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Electric cooling fans


palmersparts

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Interesting that you ask.........I have had an electric fan on my V8 Poly 1940 Dodge for about 40yrs, the most recent one for about 20yrs, its mounted to the front of the radiator and is thru a relay and is via a manual switch although originally I had it connected to a 180 degree soldered into the radiator top earth switch but I found the manual overide was a better bet as I could ensure it didn't continue to operate after shutting down and flatten the battery......I took it out for a drive around the block today and guess what.............the damn fan didn't work..................lol...........was sitting on 200 the whole time, it was close to 95 F today so I didn't bother seeing what the problem was & will have a look tomorrow, I expect its a fuse or relay issue.......will let you know but I reckon all cars should have electric fans, mush better than the mechanical, I normally only use it in traffic....its a 16" diameter one, the biggest I could fit, sorry no pic of it..............andyd     

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2 hours ago, Don Coatney said:

I am running a thermostatically controlled electric pusher fan on a new aluminum 3 core radiator. Fan rarely runs at any speed over 30 MPH and the engine temperature stays well within range.

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DAYUM,Don! That monitor has to be older than I am!

 

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I've been running an electric fan for about 5 years now after my engine fan spit a blade off.  I use a $10.00 coolant switch from NAPA and relay that's only energized when the ignition is on.  Not sure about the power gains from ditching the fan but it sure is a lot quieter.  Like said above, rarely runs at speed, cycles on and off around town...

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Checked the fan this morning, yep, the relay had gone kaput.......swapped it and fans fanning again............lol..........andyd

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One thing to remember when buying an electric fan...............they are rated in CFM,(cubic feet per minute). Most fan companies have that CFM rating on the box but what they don't tell you is the static pressure drop once the fan is attached to the radiator.

Spal fans are what I consider the best fans on the market and the reason is they tell what the fan is rated at CFM wise and they also tell you what the CFM is once attached. There are electric fans out there that are rated at 3000 CFM but once attached to radiator that CFM drops to 1000 or less. So you need to ask questions about the fan you purchase and find out the true CFM.........PS............I don't work for or have anything to do with Spal...........I have just done some research on the electric fans out there.

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17 minutes ago, chopt50wgn said:

One thing to remember when buying an electric fan...............they are rated in CFM,(cubic feet per minute). Most fan companies have that CFM rating on the box but what they don't tell you is the static pressure drop once the fan is attached to the radiator.

Spal fans are what I consider the best fans on the market and the reason is they tell what the fan is rated at CFM wise and they also tell you what the CFM is once attached. There are electric fans out there that are rated at 3000 CFM but once attached to radiator that CFM drops to 1000 or less. So you need to ask questions about the fan you purchase and find out the true CFM.........PS............I don't work for or have anything to do with Spal...........I have just done some research on the electric fans out there.

Good point and a lot of that has to do with the way the fan is mounted. I initially mounted my fan spaced about 1 inch away from the radiator fins. I discovered a lot of blow by leakage and lack of efficiency as the air was reflected away from the cooling coils and not blowing through the radiator.

 

running_fan.jpg

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So I made a change in my mounting bracket and mounted the fan flush with the fins. Huge difference in cooling efficiency.

 

fanclose1.jpg

P6210004.jpg

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https://www.ebay.com/i/191800180184?chn=ps

 

One company that sells 6 volt radiator fans. NOT just on Ebay though. Several models I see 6 volt.

This company seems to have a good rep on their products. Recently installed a 16" 2000+ cfm  fan of theirs on the front on a 12 volt 1947 Plymouth bus. cpe. A bit noisy when running at idle hot but the fan has a thermostatic adjustable temp  switch and only runs for about 15-20 seconds before shutting down when at hot temp idle.

Should not even run when at most driving speeds= no HP loss.

Just a thought, no other experience with these or the company.

 

DJ

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1 hour ago, neil and ethan said:

so how much do you guys think that  little flat pitch 4 blade stock fan sucks for power  at 2800   . or what ever ?

  I think I have to get to 12 volt before I worry about an electric fan .

     

Any engine power loss was not in the equation when I went to an electric fan. I installed an engine 2 inches longer than the original engine and I went electric to gain the lost real estate. 

 

fanclearance.jpg

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I like electric fans, use them on other cars and I want one now on the Plymouth. I liked the Engine Masters test. Once you are rolling with some speed a mechanical fan really isn't needed in my part of the world. 

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The key is finding a thermostatic controller that fits the heat ranges of a flat head 6 cylinder engine. Most controllers made today are for much higher heat ranges for modern cars. I searched long and hard finding this pictured controller. I am not sure if they are still available as it was several years ago when I bought this one.

 

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Update, I see Summit Racing and others still carry this controller.

 

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hda-3647

 

I also used heat transfer compound when I installed the temperature probe in the fins. This compound can be found at McMaster Carr.

 

heatsink.jpg

fanclose1.jpg

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Let me give everyone another tip.........this one came from my personal experience. if you put a thermostatic control to turn your fan on and off..........make sure you run a over-ride toggle switch to the fan as well. I had my thermos control fail and really didn't know it until I glanced at the temp gauge. Luckily I had a toggle switch under the dash that I turned on and the fan came on. Those thermos control can fail and usually on the hottest day so having an over-ride switch saved the day.

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2 hours ago, chopt50wgn said:

Let me give everyone another tip.........this one came from my personal experience. if you put a thermostatic control to turn your fan on and off..........make sure you run a over-ride toggle switch to the fan as well. I had my thermos control fail and really didn't know it until I glanced at the temp gauge. Luckily I had a toggle switch under the dash that I turned on and the fan came on. Those thermos control can fail and usually on the hottest day so having an over-ride switch saved the day.

Another good point. My fan controller had an unused air conditioning input to turn the fan on manually every time the air conditioner was in use. As I did not have an air conditioner I used that input as a manual fan switch and installed it as the toggle switch pictured to the  left of the heater fan switch.

 

manualswitch.jpg

 

 

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While thermostat control is fine, I find it real simple to switch it on and off myself. Stop and go in town driving....I leave the fan on. Get rolling and off it goes. Yes I might have to be watching my temp gage and making a motion to operate the switch but it really is simple. When SWMBO takes the car she knows to also watch the gage....at least she says she does :)

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  • 4 months later...
On 1/13/2018 at 5:58 AM, chopt50wgn said:

Let me give everyone another tip.........this one came from my personal experience. if you put a thermostatic control to turn your fan on and off..........make sure you run a over-ride toggle switch to the fan as well. I had my thermos control fail and really didn't know it until I glanced at the temp gauge. Luckily I had a toggle switch under the dash that I turned on and the fan came on. Those thermos control can fail and usually on the hottest day so having an over-ride switch saved the day.

I also wired up a LED light to tell me the fan is getting juice. I been having troubles with China made controllers. Got this Korean made one so far so good, just add a relay. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/imperial-adjustable-thermostatic-fan-control-226203/6016936-P?searchTerm=engine+cooling+fan+controller

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2 hours ago, Don Coatney said:

When I was looking for  a cooling fan controller this is the only one I found that fit the heat ranges of these engines and was adjustable.  

 

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Yup I need an adjust able one, if the. One I posted above fails I will give your brand a try.

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