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Electric Fans

Matt Bachand

Matt Bachand

Depends on the 6.5
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Location
Worcester, MA
Like to start a thread here about this.

Anyone have a working setup installed? Any pix?

I may go this route next year.

The one and only time I need my fan is when I drive on the road with plow, going from plow point a, to plow point b.

Its costing me MPG's for sure.

I do nothing but constantly monitor all my guages, so wiring one up to a toggle switch is the way to go for me.

Even if failure happened, the amount of time I actually NEED a fan is very very low, and I could actually manage wihtout one all together. (I just don't trust anything anymore)..........
 
Acesneights1 said:
Franko did one. don't know how it worked out for him. I personally don't think they can pull as much air as the engine fan.
Click to expand...

I don't think so either. But, as mentioned, I never even use mine, yet its constantly spinning on the water pump shaft, causing drag, and enhanced wear to the waterpump bearing.....

If I ever start towing heavy, or if the electrics don't cut it, I can always swap back.

I'm not saying its better, or that I'll defanately do it, but For the amount of time I actually need a fan, the other 99% of time its costing me MPG's.

This may happen after Fluidampr/Oil Cooler lines/REflash/and ATT.

IF i have time and money after all that next year, I may think about it.

Its a no-brainer for MPG gains.

LOL Aces, look at your Tahoe, your Fan clutch never even worked on that truck, and it only ran hot when pulling that damn camper of yours!
 
Although It may do other subte things, like keeping belts/accessories cooler, and keeping airflow moving underhood at all times too....

On the downside, it may also hurt IAT's, as its constantly pushing the fanwash towards the passenger side.
 
Idk about after market stuff, but Taurus/ T-bird fans a popular swap for 4x4's and there supposed to pull 3-4500cfm..
 
I would think you would want to stick with the stock fan(or at least a D-max fan kit). I don't know what temps your truck is running, but seems like I would want as much airflow as possible to help make up for the large amount of area that big damn plow takes away from the grill.

My .02
 
mattthebrat said:
I would think you would want to stick with the stock fan(or at least a D-max fan kit). I don't know what temps your truck is running, but seems like I would want as much airflow as possible to help make up for the large amount of area that big damn plow takes away from the grill.

My .02
Click to expand...

Has to be big, if it makes my truck look small!...

Well, once the fan engages, it drops the temps down to 190 within seconds, so I don't think its a flowrate issue, as much as just an engagement issue.

I am almost 100% confident a twin electric fan would easily keep temps at 190 when engaged.

What I am not confident about is any side effects of having ZERO fan movement during alot of stop and go and idling.

Another side effect is adding another massive electrical load, 50amp or so I would think easily.

Like I said I woudln't be using it when using the plow, just road travel, but with my 50+ marker light bulbs, Defrost / fan blower on high, / and plow draw (which runs off of a 75a solonoid, (may be a good solonoid to power the elec fans with too, only 12 bux a piece), ...

Now I have no A/C either, so no condeser BS or stuff clogging my fan areas... Also moved the horn too when cleaning my system out, so Its pretty open and spacious at the fan area.

I'll have to see how I feel after doing the other mods next year...

This may interfere with the fan shroud and other things too, so I would have to get a spare one of those to modify, so I could return things to normal if I didn't like it.

Probably wont do this, but I may. Nice to have a thread out here to discuss things with though.
 
Hi guys,

I have a twin electric fan setup on the Tahoe. I think it is an ideal setup. I have one of the Flex-A-Lite fan setups. I don't think it draws 50 amps, but I'll bet its 30. Reason why I know its not drawing 50 is that the fuse is a 40 amp one.

The way these things work is that you totally remove your fan shroud and your pump mounted fan, and install the twin electrics directly onto the radiator. It hooks to the batteries, and has a sensor probe which you insert into the radiator. It has a thermocouple which directly measures the temp of the radiator core, and turns the fans on when it reaches the trigger temp.

The Flex-a-lite controller is semi-sophisticated, in that it doesn't run at all when the temps are below the trigger point. When you reach the trigger point (I have mine set to around 185-190) it turns the fans on at 60% power (according to the instructions that came with it), and from looking at it, yes it doesn't go at full speed immediately. If the temps don't drop, or go up, then it steps the fan speed up, until around 200 or so it is running full speed.

I agree it probably doesn't go as high a CFM as a direct-drive fan, but the setup has several advantages:

  • No drag at all until it reaches the trigger temp
  • Variable drag depending on temp
  • Directly measures the temp of the radiator core
  • Adjustable by turning a little adjustment screw
  • Fan speed is INDEPENDENT of engine speed, so can run at 100% even when idling!
  • Can wire to switch to turn completely off when doing off-road water crossings!

I think it keeps my Tahoe a lot cooler than my old stock setup (which I have now recycled), but the problem I was trying to solve had to do with cooling problems caused by the 3" body lift, which caused a 3" offset between radiator and engine mounted fan... the original owner had mangled the bottom of the fan shroud to get the fan to clear, and the combo "off-center, mangled shroud" was causing overheating problems with my setup.

It works well on the Tahoe, but I don't tow, and the Tahoe is a pretty small rig compared to most things.

I am quite happy with mine.

-Rob :)
 
Thanks for the input Rob! Can you add some pictuers to the thread?

How exactly do you insert that probe into the radiator?

Thats actually ideal, as its measuring the same coolant as the ECT is. Not air temp around the engine.

Was this a kit? or did you piece it together?
 
I don't see why this --> http://www.painlesswiring.com/webcatalog/largeview.php?SearchField=30114&SearchAll=4x4 OffRoad wont work..

Installing air conditioning to your hot rod? Need a cooling fan relay to operate off of a thermostatic switch and when your a/c is on? The dual activation cooling fan relay kits by Painless Performance are exactly what you need. Only a few minutes for the installation and your cooling fan will come on when the engine reaches the preset temperature of the thermostatic switch mounted in the engine head or when the a/c is turned on.

This kit includes:
40 Amp relay with mounting base
30 Amp circuit breaker protection for the electric fan
Pre-terminated and printed wire harness
Thermostatic switch 195°F On/185°F Off (thread size: 3/8"-18NPT)
1/2"NPT to 3/8"NPT adapter
Simple to use Posi-taps for the ignition and a/c compressor connections
Mounting hardware and insulated terminals
Illustrated instruction sheetI
 
NIce kit. Looks like that t-stat would thread right into the head port where the CTS goes?

I do like the thought of an adjustable screw. Has a perfect 205on, 190 off switch also available. Looks like I'm not the only one who feels that is ideal!
 
Hey Folks!

Thanks for the shout outs. Happy to share my experiences.

In a nutshell, in the spring of '08, I ripped out the stock silicone-filled fan clutch and metal fan setup (02_StockFan.pdf).

I used two Volvo take-outs, manufactured by Bosch with Volvo P/N 8649522, rated at 3000 CFM drawing 18A (more amps drawn at startup). Each electric fan's plastic shroud was cut at strategic places, then, the shrouds were joined with rivets and steel and aluminum angle irons (07_DualCoolingFans_Front.pdf, and 08_DualCoolingFans_Rear.pdf).

The dual fans fit perfectly behind the radiator, in between the header tanks (10_DualCoolingFans.pdf).

To secure the fans against the radiator:

1. The edge of the angle iron at the bottom of the fans (seen in 08_DualCoolingFans_Rear.pdf) was inserted into the small gap between the bottom of the radiator and the radiator support bracket (seen in 02_StockFan.pdf).

2. The top of the electric fans were held in place against the top of the radiator using brackets I designed using electrical U-channel and heavy steel L-shaped brackets (12_RetainingBracket.pdf, and 13_RetainingBracket.pdf) which I used as grounds.

The single thermostatic controller was originally mounted on the driver side firewall (15_TermperatureController.pdf) but was moved due to heat soak concerns to behind one of the electric fan shrouds, low to keep away from the heat. The probe is of the bulb type and was inserted through the fins at the top of the radiator. The metal tubing from the controller to the bulb was inserted through a small diameter vinyl tubing to protect it from abrasion and vibration (seen in 12_RetainingBracket.jpg, 13_RetainingBracket.jpg, and 15_TemperatureController.pdf). I will convert it to a dual controller setup so that the fans start up independently and sequentially.

The "heavy duty" electric relays (16_RelaysFuses.pdf) were replaced with genuine heavy duty electric relays (sorry, no pics but will get some) because of electrical load failure of the contacts.

The Beast was test-driven in NYC traffic on tax deadline day (yep, we filed at the last hour at the GPO across from Madison Square Garden). Only one fan was needed in the stop-and-stop-and-go-and-stop traffic, but, then again, it was only April 15 just before midnight.

The Beast is, currently, out of commission because of a badly leaking head gasket (shut it down when it from hissing to whooshing -- lost compression and power... did not want to crack the crank or throw a rod). Had it towed and is sitting in my driveway while I gather parts, tools and confidence to tackle both heads.

In retrospect, the project was successful. In fact, our Avalanche's cooling system did away with the engine mounted belt driven fan/clutch setup and has a dual cooling fan configuration. Even the fan sounds are alike...
 

Attachments

  • 02_StockFan.pdf
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  • 07_DualCoolingFans-Front.pdf
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  • 08_DualCoolingFans-Rear.pdf
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  • 10_DualCoolingFans.pdf
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  • 12_RetainingBracket.pdf
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  • 13_RetainingBracket.pdf
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  • 15_TemperatureController.pdf
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  • 16_RelaysFuses.pdf
    307.4 KB · Views: 7
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