Electric fans

[coolman1987us]

Im looking around to find an electric fan kit to replace the mech. fan. Would i be better off with dual smaller fans or one big one? Also what size fan would be the minimum to sufficiently cool? Ive seen from 7 inch all the way to 18. thanks.

 

[RangerSVT]

Go to your local junkyard or Ebay and get you a taurus E-fan, this is a 2 speed fan and will definitely flow a LOT of air!! I got one for my swap, but couldn't fit it in the space I had, so I got 2 10" fans and its enough to keep my 5.0L kool on the street and in traffic, not not quite kool enough for the trails, so I will be upgrading my fans soon...
SVT

 

[coolman1987us]

Im just wondering if 2 10" fans will fit on my stock radiator

 

[BlackBII]

No tape measure?

 

[McCormack]

I'm thinking that two 10" fans won't fit, but like BlackBII alludes to you'll need to measure for yourself.

An junkyard e-fan off a late model 4 cylinder Ranger will bolt right on, so that's the direction I would go.

 

[Big Jim M]

CM my advice is to stay where you are.. You have a tried and proven cooling system that doesn't NEED anything cone to it.. Ya can't do ANY better than the system you have now.. cool is cool!
Big JIm

 

[zx6rrdan]

CM my advice is to stay where you are.. You have a tried and proven cooling system that doesn't NEED anything cone to it.. Ya can't do ANY better than the system you have now.. cool is cool!
Big JIm

I don't think the point of the change is to improve the level of cooling but reduce the amount of power being used from the engine to drive the fan... hopefully a change to electric fan would increase available power and improve gas mileage while maintaining the same level of cooling.

 

[BlackBII]

^And here...we...go......yet again.

 

[RangerSVT]

2 10 inch fans does fit a factory ranger radiator (93-97 for sure) and does provide enough cooling power for street use. That is what I have and I am running the stock ranger rad with a V8 behind it. Check my build thread to see how they fit. It is on the first post, yours will not be as tight of a fit cause you have more room between your engine and rad
SVT

 

[Froggmann]

I'm running a cheap 16" Hayden fan that moves about 2000 cfm and have zero cooling issues, even while towing in 100 degree heat with the A/C on. The fan doesn't kick on 5 months out of the year. I made brackets and attached the fan to the stock fan shroud--looks stock from a glance.

E-fans are a great mod.

 

[t0x1k]

I have an e fan from a mid 90s stang, only has to be on for 20 secs every so often to keep it cool.
Fit with little modification and one speed so no need to do any fancy wiring.

 

[Bob Ayers]

I don't think the point of the change is to improve the level of cooling but reduce the amount of power being used from the engine to drive the fan... hopefully a change to electric fan would increase available power and improve gas mileage while maintaining the same level of cooling.

Do you believe in perpetual motion too????

If the mechanical clutch is working properly, there will be no power or MPG increase with the e-fans. There will be a loss in cooling capacity, and e-fans will be much less reliable than the OEM mechanical fan/clutch assembly.

 

[RangerSVT]

While I hate to argue this point, you do realize you are entirely incorrect. This has been proven on extreme 4x4 very recently...
SVT

 

[McCormack]

....and e-fans will be much less reliable than the OEM mechanical fan/clutch assembly.

Just about every vehicle that's manufactured today comes with an electric radiator fan, and they're so unreliable that the roadsides are just littered with vehicles who's e-fans have failed.

Other than being noticeably quieter, and potentially easier on water pump bearings, and giving a small but noticeable increase in power (especially under acceleration), and giving better fuel mileage*, and it being fun to tinker with and modify our Rangers, there is no advantage to running an e-fan.

*FYI, a mechanical fan with a clutch always turns at least somewhat, and it takes energy to turn the fan, so common sense would tell you that fuel mileage will be at least a little bit better with an e-fan. And real-world experience with e-fans backs that up. Speaking of which, do you have actual real world experience with running an electric fan on your Ranger? Or are you just theorizing?

 

[Bob Ayers]

Just about every vehicle that's manufactured today comes with an electric radiator fan, and they're so unreliable that the roadsides are just littered with vehicles who's e-fans have failed.

Other than being noticeably quieter, and potentially easier on water pump bearings, and giving a small but noticeable increase in power (especially under acceleration), and giving better fuel mileage*, and it being fun to tinker with and modify our Rangers, there is no advantage to running an e-fan.

*FYI, a mechanical fan with a clutch always turns at least somewhat, and it takes energy to turn the fan, so common sense would tell you that fuel mileage will be at least a little bit better with an e-fan. And real-world experience with e-fans backs that up. Speaking of which, do you have actual real world experience with running an electric fan on your Ranger? Or are you just theorizing?

You are obviously not an engineer! Due to this, you have no idea on how to calculate failure rates.

If e-fans were as reliable as mechanical fan/clutch assemblies, you would not find articles like these:

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/troubleshooting/l/aa032903g.htm


http://www.caradvice.com.au/1733/volvo-xc90-and-xc70-electric-cooling-fan-recall/


http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_central/automotive/1272431.html?page=2


http://edgemotorworks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=55



...more information, see if you can comprehend:



Cooling Capacity:

By far, the most common misconception is that the electric fan cools better then the stock. People see the high CFM numbers in the catalogues (for example, the Black Magic is advertised as pulling 2,800 CFM, and the Perma Cool "finger chopper" is advertised at 2,950 CFM) and are impressed. The truth is that no one actually knows the CFM rating of the stock fan. It has simply never been measured by anyone in the aftermarket and listed. All we do know is that it is rated at "a lot", more times than not it will exceed 4000 CFM. And to be honest, who cares how much air the stock fan moves? It is more then adaquate as long as it's clutch and the rest of the cooling system is in good shape. The steeply raked blades of the stock fan move quite a lot of air, even if it turns slower then an aftermarket electric unit. Experience has shown that when in good shape, the stock fan is even easily capable of handling a 400HP engine. How much power do you make?


Efficiency:

Of course, you're not necessarily after better cooling. You've seen those TV commercials or catalogue ads that promise "Up to 17 free HP!" by converting to an electric fan. Well, that's simply not true. There will be a horsepower gain for sure, on the order of 0.5 - 5HP, with 17 H.P. reserved for big V-8s using 40 lb fans at 6000 rpms. But remember that the electric power to run the fan must come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the alternator. Electric fans draw quite a lot of current. Most pull surges of 35A or more to start up, then run at 8A-10A. This puts extra load on the alternator. Ever pedaled a bicycle with a generator powered light? If so, then you will know that as the electrical load on a generator/alternator increases, the generator/alternator becomes harder to turn. Suddenly, all that "free" HP you just freed up is once again being used. This time, though, it is being used to turn the alternator. There is also an inefficiency in the whole system. We are converting mechanical energy, to electrical energy, to mechanical again to run the fan. This very inefficient, much less then just driving the fan directly via the mechanical energy of the rotating shaft


Reliability:

Lastly, there is the question of reliability. The stock clutch fan can have two failure modes: the clutch will fail, or the fan will physically break. The electric fan introduces many more failure points: fuse, all wiring connections, physical failure of the fan, failure of the motor, failure of the thermostat





And to answer your last question, I know better than to buy an e-fan!!!!!