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POLE...experience with Electric fan conversion??

T

twenty_below0

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Haines, Alaska ...u.s.
I've heard both side of the story with mud causing problems, and clutch fans robbing H.P. etc. Now i would like to know what type of electric fans your all running and how your liking them over the clutch or flex?
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My plans are for a 16" single with the relay and off switch for H20 crossings. I live in a mild climiate and dont see ALOT of traffic problems, with the factory shroud I think the mud issue will be fairly solved, I also run a high flow pump. Opinions welcome /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
<font color="blue">I run dual electric fans off a Thunderbird SE turbo coupe and they are controlled by my ECM, so I can change on/off temps in a minute or two. I also have them wired to a switch for water crossings. They move a lot of air
 
I am looking on ebay right now for the one I'm going to run and there are some of the double fan set ups but they dont have the plug to them just the fans and I'm not sure how to get a wire to stay on the factory female side of the plug on the fans, but if the price stays cheap i can figure it out I'm sure! /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
I like the LT1 fans, but they always go for a prety penny. You can buy the connectors from GM or people that deal in those things, so thats a small worry.

Some of the Thunderbird fans are dual speed IIRC, which is pretty cool.
 
I have an e-fan on my 2wd Sonoma and love it. An e-fan will be an early project on my Jimmy.
 
Dual fan set up off a ford windstar(95 or so I think) the shroud requires very minimal mods in one part and fits great on my 83. If you go that route leme know and I can tell you about my wiring.

I have it set up w/a 3 position switch. On, off, and on off a thermo switch.
 
These other guys saved a lot of time over what I did. I had one fan already, so I bought another one at a junkyard and then fabricated a shroud from sheetmetal. I have a temp switch on the radiator to turn them on and off. They each have their own relay and they are also turned on whenver the A/C compressor is running. I haven't gotten around to a disable switch inside the cab yet. It might also work well to reverse them for water crossings. I plan to include a couple indicators when I do it. One to show when the fans are on (I have a loud stereo) and show when the A/C clutch is engaged.

My concern with the override switch is that is might be left off accidentally for too long. It would be good to have a momentary switch with timer to disable it for, say, 5 minutes at a time. Or have a 2nd safety thermostat switch that turns them back on again.

Some things to think about, anyway...
 
I have a light set up to come on when my fans are running. I have been toying with the idea of a buzzer when its in the off position. Pretty easy to do with a NC relay and a buzzer from radio shack. One would think the temp guage in the red would be a good message to turn the fan on but I dont want to risk some one I let barrow my truck or being distracted by something nuke my motor. The override off a timer seems a bit more of a pain and a bit more expensive yet not as anoying/more profesional than a buzzer though.
 
I am currently running a bid on two different fans one is off a Monte Carlo SS with a 350 and the other is a 16" dont know the brand but suppose to be like 2000 cfm, probly a Summit fan or Jegs fan who knows but it's cheap so far and I think should be ok with my climate and circumstance. Dyeager has a good point but the LT 1 fans are expensive! So I think I can manage with a cheaper version. /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
I am running a fan from a V8 Tbird. Its a dual speed fan, Im not sure of the dimentions, never checked. Desert Dueler (I think) and I run the same set up, He is from AZ IIRC and I am from Florida, 2 of the most brutal climates you can find. I run mine on low speed w/ a 160 thermostat, it has only hit around 170 a few times, and thats w/ a 2 row radiator.

I just have mine wired thru a relay to come on w/ the key, no thermostats to go bad or anything.

Do a search on fans and youll come up w/ quite a bit. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Yeah I did the search and read alot but Can always ask it a different way and get different answers. I Like the K5 Pro Street on your web page photo's /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif More than anything I wanted to hear, "yeah #1 16" should do you fine"
I guess to ease my mind and decision. ithink my climate will help with my cooling issue's a great deal, I also like that it will warm up a little quicker with the electric instead of the flex i have now
 
Well if you went to my webshots album you should have seen a few fan pics. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I would guess mines about 16 inches, (how often ya get to say that?! /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif) and yes, it should do fine.

The Pro Street pic was just too funny to pass up. It was early in the AM and when I rounded the corner of the shop to get the Blazer to pull it in and seen it I had to get a pic for laughs. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Yes I did see the pics and I will probly steal your mounting idea /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Do you still have the gears for the 10 bolt? Also will they fit in any carrier or will it have to be the large carrier? Mine came with 3:08 from the factory and we had to put X gears in it when it was switched to 3:73. Now i want 4:56 or 88 never happy /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
also like that it will warm up a little quicker with the electric instead of the flex i have now

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To be honest, the difference between an electric fan and flex for warmup should be minimal. The t-stat will be closed until the truck warms up anyway (with some small "leakdown" I'm sure) so basically, whatever cooling the flex fan is doing while the truck is cold is from blowing air over the engine, which probably isn't very efficient.

CFM is the rating you want to look at, size of the fan means little, because shrouding, blade pitch, number of blades and more, can all affect the cooling ability of the fans.

I chose the LT1 fans based on the fact that they have already been proven to cool 350's in vehicles with very small grille openings, and have apparently been tested to flow 5000CFM, although that claim has been disputed. Also, the shrouds on them have cutouts to improve airflow over the radiator at cruise. That won't be an issue on the "standalone" fans that a lot of people use.

They do go for a pretty penny, not really sure why though. For street rods, anything would work since the mounts have to be custom anyway.
 
I've had several vehicles with electric fans, factory and owner installed, all have worked well for me, no complaints. I got a set of LT-1 fans off Ebay last year,the seller listed it as a radiator assembly, radiator, condensor, and fans with the shroud. I had $125 in it shipped to my house, I sold the radiator for $40 and the condensor for $20, ended up with $65 in the fans. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
My set up is out of a 2002 Ford escape with custom mount hooked to 2 switches in the cab, 1 for low 1 for high and they work great!!!
 
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