Why the obsession with electric fans?

[RemCharger]

I run an electric fan as well as the centrifugal clutch fan in the A100.
Out of pure necessity.
These little cab-over vehicles have very poor air flow from the grille through to the engine.

I have the thermostat set at 190, but the engine normally runs around 175-180 while driving normally.
The only time the fan kicks in is when I'm stuck in traffic...like the time I was in a Christmas Parade.

Electrical loading is not a problem for me....I took all of that into account before installing the fan.

Installed a higher amperage alternator??

 

[kiwigtx]

Installed a higher amperage alternator??

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

You mean you don't?
View attachment 1362960

No Cpt. Pierce, not every day, sometimes it dips below 90 degrees, and that’s far too cold to be on a horse

 

[murfman]

LOL.. you think it's below zero here all the time...

I lived in Montreal for 2 years. It’s definitely not the Southeast…

 

[themechanic]

I see valid points on both sides.... But since the question is why electric I'll address that..

Electric fans aren't tied to engine RPM so when your stuck in traffic & idling for an extended period the electric fan can pull it's maximum airflow based on engine temperature when the engine driven fan is pulling its lowest airflow... And when your driving 60 MPH the engine driven fan while it is de-clutched it's still drawing power... An electric fans shuts down completely

That relates to how many folks drive muscle cars; short distances in stop and go traffic in pleasant weather.

 

[OH71RRunner]

But you are also in Canada…. My 67 R/T stock 440 with a brand new Glenn Ray 26” radiator, new fan and clutch from Tony D’Agostino, 180 deg high flow thermostat, and a Flow Kooler water pump still creeps up to 205 in muggy 95 degree weather, when stuck in traffic before I even try the A/C. My 66 Charger with a 11.5 to 1 470 runs 180 with an aluminum radiator and electric fan from a Taurus. Same water pump, same thermostat, and the engine make 250 more HP and runs a looser torque converter

Those Taurus fans are great. Had mine on a toggle switch. The controller took care of low speed and then if I needed the extra flow, flip the switch.

 

[themechanic]

This is one of those situations that can really open " a box of worms" . I think most electric fans will move more air than an HD fan ......... AT IDLE. Mechanical fans move A TON of air no doubt about it, but they need that engine RPM to get them moving. MOST over heating problem are at idle and no vehicle speed. SO the only thing cooling that engine is that mechanical fan spinning at what ever your idle is. So what is your idle at? Well that depends on the ENTIRE setup, everything from ignition timing, camshaft, Torque Converter, carb tuning ect. Let face it , just about everyone changes one of those things on their car, but still want the car to idle at 800 RPM maybe even lower. A 100% factory car, not a problem. But lets face it their are not many of those around. You start changing things and you start changing how that motor makes heat. Some people can get the fan to work with their setup , others can't. I think some setups need the idle cooling of a electric setup, that your just not going to get with a mechanical .

I went threw it, and ended up with electric.... Same rad, I had a shroud with the mechanical fan, and properly spaced. It just wouldn't keep it cool .

Silly, don't you know wine comes in boxes and worms come in cans?

 

[themechanic]

26”. Clutch Fan. Shroud. Green Coolant. 180 Stat.

High flow this high flow that. Electric fan roar. Don’t need it.

Dennis, did you just copy and paste that from your response in the other 100 threads on the subject?

 

[Hemirunner]

Dennis, did you just copy and paste that from your response in the other 100 threads on the subject?

Lol... let us have our fun in the 101st thread....

One thing I’ve noticed is 195 degrees seems to be the magic number where people start panicking. For some it’s the 200 mark lol. That’s NOT hot. It’s the piss poor fuel in the carb that’s an issue at 200 degrees. We’ve driven EFI vehicles (not subject to fuel vaporization issues because of higher fuel pressures) at 260 degrees with zero issues. In fact, engine wear is actually less at 200+ degrees than 170 or cooler. Just an interesting tidbit of information there... continue with the arguments lol...

 

[440 4 speed]

But you are also in Canada…. My 67 R/T stock 440 with a brand new Glenn Ray 26” radiator, new fan and clutch from Tony D’Agostino, 180 deg high flow thermostat, and a Flow Kooler water pump still creeps up to 205 in muggy 95 degree weather, when stuck in traffic before I even try the A/C. My 66 Charger with a 11.5 to 1 470 runs 180 with an aluminum radiator and electric fan from a Taurus. Same water pump, same thermostat, and the engine make 250 more HP and runs a looser torque converter

In post number 10, I mentioned that if everything was stock factory should work. We had our son’s 67, rad 3 cored 22” water in it, did not overheat in 104F stop and go at Kansas City.
Our 67 440L Charger auto 26” stock rad, pulling a crank up camper trailer didn’t overheat either.
Montreal weather compared to us would be close to the same as New York State or the East Coast moisture wise.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Didn't have the advantage of your expert help. I mostly watch the road, not my gauges, and it doesn't take long for a car to overheat. If it will make you happy, I'll disconnect the switch that cuts spark if I lose oil pressure and start watching my gauge instead. Okay?

so basically while everyone else wants gauges so they can keep an eye on their engines vital signs your pointing out the value of idiot lights... No need to keep an eye on them, they'll let you know if theres a problem..

 

[INTMD8]

I have no issue with a stock type fan setup.

I run electric for the reason of less parasitic drag, which is amplified a bit with a 7600 redline.

 

[Dennis H]

As a Peasant, mine stops pulling at 4850.

 

[RemCharger]

My old 383 didn't start making power till it hit 5500 lol

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

As a Peasant, mine stops pulling at 4850.

If your car puts you at a peasant level, does that mean I’m below a peasant? I don’t even have 375hp in my 68 GTX

 

[sam dupont]

so basically while everyone else wants gauges so they can keep an eye on their engines vital signs your pointing out the value of idiot lights... No need to keep an eye on them, they'll let you know if theres a problem.

Yeah. pretty much. So, should I watch the tach needle or focus on the shift idiot light? Look at an oil pressure gauge and if it's reading zero, the damage is done. Going down the Interstate, if you look at your gauges every few minutes, YOU'RE likely to discover an overheating problem in the mirror before the gauge or idiot light.

Unless you have one of these:

...or one of these:

4FT MURPHY 20T-250-4-1/2 10702042 250 DEGREE TEMPERATURE GAUGE | eBay

4FT LEAD W/ 1/2" N.P.T. FITTING. GENUINE MURPHY MODEL 20T-250-4-1/2. ADJUSTABLE ARM ON THE TEMP GAUGE SO UNIT CAN SHUT DOWN IF IT REACHES ITS LIMIT. (THEIR ARE MANY SIMILAR MODELS, BE SURE THIS IS THE CORRECT ONE YOU NEED).

www.ebay.com

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Yeah. pretty much. So, should I watch the tach needle or focus on the shift idiot light? Look at an oil pressure gauge and if it's reading zero, the damage is done. Going down the Interstate, if you look at your gauges every few minutes, YOU'RE likely to discover an overheating problem in the mirror before the gauge or idiot light.

Unless you have one of these:

View attachment 1363492

...or one of these:

http://[URL]https://www.ebay.com/it...9yBThVq/Cdc7rH9YI0kNVcEXRk|tkp:Bk9SR4SjiYmCYQ

[/URL]

I’ve had oil issues before, and I’m lucky I had a gauge and watch it drop, shut it down before hitting 0. It’s as easy as looking in your rear view mirrors, which I guess you use an idiot light for that too?

 

[747mopar]

Yeah. pretty much. So, should I watch the tach needle or focus on the shift idiot light? Look at an oil pressure gauge and if it's reading zero, the damage is done. Going down the Interstate, if you look at your gauges every few minutes, YOU'RE likely to discover an overheating problem in the mirror before the gauge or idiot light.

Unless you have one of these:

View attachment 1363492

...or one of these:

http://[URL]https://www.ebay.com/it...9yBThVq/Cdc7rH9YI0kNVcEXRk|tkp:Bk9SR4SjiYmCYQ

[/URL]

2 years ago I was cruising down the freeway occasionally scanning my gauges as I always do and noticed the needle flicker, then again so I threw it in 6th and dropped the rpm's way down because looking at that gauge told me I likely sprung an oil leak.. likely saved my motor. Sure enough I get the car home and the rear main was leaking but seeing that flicker allowed me to make an adjustment that probably saved me a rebuild.

Here's another gauge story, I took a trip to Canada.. car was doing great but while sitting at the border forever with the A/C cranked I noticed that my voltage was dropping so I raise the rpm just slightly and voila it starts charging again. I suppose I could have drained the battery had I not looked but I did and now I know my alternator needs another 100rpm to adiqutly charge my battery with the A/C on.

One more story about gauges. When my car was freshly done and on her maiden voyage I noticed my water temperature rising very quickly so I pull over and give the thermostat housing a couple good whacks.. water temp immediately drops. I drive straight home and buy another thermostat.

The moral of the story is gauges are good, looking at gauges is also good, using gauges to diagnose problems before they become catastrophic is really good and saves you money...

 

[sam dupont]

I’ve had oil issues before, and I’m lucky I had a gauge and watch it drop, shut it down before hitting 0. It’s as easy as looking in your rear view mirrors, which I guess you use an idiot light for that too?

Those who have car experience know exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[Hemirunner]

Just get EFI. I have an oil pressure safety that shuts the engine down if oil pressure goes below a set level. You can do the same thing with engine temp or any other metric you wish to monitor...