Topic: elec fan recommendations

[66cobra]

 what cfm elec fan/s are you guys runnin i  have 4.3l @225 hp at the fly ,85 runner, a/a  aluminum radiator full exo and dual winches@tcases so there is alot of additional weight on my rig.jegs has one which puts out 3200 cfm, i,m thinking that should be more than enough but will be a tight fit and am wounderin if something in the 22-2500 range is sufficient.

[4RunnerChevy]

I run 2 10" at about 2600 CFM total with the stock chevy radiator, and never had a problem.  Thay are on a t-stat and turn on at 180,  which takes forever.  If that helps.

[Snowtoy]

You want a fan rated for your HP, not necessarily just cfm flow.  IIRC, when I bought my Black Magic e-fan it was rated top 225hp w/A/C.  I would just give Summit or Jegs a call and see what they say.  You might also need to consider running two fans, one as a puller(traditional location), and one as a pusher(in front of the rad), if a large one wont fit between the rad and the engine.

[wakkjobb]

Poke around your local junk yards; the Cadillac Catera comes with 3 fans; 2 pushers are big and thin and the third is a small puller and thicker. I used the 2 big ones on an 80 Chevy K10 with no problems; one was temp-operated and the other was on a switch... no problems at any temperature/condition.

They're big though; not sure how much room you have to work with...
...

Good luck
Dan

[emsvitil]

Run the biggest fan that will fit.    Better to have too much airflow than not enough.

Also an adjustable temp sensor lets you put the turn on point where you want it.

[yota_krawler]

I recomend NOT running one!

it doesnt give any more power, they are unpredictable, and unrelyable.

I went in the snow on saturday and it jammed up with snow and caused the fuse to blow. I got WAY hot and I didnt know why. I thought I wanted an electric fan until I got one. It is lagit too, not some ghetto install. I have a 2 speed electric fan for sale if you are interested. It is the same demensions as a stock fan shroud.

[Snowtoy]

Yes they can be problematic.  I wire mine to come on w/the ignition. no temp setting required, not t-stat to fall out of the rad, and no t-stat switch to go bad.  It is basically fool proof, and as loud as it is I would know as soon as it went off.  The dealer was concerned that it might cool too well, and make the truck run cold, but the after market temp gauge is at 210 on the return to the rad, and the stock gauge runs at the same spot as it did w/the belt fan.

Getting snow packed in it is new one though, I am assuming it was set up as a pusher and not a puller.

[wakkjobb]

I'm still on the "big as you can fit" side; I took that K10 through some deep snow/mud and didn't have any issues with either of the fans.
How's he going to run a stock 4.3 clutch/belt-driven fan? How much room is there at the front of the engine? I'm not familiar with the details of that swap... 
You could mount the radiator behind the cab and run a few electric fans there; less chance of snow packing...

BTW that K10 had a built 383 stroker with an auto trans and 4.56 gears... still no problems with overheating; even up long grades in summer (Colorado hills--7,000 feet up to 12,000 feet; Weston Pass). Wired the one temp switch into the intake by the t-stat housing and had no problems from it or the one that was switch-activated. Just kept an eye on the super-awesome SunPro temp gauge... hardly had to turn on fan #2 at all.

Again, 

Do what keeps your engine cool!!
Dan

[wakkjobb]

as loud as it is I would know as soon as it went off.

I loved pulling into fuel up and listening to the twin fans wind down... made a few people look over like "What was that?"

Dan

[66cobra [OP]]

I hear what you'rs saying on the reliability issues on an electris fan,but unfoutunantly there isnt a whole lot of room.I think i will go with the 3200 one in jegs and run the varible speed controller set up .I used a similar set-up on my cobra and have had good luck with it.thx for the input

[4RunnerChevy]

I hear what you'rs saying on the reliability issues on an electris fan,but unfoutunantly there isnt a whole lot of room.I think i will go with the 3200 one in jegs and run the varible speed controller set up .I used a similar set-up on my cobra and have had good luck with it.thx for the input

x2

I luckily have the option to run the stock clutch fan or electric on my 4.3 swap.  I still run the electric, cause its a better cooler,  I also ran electric in my previous two motors by choice, so my fans have never gave me a problem in the ten years I have been running them (yes same fans).

[ExplorHer]

I recomend NOT running one!

it doesnt give any more power, they are unpredictable, and unrelyable.

I went in the snow on saturday and it jammed up with snow and caused the fuse to blow. I got WAY hot and I didnt know why. I thought I wanted an electric fan until I got one. It is lagit too, not some ghetto install. I have a 2 speed electric fan for sale if you are interested. It is the same demensions as a stock fan shroud.

Was it a pusher fan?

[boobap]

Was it a pusher fan?

it pushes air through the rad instead of pulling it through

[ExplorHer]

I'm just thinking that if he had a puller fan inside the engine compartment, he wouldn't have had that problem 

[wakkjobb]

Sounds like it...
I stuck a Volvo fan on my girl's 79 and she's been good with it as a DD for over a year now. We have taken it over 12,000 feet
...we drove up the trail behind the sign a ways so it's higher than what the sign says.

and it's been through some water:


It took some modifications but I got it to fit. This is with the first try at a 'better' radiator from the same Volvo, didn't work that well... went back to stock radiator.


So get an electric fan...

/my 2 cents
Dan

[BigMike]

I HIGHLY recommend you use a fan controller (automatic speed controller) to save your alternator, relay, and battery.

I have a Delta Controller on my e-fan setup and I would never go electric without it: http://www.dccontrol.com Unfortunately, their seem to have gone out of business?

Here is an archived version of their site dating back to Spring 2007: http://web.archive.org/web/20070304150513/http://www.dccontrol.com/

Here is an archived page with some info on the advantages of a variable speed controlled e-fan setup:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070928193904/www.dccontrol.com/introf2.htm

Here is a pretty nice write-up I posted back in 2006 on this subject:
http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=22660.msg243208#msg243208

Good luck!
BigMike