I don’t want to hijack the 6.0 fan mod thread, so I’ll start a new one here – though they are closely related…

Aaron, in one of your posts (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post14621281), you said:

”I got to get rid of these efans.my ac just is not as good and I'm slaughtering my alternator each time I run the ac”

Can you elaborate a bit? do you notice the sub-par AC performance at all speeds, or just while idling/in traffic? Does the alternator sound bad? do your volts dip with the fans on? I’m thinking of doing the ambulance alternator anyway – think that would help?

I was planning on e-fans in place of the water-pump mounted fan in my current rebuild. My thinking was that I’d have the water temp switch installed like most efans come with so that it only comes on when the truck’s up to temp, but then also rig up a speed-sensitive switch so that the fans shut down once the truck is moving.

Maybe even just a manual on/switch in the cab. I’m not brave enough to go with no fan like some guys do, but I’ve honestly never seen a time when water temp doesn’t drop down from operating temp when idling - even on 90+ degree days. So, barring conditions like towing up a long hill in traffic, it doesn’t seem that dangerous to have the fans off most of the time and just flip them on when needed.

Also, I hardly ever use the AC, so for the few times I do (when the wife and kids are the car), hopefully my alternator could take it...

Finally – if you do ditch your e-fans, shoot me a PM, depending on how this discussion goes here, I may be interested in taking them off your hands :-)

 

E-fans can be done without sacrificing the A/C or alt but it's not cheap.
Travis would be the one to talk to

 

This is Travis setup
He swapped to a SD setup with SD e-fan, upgraded alt. and upgraded charging wires

 

My ac works IF I have the fans on.the fans are rated to need 25.5 a EACH.
My stock alternator will do one.I am presently using one only.then ac is OK at a stop light.better though with both fans. If I use both at idle the batt light even comes on.
My plan was to someday have a relay using the normally open contacts triggered by the torque converter clutch to turn fans off on the highway since they are not needed.
I have a temp switch installed in place of the over temp switch. I had a 180* switch but it was too cold and wanted to run the fans too much.I figured but at the time it was readily avail. Now I have one that comes on at 235*. I haven't had them come on as you would figure. I figure these trucks really just need overheat protection more than constant cooling.after running with no fan for a while I'm just over them really.at the time my fan had come off the wp and ruined the rad I figured e fans.
These are the 15.5" dual flexalite in one shroud assy.
Since I'm getting this camper soon:-) and family is taking more of my tinkering time.I think for me I need to just put the mech fan back in place really.
If you are still interested pm and these fans may be yours.

 

E-fans are great if the setup is done correctly. The most I've towed with mine was about 15,000 lbs gross. Honestly, I don't think I'd put them into a setup knowing I was going to tow much more than that. I didn't overheat pulling that load, my oil temps got up around 215*. It used to run anywhere from 210-220* empty with my mechanical fan and 203* t-stat cruising at 2500+ RPM.

My fans are wired with a switch in the upper radiator hose and use a multi speed controller to ramp up the speed depending on what you're asking the fans to do. I have them wired to turn on @ low speed with the AC running when the engine isn't up to temp. If the engine is up to temp and the AC is running, they will go to high speed if they aren't already there. My fans pull around 35-40 amps IIRC.

At idle, a stock alternator cannot keep up with the fans, AC, and headlights all running at one time. It doesn't really even like the fans and AC running together. I switched to a 270 amp Mechman alternator and a 0 gauge charge cable to alleviate that problem. Voltage held at a solid 14.3v after that.

Here's a more recent pic of my Flex-a-lite fans and SD radiator setup.

 

Most electric fans can never pull as much as a proper engine driven fan. This alone has always turned me off to efans.

show me a good fitting e-fan that can pull 10k cfm and maybe I'll look at it.

Richard

 

Never ran hot with11000 behind it for what its worth.

 

 

Stupid phone...

 

Ahh.. Grrr...

Was it 110 degrees out with nice cold ac running full tilt?

Richard

 

Iirc it was low 90s . ac works fine if I just let it torture the stock alternator.
It will do it but I know I'm shortening the alt life. Full fielding it gets it darn hot.

 

Nah. Bout 105 though. Mine work awesome. Sorry if that bursts your bubble. Lol. Like I said, I wouldn't say they are what I would run for towing really heavy, but light loads like a boat or something like that, no big deal. Oh and my AC is plenty cold at idle.

 

Thanks for the info guys. My original thinking was that e-fans would free up some space by the engine accessories for changing belts, vacuum pumps etc.

Looking at Travis's pics, doesn't look like that's the case, but I still like the idea and would like to be rid of that big metal finger-remover. ...yes, in place of 2 plastic ones.

From what I hear here and kind of figured anyway, the switches/controllers are the key to an e-fan working well in our rigs. That and a big alternator for running the fans + AC at night. Which begs the question: do our AC blowers really draw that much current? I guess so.

I'm planning a ton of off-road/work lights, so I was planning a big alternator anyway. So, as of now, e-fans it is, I guess. We'll see if that's still the case as costs pile up on this build!

 

How much towing are you doing and how heavy?

I can change my accessories without removing the fans. The controller and wires are kind of close, but it's not too bad. I haven't had to do it yet, but I think I could even change the water pump without pulling the fans if I need to.

Whatever fan setup you decide on, make sure you get full coverage across the core of the radiator. THAT is the key to electric fans working. Get some fans that flow plenty of air and run a shroud that covers the whole core of the radiator so the fans can pull air across the whole core. When my fans are running full speed, I can put my hand in one of the grille openings and feel air getting pulled in.

Also, don't run a temp probe that pushes into the radiator core for the controller. Run a screw in probe in the upper radiator hose to prevent air from cooling off the probe and making the fans turn off when you don't want them to.

This is all why I went the SD radiator/Flex-a-lite fan route. The fans are already made to fit the SD radiator core. It was easier for me to modify to radiator mounts than to build a custom shroud for the fans.

 

Mine goes side to side.plenty of room really. But I used a switch in place of over temp probe.
Jp.u get my pm?