Which electric radiator fan?

[gm13]

My next project for the 110/200Tdi will be replacing the radiator and installing an electric cooling fan. I see many in the UK use the Kenlowe, seems to be the go to solution. I haven't found a source stateside yet but did come across Derale, has anyone used them or know of a good alternative to Kenlowe. This is a disco engine/trans so it sits further back in the bay. I could have fabricated a shroud of sorts that functioned I suppose but the viscous fan was also in the way of the newly mounted air cleaner, so electric it will be. Here's the Derale: http://www.autoaccessoriesgarage.co...rale-Single-High-Output-Electric-Radiator-Fan
Thoughts?

 

[Javelinadave]

I used a Flex-A-Lite 210 on my 97 Defender. In fact, that is what most of the D-90 guys used. IIRC I bought it from Summit Racing.

 

[redneck44]

Kenlowe are the main after market fan in the U.K because they one of very few aftermarket fan makers here.
You'll find that many Landy owners just go down to nearest breakers and find a suitable fan from a scrap vehicle, usually find they are better sealed, last longer, and a whole load cheaper. got two fans from an old Rover 827 for about £10.

 

[DividingCreek]

Ford Taurus 3 liter 6cyl for a fan, moves huge cfm and is dirt cheap @ any salvage yard. For a controller use one of these in your lower radiator hose http://www.x-eng.co.uk/StoreDisplay.asp?SL=38&MID=4
You can buy one from Justin @ Lucky 8 in Ny-
http://lucky8llc.com/Products.aspx?ProductID=3639

 

[Javelinadave]

Buy a new fan. Cooling your engine has to be one of the most important thing that goes on under your hood and you don't need some old electric fan to crap out when you need it most. If money is an issue leave the engine driven fan till you save up enough money for a new one.

 

[SilverBullet]

Ford Taurus 3 liter 6cyl for a fan, moves huge cfm and is dirt cheap @ any salvage yard. For a controller use one of these in your lower radiator hose http://www.x-eng.co.uk/StoreDisplay.asp?SL=38&MID=4
You can buy one from Justin @ Lucky 8 in Ny-
http://lucky8llc.com/Products.aspx?ProductID=3639

x2 on this. The Taurus fan i s2-speed, the high will blow your feet through the firewall... ;-)

 

[DividingCreek]

Yep. I have run kenlowes, Flex-Lites etc. The taurus one is the best and RED90/John has done a nice write up on the fitment.
On a client car I'd suggest a Kenlowe but for max cooling on my own....

 

[gm13]

I don't mind paying for a quality fan but by the time a Kenlowe ships it's about 300. The Derale has a Bosch motor, is half that and I can buy it on amazon. But I think I'll look into the Taurus fan, seems sensible.

My 110 came w/o its viscous fan or any for that matter, I put a viscous unit on though the infra red thermometer readings never went above 170ish, with or w/o a fan. Granted said viscous fan was missing a shroud so it was about worthless anyway. We don't have traffic here to sit in, (not even a stop light for 20 miles in any direction) and no miles long hill climbs. If the truck is running, it's going at least 35mph so air is always moving through. For the slow crawl through rough tracks, I want it to have a fan, though it doesn't seem to mind.

Thanks for the input all.

 

[jhawk]

The Taurus fan is the way to go. Your best bet is to gab one off of a Lincoln, or Mercury. The Taurus fan secret is out and going with the others will save you some cash. I've run this fan on everything from a Pathfinder to a 500 plus HP Lightning with zero issues, in Phoenix.

Jim

 

[DividingCreek]

http://www.d-90.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-22463.html

 

[1leg]

http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.aspx

 

[gm13]

http://www.d-90.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-22463.html

Some good info there, thanks for that.
I called 5 salvage yards for the Taurus/sable/continental fan, none in Maine said the last joint who checked the used parts database for the states yards.
Ebay has them for $100 shipped for 91-95 versions as they seem to be the units with the most adaptable shroud. At that rate most likely go Derale/Spal/FAL

 

[Snagger]

Fit a genuine fan!

I have a long record of being against electric fans (sounds like a broken record, really). I don't believe any of the performance and economy figures claimed by companies like Kenlowe - they measure energy consumption of an engine at high rpm with a fixed fan on a bench, ie with no airflow from vehicle movement. When do you think you'll be doing that with a vehicle? The reality is that at high rpm, with the fan turning fast, the vehicle will usually be moving fast too, so the airflow from the vehicle motion reduced the angle of attack on the fan blades to nil - it'll be windmilling, not driving. At idle, the power consumption from the fan is negligible - the fan is turning relatively slowly and the viscous clutch will be open.

Claims about energy saving are false. The energy to drive a fan still has to come from the fuel tank, whether it's electric or engine driven. But, with an electric fan, the energy has to change state to and from electrical energy and overcome the inherent losses associated with that, plus it has to overcome the friction of the bearings in the alternator and fan motor and the electrical resistance of the wiring, while an engine driven fan has no extra losses being driven by the water pump, which is already turning. Electric fans also run your battery down by being active after shutting the engine off.

The biggest factors are reliability and capacity. Electric fans are not that reliable and are puny by comparison to engine driven fans. Viscous fan clutches normally fail safe - they seize up so the fan will be driven even when it shouldn't, but if they fail open, then a cable tie works as a temporary repair and retains full cooling. An electric fan can only fail in one manner, and it could leave you stranded.

There is a good reason that electric fans are only fitted to transverse engined vehicles or cars with odd shaped engine bays - it's because they're crap. Every car made with an in-line engine has an engine driven fan. If there were any performance or fuel economy benefits to electric fans, that wouldn't be the case.

 

[Red90]

When done properly an electric fan works well. The viscous fans are quite unreliable, IME. You can see my writeup above. Mine has been in for years, with a lot of hard use. No problems at all. For expedition trip, I carry a spare motor in case. They cost very little.

I used a Flexalite controller, but would suggest a DCControls controls, either the two speed or the variable speed, http://www.dccontrol.com/selector.htm They are built to OEM quality levels or higher.

 

[Red90]

The biggest factors are reliability and capacity. Electric fans are not that reliable and are puny by comparison to engine driven fans. Viscous fan clutches normally fail safe - they seize up so the fan will be driven even when it shouldn't, but if they fail open, then a cable tie works as a temporary repair and retains full cooling. An electric fan can only fail in one manner, and it could leave you stranded..

Reliability and capacity are all in the design and implementation of the system. It is important to use a fan with adequate capacity and design and build it to be reliable. This is all easily possible. the system I use has much more flow capacity than will ever be required and is built to OE levels of quality. In addition, it makes other maintenance in the engine bay much easier and improves intercooler flow.

IME, the viscous units always fail by not being able to lock up. The failure rate is very high. They are expensive as well. A spare electric motor is $20 for the fan I use and available in any town in North America.