Why do you insist putting money in to a puny smallblock??? HAHAHAHAHA!

Well anyway, I'm interested in the responses as well. For my 190000 mile oil leaking, burning and puking 351W. The ability of using some throttle when you have to during a water crossing is reason enough for me. Right now my fan kicks a nice stream out my missing wheel well at idle!

 

Beware of using too many amps. You will kill your battery is you go too large. High load, low RPM will help to overload the alternator. Forget towing big loads with electric only. Not enough amperage to pull as well as an engine driven fan (~120 A). If you do tow though, I guess you can just bolt the engine fan back on, and still enjoy the better AC performance you will get from the extra airflow the electrics will give you at idle.

 

Well lets see, they are supposed to draw 19.5 Amps I think. They are dual 12" slim lines listed for the Fords. There is a dual listed for the Chebby that is 14" each and flows 5200CFM, but draw is 30A. I wouldn't think 19.5 Amps would be a big deal with an alternator upgrade. I would think these would work OK for towing as well. This is for a truck application. You'd think dual 2 inch 10 or 12 blade fans would pull as much as the stock. I will check further into the suitability for towing.

 

Good question. Been considering electric fans on mine as well.

In reply to:

is the sensor you have to drop in the upper radiator hose. Durability on that?

I've had a lower radiator hose heater in for 2 years.
No problems there.
I'd suspect the heater's a lot harder on the hose than a sensor would be.

Is that the only option they offer for the temp-sending unit?
Can't use the stock one, (gauge, not idiot light unit), and double a wire from it to the fans?

 

well, I think painless wiring offers an alternative, just can't remember how their's worked, or how much it was.

 

Check this out http://users.superford.org/gremlin/dia_fans.htm He has a good wiring diagram for what you are trying to do and you can shut it off for river crossings. But "he" has a 460. I don't really think an electric fan is gonna give u the boost you want. Maybe an RV cam or somethin like that for more power. NORM

 

I will gurantee you that if you do severe towing, those puny 19A fans only will not be enough. They should be okay for pop-ups and small boats. I have tested these things hundreds of times. I'm not shooting your idea down, but I just want to warn you that this is something to consider.

 

Hey Norm that is a cool site. I have to agree with gremlin. He did his mod for the same reason as I...it is not that I want any real horsepower increase, or I would do a cam change or something. The benefit of the electrics is efficiency, no power robbing clutch fan = few more ponies to rear wheels, and gas mileage, and controllability for off road water crossings. My concern is cooling

. I think under daily driving it will be fine. I do have a new 4 core super heavy duty copper/brass radiator I just installed about 8 months ago. My stock supercooling plastic unit sprung a leak. I also have a tranny cooler up front and and the stock engine oil cooler. So, can these fans pull the air my 351 needs under say heavy towing or in sand dune running or stuck in traffic on a very hot day? The latter one I think I'm covered, it's the other two situations that ron-bo has me worried about. ANYONE, have any idea what the stock clutch fan is capable of flowing compared to dual 12" electrics?????

 

The suppliers of the fans should be able tell you the cfm that the fans are able to do and maybe ronbo can tell you what the stock belt fan does. Maybe extrapolate the ~120A rating ronbo gave you and find some other (industrial?) fan with that rating and see if it gives a cfm rating. Then you can compare the two. Not sure if its an easy direct conversion from Amps to cfm where 120/19 = 6. Thus the stock fan provides 6x the amount of air as those 19a fans?? Im sure there is a little more to it. I got an HVAC guy here that specs out fans all the time for industrial applications and he can prob tell me the comparision between the motor rating and its cfm rating. Whats the rpms of those fans anyway?

 

I sent an email to flex-a-lite to see if they can provide some kind of comparo on stock CFM for a Bronco, 5.8, A/C. I did find some specs on the duals: 2 choices for fullsizes,
210 slimline pullers
2 x 12 10 blades 21degree
15 1/2"x 26 1/4" x 2 5/8
2500 CFM
19.5 amp draw

260 puller
2 x 14 8 blades 26 degrees
16 1/2 x 32 1/4 x 4 1/2
5200 CFM both at 13.5VDC
30 amp draw
both have adj. thermostat, A/C relay, and optional manual override. Company "says" the 260 flows a whopping 5200 CFM, and on a 92 chebby suburban, dyno tests before and after claim a 12 HP/16lbft increase. Long term testing has yielded a 2 mpg increase. NOTE this is their claim on one vehicle.

 

The engine driven fan you have pulls about 11 hp when fully engaged (high load, low speed in high ambient temperatures). Convert HP to watts 11*746 = 8206 Watts. Divide by voltage to get amps (use 13 V), you get about 641 amps. Bring into account the efficiency of the electrical system, and you can get down to ~120 amps.
Comparison: Windstar uses twin fans. 40 amps for both. They are good for 3500 lb trailer load.
Around town, in traffic and high heat, the electrics will out perform engine driven. Your AC system will thank you for the added airflow at idle across the heat exchangers. High load is where you will need to bolt in the engine driven fan for protection.

 

2 mpg increase? i doubt it. on the highway cruising the clutch fan is basically putting no load on the engine, so unless all their driving was up a hill I doubt the difference is even noticable. i could see it going up if maybe all your driving was through traffic lights every block but otherwise i question their results. i always thought the ac didnt work well at idle because the compressor didnt make a lot of pressure at that speed, but the air moving across the xchanger makes much more sense! So a pair of small pusher fans would help the AC at idle... NOTED. I always learn something when Ron shows up, too bad FORD wont give him more time for aftermarket customer satisfaction on the BBS.

 

Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Do you know more on the windstar specifics? what size are the fans, 10,12, 14" duals? V6 motor? Windstar weight how much...around 4400lbs?
Here is my conjecture, so anyone shoot away if/when you find holes...That van and the van engine compartment probably adds to a less efficient system than in my Bronco...i.e. small radiator due to tight constraint, any extra cooling for tranny/oil? ....had to use electrics due to tight constraints...heavy vehicle...and still rated at 3500 pounds? So, how about a 4 core radiator with dual 14" electric fans pulling 30Amp producing 5200CFM with tranny and oil cooler with enough motor to handle roughly 4600 pounds in truck, and maybe 6000 pounds towing tops?

The first unit I gave specs on is for Chebby's (sub, tahoe, blazer) with 5.7 or greater motor, including deisel, with a 34" wide core radiator (seems our broncs carry smaller cores width, but thicker/taller). I am going to post on chebby site to get feedback from anyone using electrics. I do think we have it nailed down to whether the electrics can muster it under heavy tow load, anyone disagree?

Muddy, I too doubt the 2mpg increase, although I do not doubt that there will be an increase. You credit your clutch fan too much. I am not sure I even understand what mine does...It is Always spinning/dragging, as best I can tell. It always provides drag, at all speeds. It is least efficient at low RPM is my guess. Do a search on the net for cyclone fans...interesting clutch fan for V10/diesel Fords.

 

yeah there's always going to be some drag because of the viscocity of the fluid in it but thats not going to suck any noticable HP at 2000 rpm. it should be pretty easy to turn your fan if your truck has been sitting for awhile with the engine off. if not you might need a new clutch. when mine went out it blew blue crap all over the engine bay and the fan vibrated like mad, but i suppose something could happen internally to where it is stuck engaged more often than it should be.

 

If I grab it and turn it (engine off), it just spins freely. don't think there is a problem there. Sorry about the blue spooge man, sounds nasty. Was it Ford Blue? Anyway, have you thought about the non-stop drag a steel 7 blade, 25+degrees angle, belt-driven fan can produce, not just at adle or low RPM (although that is probably the biggest concern), but at all RPM? I think Ron-bo stated something like 11HP. And don't forget the Chebby dyno test.

 

Another Possibility

Here's another thought.
Horton Electronic Fan Clutch
Little pricey. Seen 2 site write ups. One at $700, and 1 at $900 here on Off-Road.com.

 

Re: Another Possibility

too pricey, that's the cost of my winch/mount and dinner for wife.

 

1) Can your alternator handle 30A? Maybe if you keep the defrost/radio/headlights/trailer lights/electric brakes loading balanced and manageable.
2) Here is the easiest thing I can think of for you to do for your situation: Use electric only when buzzing around town, and maybe wheeling. Keep the fan/clutch assembly in vehicle. If you need the extra cooling capacity , bolt it on. After one or two trips, you will know what you can get away with.
Windstar: 5000lbs. The fans are different diameter so that they can package.

 

Ok, I understand that TheJuice wants the added HP benefits of replacing the engine driven fan with an electric. How about both? I know this "compromise" doesn't solve any of the issues here, but I was just thinking.... Can this be done? I like the idea of extra cooling, AC, etc. while at idle or low speeds. If they could both fit happily, would the electric interfere with the flow of the engine driven fan at higher speeds when its not being used?

 

don't think the Alt. can ron-bo, not stock. One way or the other, it will be due for an upgrade. Wow, windstar 5K?? weighs more than my rig by several hundred.

riff-raff, you would have a heck of a time fitting stock and electric fan, unless you used a pusher electric (mounts in front ofthe radiator).

 

Yeah i'm thinking the combo mech/elec setup is the way to go, and there is plenty of room in there for a pusher fan from what i remember. It can probably handle 30A at idle, I run a stereo at 800 watts total output power, which is probably 1200 watts input power (peak values, during bass hit) so we'll say about 45 amps of steady current and my headlights dont dim even when the bass HITS so I think you'd be ok with 30A, but not 60. How did you get your rig under 5 grand? Mine's gotta be pushing 6 with all my crap in there along with a full tank and fully tanked driver

 

You can fit an electric between the engine driven fan and the radiator. Several company's make fans with pancake motors that are designed to fit in thin spaces.

 

Less than 5000 pounds on the Curb weight, so no driver passengers or gear.