eclectric

[werewolf]

Need some input. i got a 16 in. fan and got a thermostat probe adjustable type. Pulled fan and clutch out. installed the new, had a lot of room got the thin still fan. Put it in the center of rad. and had room to put the fan grad back the on. Went with a 20A circuit braker. hooked it up to run to cool the engine after i kill the engine. but fan runs along time, still playing with the settings. But with fan running for a good time it still runs hotter then it did with fan clutch. it runs about a 1/4 in. up with clutch fan. with electric it runs almost half way. have fan pulling in air, i installed thermostat probe in side the top rad. hose the way the instructions shows. What am i over looking, i like the way it runs with out the clutch fan. can fill a little more pep, but not liking the temp. like cooler temp more than a few extra horse power. Thanks

 

[RonD]

You need a fan shroud, whether you use mechanical or electric fan, it is a "must have".

The shroud makes the fan pull all air thru the radiator, no shroud and air is pulled in from the sides not thru rad, so less cooling.

Upper rad should run about 190-210degF after engine warns up

Lower about 15-20degF cooler

Coolant temp sender in the upper rad hose is better than heat transfer sender inserted in the rad fins, reason is the rad may not have even flow, they do get clogged passages.

These are what most use for e-fan temp senders: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/radiator-hose-adapter

You mount sender sideways or pointed down so it stays covered with coolant inside the hose

You should not need to run the e-fan after engine is shut down, mechanical fans don't run and everything works fine with them, so..........

And e-fan or mechanical fan can't help if there is another cooling system issue, i.e. water pump or clogged passages

 

[cbxer55]

On both my Ranger and my Lightning, I have chosen to keep the stock clutch fan. I've never had an electric fan that cools as well as the stock one. There are several guys over on LightningRodder that have taken electric fans out of their L's and returned to the stock one.

Also, I took out the stock 195 degree thermostat many years ago, and replaced it with a 180. Temperature gauge stays well below the half mark on even the hottest of days, and below the 1/4 mark during the winter. Never had the code that indicates the engine runs to cool to make the switch from open loop to closed.

Recently took the stock 180 thermostat out of my Lightning and replaced it with a 170. Same as above, no problemo.

 

[RonD]

Running a 170 or 180degF t-stat is OK, just lowers MPG and doesn't clean the oil as well as 190-195degF t-stat.

Study by SAE, the oil guys, determined that, t-stats of 180degF were the standard for 50 years before that study, then they found we were leaving money on the table, with lower MPG and also slightly higher emissions, which is were the extra MPG was going.
Coolant at 190-200degF was found to be best engine operating temp for MPG and cleaning out water vapor and blow-by in the oil, which means longer engine life in that regard.

Open and closed loop are usually around 140degF for coolant, but more about O2 sensors getting above 650degF which is the temp they start to work at

Engine over heating is when coolant gets above 240degF, and the difference between 180-195degF starting point would be about 5 to 10 seconds if there was a cooling system problem, so "running cooler" is no benefit in that regard

 

[bjurke]

My ranger is running a clutch fan which runs is excess of 3000 cfm when hot. You are probably running 1500 cfm. I am running 18 inch fan and you are running 16 inch. Tried electric but did not like the way it cooled in hot weather. My electric fan try was with a 18 inch fan.

 

[cbxer55]

Running a 170 or 180degF t-stat is OK, just lowers MPG and doesn't clean the oil as well as 190-195degF t-stat.

Study by SAE, the oil guys, determined that, t-stats of 180degF were the standard for 50 years before that study, then they found we were leaving money on the table, with lower MPG and also slightly higher emissions, which is were the extra MPG was going.
Coolant at 190-200degF was found to be best engine operating temp for MPG and cleaning out water vapor and blow-by in the oil, which means longer engine life in that regard.

Open and closed loop are usually around 140degF for coolant, but more about O2 sensors getting above 650degF which is the temp they start to work at

Engine over heating is when coolant gets above 240degF, and the difference between 180-195degF starting point would be about 5 to 10 seconds if there was a cooling system problem, so "running cooler" is no benefit in that regard

While it may be true that running a tad cooler makes mileage worse, I've never noticed it. Numero Uno my Lightning has never gotten good gas mileage. You don't buy a supercharged hot rod pickemup truck with mileage on your mind. Need to use expensive 93 octane in it to boot!

And my 3.0 Ranger has never gotten much over 18 mpg. Even when I first bought it in 2000 with only 10,000 miles on her. Today, with 151,000 it still gets about the same on E10 gasoline and a gallon of E85 tossed in for injecter cleaner.