electric cooling fans............
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2003
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electric cooling fans............
over heating is a major problem and common enough that i was wondering about electric fans. it seems the electric fans are great for stop and go traffic and here in arizona it doesnt take a long stop light to make anything run a little warm.......
i was wondering being the radiator the size they are, if one 14 or 16 inch fan would do it or if i would need 2 smaller fans??
i figure one large fan would pull much more air than the stock fixed blade at idle............
also i see some fans are much more than others.........do the more expensive fans move alot more air?? it seems most of the regular electric fans in the 14 to 16 inch range say 1200 cfm or similar...........is that enough to atleast pull more than the stock fixed blade??? 68 f-100 360, c-6
i was wondering being the radiator the size they are, if one 14 or 16 inch fan would do it or if i would need 2 smaller fans??
i figure one large fan would pull much more air than the stock fixed blade at idle............
also i see some fans are much more than others.........do the more expensive fans move alot more air?? it seems most of the regular electric fans in the 14 to 16 inch range say 1200 cfm or similar...........is that enough to atleast pull more than the stock fixed blade??? 68 f-100 360, c-6
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Clayton CA
electric cooling fans............
I kinda went through this calculation myself and got a little nervous about replacing the stock fan with an electric. The stock fan blade is 20" which can move a lot more air than a 16". Plus, all the retrofit kits for the late model trucks use double fans which told me that one electric probably wouldn't do the trick. Short answer: mount a smaller electric as a pusher in front of the radiator. That way, you're sure that you're increasing the amount of air that is being moved. I actually mounted two 8" fans in front of my B&M oil and transmission coolers; works great.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,209
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From: Black Hills of SD
electric cooling fans............
I converted a 72 F-100 with a 302. I used a fan off a Dodge Aries with a 2.6 engine. I think I used a chrysler relay and a ford thermal switch. I used NAPA's application guide to design the system. I also had replaced the radiator with a new heavy duty unit. I had eliminated the engine fan. The truck would have to idle for a good 15 or 20 minutes before it even got hot enough to turn the fan on. I had a 190 thermostat and the fan switch was 200 I believe. This was up north and I didn't have a/c so I don't know how well it would have workrd in the south, but it worked perfect and never gave me a problem.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 542
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From: Middleton, WI
electric cooling fans............
"I actually mounted two 8" fans in front of my B&M oil and transmission coolers; works great."
Hey Fast Texan I am struggling with finding room on the front of of radiator with A/C condenser and it looks like if lucky I could do One 8", do you have any [pictures of your install you could post or e mail me. I'm doing great as long as it keeps moving, rarely above 190, but man does it go up fast in stop and go traffic. Just had bad experience yesterday at long line of cars entering a car show, and need to get an aux. fan on, pronto.
Hey Fast Texan I am struggling with finding room on the front of of radiator with A/C condenser and it looks like if lucky I could do One 8", do you have any [pictures of your install you could post or e mail me. I'm doing great as long as it keeps moving, rarely above 190, but man does it go up fast in stop and go traffic. Just had bad experience yesterday at long line of cars entering a car show, and need to get an aux. fan on, pronto.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,209
Likes: 12
From: Black Hills of SD
electric cooling fans............
Do you have a thermal clutch fan with a good shroud? I would make sure what you have is doing all it can before hanging on more stuff. How about the radiator? It doesn't take much crud to diminish its potential. Take it to a radiator shop and see what they say. Also you might check your timing. Just a few degrees too much advance causes some engines to run hot.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 315
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From: Clayton CA
electric cooling fans............
In order to mount the fans in front of the oil coolers and still clear the grilles I had to move my radiator inboard 1". It's not as hard as it sounds. Buy a 3 foot piece of 1" steel square stock (Home Depot, Lowes, Sear's Hardware) and cut it right in half. Drill some 3/8 holes in each piece to match your radiator mount holes (should be two holes each). It's a good idea to spray some paint on the bare steel to prevent rust. Get some 2" long 5/16 bolts (get Grade 8) and mount the radiator on top of your square stock pieces using the original bolt locations. There should be plenty of room for the stock fan to still clear the radiator inside the shroud.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 542
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From: Middleton, WI
electric cooling fans............
Thanks Tex - I thought I might need to do that-the slant of grille and vert. supports= no room. And thanks willbill- I have hi volume water pump, new 3 (or possible 4) row radiator and shroud, and all works perfectly - as long it is moving. FE Motors are notorous for being overheaters, Unless moving down the road. The 289-302-351 family seems to do much better job. Just the mere the thought of idling without moving for more than a couple of minutes makes a FE motor hot
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Elder User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 525
Likes: 2
From: Mansfield, Texas
electric cooling fans............
I have converted to electric for my 71 Crew Cab. 360 cid. 185 deg. stat.
I live in the DFW area. I recently went to PK Lake a week or so ago;pulling my 18' runabout. A rather hilly drive once you leave Fort Worth. She would climb to about 210-215 before settling back down to 200-205. The outside temp was 95-98 that weekend.
I switched because of the noise coming from the flex fan. That and I love tinkering.
I found a duo fan, made by nissan, but can't find out what it came off of yet. The sensor and switch I bought at O'Rielys (aftermarket jobber).
I took me a day to complete. But I wouldn't change back. It cools just as good as the driven fan and is a lot quieter.
Robert P.
I live in the DFW area. I recently went to PK Lake a week or so ago;pulling my 18' runabout. A rather hilly drive once you leave Fort Worth. She would climb to about 210-215 before settling back down to 200-205. The outside temp was 95-98 that weekend.
I switched because of the noise coming from the flex fan. That and I love tinkering.
I found a duo fan, made by nissan, but can't find out what it came off of yet. The sensor and switch I bought at O'Rielys (aftermarket jobber).
I took me a day to complete. But I wouldn't change back. It cools just as good as the driven fan and is a lot quieter.
Robert P.
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 542
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From: Middleton, WI
electric cooling fans............
It's official !! I Think Ford is the all time Crew Cab Champion forever!!! If anyone else has more than Three - let them step forward and be recognized.
Thanks for input I have been thinking of going totally electric but mine does so good - when it's moving and I don't have a flex fan.
Thanks for input I have been thinking of going totally electric but mine does so good - when it's moving and I don't have a flex fan.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 940
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From: LAT 46.55501° & LON -122
electric cooling fans............
I have always heard that it is more efficient to install electric fans as pullers instead of pushers. So I installed two 12" electric Hayden Fans between the radiator (a large 4-row) and the 20" clutch fan on my 410 FE. There was plenty of room; there is about an inch clearence between primary fan blade and the bearing housing on the electric fans. I control the electric ones with a 3-way switch (ON/OFF/AUTO) and installed a LED light to tell me when they come on. A funny thing about the LED is that even if the fans are off, the wind passing through them spins them enough to generate electricity and causes the LED to glow a little. The faster I go, the brighter it glows!
http://home.lewiscounty.com/~fluidpower/Fans.JPG
http://home.lewiscounty.com/~fluidpower/Fans.JPG
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 366
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From: Calgary
electric cooling fans............
I'm running 1 single 16" electric, mounted inside to pull, with thermostatic control. My truck runs around the 170-190 in our hottest of days, like mid 80'sF. Electric fans cool great at idle because there running at a higher rpm then the engine is. But at highway speeds, slower. You most likely never overheat at high speeds though for obvious reasons. It is surprising how much a mechanical fan can rob you of power. There definitely is a difference. Just a tip, don't wire it in with a switch that you have to turn on everytime. Big mistake on my part, because it's easy to forget. If you hook the therm. control to the ignition switch, it will only come on when the temps to hot, and the ignition is on.
Question for anybody that knows. Right now I have my control tied in to my ignition switch, but if I'm sitting in the truck with the engine hot but not running, switched to auxillary, the fan is blowing. Can I wire this so it's not running? I suck at electrical.
Question for anybody that knows. Right now I have my control tied in to my ignition switch, but if I'm sitting in the truck with the engine hot but not running, switched to auxillary, the fan is blowing. Can I wire this so it's not running? I suck at electrical.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 940
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From: LAT 46.55501° & LON -122
electric cooling fans............
They are great for off-roading as long as you have one that is big enough. The cool thing about them is when you have to cross deep water, you can shut them off and not worry about splashing water throughout the engine or bending the blades into the radiator.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 542
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From: Middleton, WI
electric cooling fans............
Originally posted by baitmaster
I see Jegs has a 5000 cfm dual fan setup, it draws 28 amps, is it too big? CACWBY have you heard of a town near you called Mazo? I grew up there.
I see Jegs has a 5000 cfm dual fan setup, it draws 28 amps, is it too big? CACWBY have you heard of a town near you called Mazo? I grew up there.