Electgric fan?

Blair G

Adventurer
Any of you running electric radiator fans instead of the stock? If so what type and the pro's and con's. I am doing some work on the 110 and am contemplating adding a fan since I am in the neighborhood.

Blair
 
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Scott Brady

Founder
I think adding a pusher fan in front of the radiator to augment the stock fan is an ok solution. I have spent a lot of time fooling with electric fans as primary cooling solutions and have experienced too many failures (electrical connection failures, motor failures, fuse failures, etc.) One time something got kicked up into the engine compartment and shattered all of the brittle plastic fan blades.

If I recall correctly, Graham's 110 runs cool as a cucumber.
 

perazzi

New member
Electric fans

In my limited experience I have had problems with an electric fan as the primary cooling fan. I feel much more comfortable with a mechanical fan especially if I am in a remote area. Very easy to carry a spare belt whereas if the electric fan fails, its a big problem.
 

bovw

Explorer
Ditto, maybe with an electric aux for super hot days. I've heard of no noticable benefits of an electric, but an electrical problem could definately dampen your day.
 

fwop

zzzzzz
one of the main benefits of electrical is being able to switch it off during water crossings. A turning fan hitting water has been known to bend blades and rip into the radiator, break fan blades, and at the very least throw water over the entire engine bay. The water and steam can stop the ignition system dead in it's tracks...
So if you're not planning on fording water at fan height, stick with mechanical.
 

Desertoutpost

Adventurer
I'm kind of surprised with the feed back with electric fans. The hotrod community has been running electric fans on there stuff for a long time. I run two puller fans (which has proven to move more cfm of air through the radiator with less effort than pusher fans). I run a 427 big block which needs lot of air.

Our hotrods usually run high cubic inch motors (525 hp in mine) which are alot of times on the edge of the higher heat index most all the time. Maybe the problem is from dust/dirt/mud/water to the fan and electrical circuit and system.

Is there a company out there that has made an offroad/overland proven type of fan system? When we have looked for fans in our hotrod applications you can by them from your local discount auto parts store for cheap or spend some serious coin for some well made ones. I have done both and I'm currently running well made hig end ones, they just seem to work better.

If you want any pics of the set up let me know I can go out and takes some? Although the application would be night and day the system would not be. I also run two switches so I can operate the fans when I want and shut them off anytime I want. I think n the trail you would want this for two reason, one as mentioned about water crossing but also so the fans do not continue to run when the truck is shut down, as they often do. When the auto is shut off and the aftermarket fans are still running because of temp switches they seriously drain your battery. I would not want this on the trail.

Just my thoughts, again I understand the difference in application but am surprised over the little usage? Your thoughts?
 

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
I am one of the few running electric fans for cooling. I adapted Chevrolet Camaro LS1 dual fans for my truck. LT1 Electric fans conversion
For me it works better than the stock crank driven fan. I have made many changes to the cooling system. The electric fans are just one part of the puzzle.

For my case I needed to lower the operating temperature. The stock thermostat was 195 and I feel more comfortable running a little farther from the edge of over heating. The stock fan clutch engages way too late , IMO. I needed a lower temperature fan clutch to match the lower temperature thermostat I added. None were available.
Reason #1 - I installed electric fans: To control the engagement temperature. I can also manually engage them to get a head start on cooling if needed, as well as cancel them for water crossings.
Reason #2 - Crawling the desert in 100+ degree temps the stock fan did not move enough air at idle speeds to keep it cool. The electrics move more air at idle speeds.

Some tout mileage increases and performance improvement. There may be a little , but not nearly enough to justify the expense. It does warm up faster and the fans rarely run in the wintertime. The colder climates might find this very useful.

The fans I am using were intended for a car running a V-8. They are more than sufficient to cool a little V-6 like mine. Dual fans adds redundancy. Odds are that both will not fail at the same time. Being OEM there should be parts readily available. They are a proven design in that I have found no fan problems in the Camaro world.

Prior to the modifications, I had cooling problems. None critical, but worrisome. Since the change to the LS1 fans it has maintained temperatures very well. Even when towing the boat in the summers I don't have any problems.

I too am one of those Streetrodder's with a big engined electric fan cooled hotrod. My HenryJ runs a 700+ HP Blown Big Block with dual electric fans. They are not enough to keep it cool when it is 100+ outside and in traffic, but they do not have a shroud and are mounted as pushers. There were not better options in this case. They do work though and I do drive it without problems. Does it get warm when I mash the right pedal? Sure. Do they cool it down? Yes.

Are electric fans right for everyone? Probably not. Does your stock fan work? If it does why change?
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Mark Whatley is a Toyota guru up in Alaska who edits the tech section of Toyota Trails, our newsletter magazine for TLCA. He wrote about electric fans recently in the May/June 2007 edition. It is written probably with a FJ40 or FJ60 in mind, but it's really pretty general. Hope I'm not breaking copyright law by posting a scan of it.

Two things to note. It is not nearly as hot in AK as it might be in FL or AZ and second they know a thing or two about river crossings.
 

Lynn

Expedition Leader
fwop said:
one of the main benefits of electrical is being able to switch it off during water crossings.

I've never had an electric fan on my 4x4s, but I was planning one on my future vehicle, for that reason.

Then I watched that 'first overland' video linked in another thread; they removed the fan belt before crossings...

And someone in the infamous Snorkel thread mentioned letting your manifolds cool before dunkin' them... (on the M151s I used to drive through the rivers, I remember lots and lots of steam, but, hey, I didn't have to fix 'em...)

And I know brake rotors can warp if dunked when hot...

So now I'm thinking that taking the time to remove the belt, while things is a coolin' down, is probably the best idea.
 

bfoxg8r

Observer
After a water crossing ripped every blade off my Disco fan, I made the switch to dual electrics. I went with a pair out of a Lincoln Mark 8 and they fit almost perfectly.
I can sit in Orlando traffic on a hot day with no problems. I've been offroad a few times with them, also with no problems.
I wired up a cut off switch for water crossings with a dash light to remind me to turn em back on.
I did notice I have more throttle response from my V8.
 

TeriAnn

Explorer
I use an electric fan from a V8 mercedes. US$15 at the local wrecking yard and probably a lot higher quality than most after market fans.

gr_radfan.jpg

The fan is controlled by a relay with its own fuse. The relay coil wiring includes a temperature activated switch in series with an off on switch located by the steering wheel so the fan can be powered down for water crossings. The input and output wires for the fan temperature switch have opposite direction individual connectors so the switch can be quickly bypassed in case of failure.

While wrecking yard hunting a fan I discovered that early '90s Cadillacs used a Bosh relay that has triple seals and potted leads.

GRrelayBosch.jpg

So I now have one each for the fan, horn, headlamp high beam & headlamp low beam.
 

taco2go

Explorer
Welcome to the portal!- I have had your website bookmarked for years. My neighbour growing up in N. India was a Scottish physician who had travelled the world (in my wee mind) in his dormie.
I'm sure you will join the ranks of ExPo's esteemed Land Rover experts in short order. :bowdown:
 
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TeriAnn

Explorer
taco2go said:
Welcome to the portal!- I have had your website bookmarked for years. I'm sure you will join the ranks of ExPo's esteemed Land Rover experts in short order.

Thanks for the kind welcome. I found this forum quite by accident yesterday when following some interesting looking links. It is dedicated to one of my passions so hopefully it will be a place where I can learn from & help others as well.

I'm gonna be busy for the next few days though. A couple minutes ago the UPS guy showed up lugging my new front diff from Great Basin Rovers. It has a front 24 spline TruTrac with 4.75:1 R&P. It is the last part I needed to replace my trashed 10 spline front axle with 24 spline front axles. Once the parts are installed I can get back on the trial in 4X4. :wings:

Take care
 

BigAl

Expedition Leader
I swapped a cherokee 4.0 into my yj to replace the carb'd 258. I fussed with a sm pusher and a puller. I never built a shroud but the puller was almost covered the radiator. I never had good luck, when the going got tough it always heated up for me. I eventually went to a centered flexalite mechanical fan and now it does'nt ever go above 190:). The mechanical route follows the kiss principle.
 

ca_surveyor

New member
I am playing with electric fans, and have had mixed issues. Prior to changing to electric, I was running hot in traffic and at stops. At speed everything was fine, except at high speeds with A/C running in the desert.

Changed to electric, and in high outside temp (110 degrees) in traffic with A/C, runs cool ( 180 - 185 f), however at speed in 70 - 80 degrees F running high in the temp range.

I am running dual high flow 15" puller derale fans.

Still playing.
 

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