fan on a pulley at the end of the engine. Look at an early 80's Trans-Am for instance where the hood sloped sharply downwards ahead of the engine but the engine itself had the crankshaft inline with the fore/aft centerline of the vehicle: using a fan mounted to the end of the engine wasn't a practical installation since a radiator with sufficient flow could not be mounted perfectly vertical in that chassis and therefore a direct-engine-driven-fan could not be mounted either.
Likewise, it's really obvious on a transverse-mounted engine such as what's used in most front-wheel-drive cars since the end of the crankshaft is next to a wheel, and not pointing towards the front of the car.
10-10-2009, 08:08 PM
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You'll get more opinions on this subject than you can shake a stick at. 
In my opinion, I like the electric setup. Mine was made from parts scavenged from the scrapyard, and I set it up with a three control relay setup so that the fan control is constantly powered and controlled by a temp switch in the thermostsat housing, hence you have all options of it turning on automatically once it reaches the switching point, after engine shutdown if the temps creep up, it can be enabled manually and also totally disabled. It's a partial shroud setup. The fan unit uses a Bosch motor rated for constant duty use.
This is the unit just before I fitted it:
In my opinion, I like the electric setup. Mine was made from parts scavenged from the scrapyard, and I set it up with a three control relay setup so that the fan control is constantly powered and controlled by a temp switch in the thermostsat housing, hence you have all options of it turning on automatically once it reaches the switching point, after engine shutdown if the temps creep up, it can be enabled manually and also totally disabled. It's a partial shroud setup. The fan unit uses a Bosch motor rated for constant duty use.This is the unit just before I fitted it:
Last edited by MattGGT; 10-10-2009 at 08:10 PM.
10-10-2009, 08:28 PM
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You'll get more opinions on this subject than you can shake a stick at. In my opinion, I like the electric setup. Mine was made from parts scavenged from the scrapyard, and I set it up with a three control relay setup so that the fan control is constantly powered and controlled by a temp switch in the thermostsat housing, hence you have all options of it turning on automatically once it reaches the switching point, after engine shutdown if the temps creep up, it can be enabled manually and also totally disabled. It's a partial shroud setup. The fan unit uses a Bosch motor rated for constant duty use.
This is the unit just before I fitted it:
In my opinion, I like the electric setup. Mine was made from parts scavenged from the scrapyard, and I set it up with a three control relay setup so that the fan control is constantly powered and controlled by a temp switch in the thermostsat housing, hence you have all options of it turning on automatically once it reaches the switching point, after engine shutdown if the temps creep up, it can be enabled manually and also totally disabled. It's a partial shroud setup. The fan unit uses a Bosch motor rated for constant duty use.This is the unit just before I fitted it:
I put an electric fan on my 91 and be-damned, it worked great, when it worked... and it wasn't 'hot' outside.
Anyone wondering what I mean, you can PM me. BUT... it was the biggest over the counter electric fan that would fit my 91's radiator and by golly it worked great... when the truck didn't need the fan, but at slow speeds ( =< 20 mph) the truck would overheat and even managed to fail an emissions test with the electric fan. So there you go ... just some other things to think about.
And if you 'know' me, you know I've no issues with shortcuts but you have to know when to cut your losses. Which brings me to ...
10-10-2009, 08:39 PM
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Cheers. 
It did take a good few hours to make though, I will admit. The shroud I used, (aluminium), started off as this:
and then the framework struts were made from 6mm threaded bar, (reinforced with a steel pipe/sleeve slid over it), and 20mm angle iron made up the mounting plates and the side rails on the shroud.
That's the weird thing with electric fans. I, for one, have had no problems whatsoever using one, yet others, like yourself, seem to have no end of grief from them. There never seems to be rhyme nor reason as to whether they'll work successfully or not. Saying that though, I do have a tad of an obsession with making sure all parts of the coolant system are in tip-top nick, so that may explain why I've had more success than some. I even did battle with, (and won eventually), every single one of those poxy spring clamps Toyota fit on the hoses, just for the sake of replacing all the coolant hoses.
It did take a good few hours to make though, I will admit. The shroud I used, (aluminium), started off as this:and then the framework struts were made from 6mm threaded bar, (reinforced with a steel pipe/sleeve slid over it), and 20mm angle iron made up the mounting plates and the side rails on the shroud.
I put an electric fan on my 91 and be-damned, it worked great, when it worked... and it wasn't 'hot' outside.
Anyone wondering what I mean, you can PM me. BUT... it was the biggest over the counter electric fan that would fit my 91's radiator and by golly it worked great... when the truck didn't need the fan, but at slow speeds ( =< 20 miles per hour) the truck would overheat and even managed to fail an emissions test with the electric fan. So there you go ... just some other things to think about.
Anyone wondering what I mean, you can PM me. BUT... it was the biggest over the counter electric fan that would fit my 91's radiator and by golly it worked great... when the truck didn't need the fan, but at slow speeds ( =< 20 miles per hour) the truck would overheat and even managed to fail an emissions test with the electric fan. So there you go ... just some other things to think about.
Last edited by MattGGT; 10-10-2009 at 08:44 PM.
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10-10-2009, 09:32 PM
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my electric fan wouldnt kick on a all, i got it manually hooked up to a switch now, yeah everytime you get in you have to turn it on but i like it way better, keeps it way cooler in this arizona heat.
10-10-2009, 09:44 PM
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10-10-2009, 10:03 PM
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10-11-2009, 07:00 AM
#14
check my mercury villager electric fan swap
pictures and diagram are included
if you are water crossing you may need to add a manual switch ,water can destroy fan blades if moving.
pictures and diagram are included
if you are water crossing you may need to add a manual switch ,water can destroy fan blades if moving.
10-11-2009, 07:48 AM
#15
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If you were having problems (here in Arizona) cooling before, then something was/is wrong with your cooling system.
I've never had a problem cooling, and that's rock crawling in the most intense heat that we get around here.
Fred
10-11-2009, 09:53 AM
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No electric fan is going to pull (or push) more air than a mechanical fan.
If you were having problems (here in Arizona) cooling before, then something was/is wrong with your cooling system.
I've never had a problem cooling, and that's rock crawling in the most intense heat that we get around here.
Fred
If you were having problems (here in Arizona) cooling before, then something was/is wrong with your cooling system.
I've never had a problem cooling, and that's rock crawling in the most intense heat that we get around here.
Fred
10-12-2009, 05:00 AM
#20
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I agree with MATTGGT, you will get more opinions on this subject then anyone can imagine. The one thing that always shocks me though is that people will spend alot of money on electric fans that do not move alot of air. I run electric fans on my street rods, customs and my truck. The best fan setup I have found and used is the Ford 2 speed units, they are compact, well designed and made, move alot of air even on the first speed and in most cases move more air than any aftermarket unit I have found ( I think I have tried them all). If you have air conditioning and tie the second speed into the A/C you will always be cool in your vehicle. You must always use a shroud to direct the air on any electric fan installation but most of the ones supplied with the fan/mounting kits are useless. The way aftermarket manufacturers rate their fan's CFM of air flow is bogus in most cases (sorry, that is the engineer in me coming out of the closet). I just bought a Ford 2 speed fan from a U-Pull it junkyard for a new project-$25.00.
Last edited by suncomb1; 10-12-2009 at 05:04 AM.
