Electric Fan Info Thread.
#112
#113
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Fans are in, found a radiator/condenser/shroud assembly for my testing at the local pick/pull for $50. Lucked out, walked in with no tools to see what they had. Happened to find everything unbolted, outside of some careful prying on the a.c. condenser.
Haven't seen my power supply yet, but if it happens to come today, will be testing over the weekend.
#115
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I'm building a chamber in order to do accurate airflow testing on the fans. It's not possible to get accurate, repeatable readings in the vehicle. I bought the components to experiment with fan mounting locations (example, how far to space off the radiator) and otherwise to find a perfect set up for the 2nd gen Rams. The fins are perfect so I don't expect any issues.
A lot of misconceptions exist about how far a fan should be off the radiator for 'optimum' airflows, the use of shrouds, ect. Truthfully, it all varies depending on the fan blade design. I want to be able to test under multiple conditions in order to get the most accurate readings possible, and curious if I happen to figure out a cheaper fan, perfect spacing, that will flow as well as advertised.
Prolly a 1 in a million chance of that though...lol..so not holding my breath.
A lot of misconceptions exist about how far a fan should be off the radiator for 'optimum' airflows, the use of shrouds, ect. Truthfully, it all varies depending on the fan blade design. I want to be able to test under multiple conditions in order to get the most accurate readings possible, and curious if I happen to figure out a cheaper fan, perfect spacing, that will flow as well as advertised.
Prolly a 1 in a million chance of that though...lol..so not holding my breath.
#116
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Up front... I am not being confrontational.
I know you are very interested in myth-busting CFM ratings and doing a service to the Dodge community by becoming a testing lab for multiple popular setups. Plus... it sound fun and sorta cool.![Smile](https://dodgeforum.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif)
With that said, different radiators will provide different results in cooling regardless of the fan CFMs. You told me that right? So then, why use an old junk yard radiator? My old one I just removed was gutted to see the insides. The bottom of the tanks were buildup free. Having a slightly hot issue, that surprised me. Perhaps the lines were plugging and nothing yet had settled to the tank bottom. Nevertheless, as an old radiator... one with age and miles worthy of a junk yard... it was ready to be tossed out. Why setup your special tests to be considered credible using old junk yard parts?
For the sake of costs... I can understand COMPLETELY the use of a junk yard shroud. Plastic is plastic even if is old and dirty. The radiator should be a component that's new for optimal results. Even better, different rads for different fan setups could be the next move after all are tested on the initial setup.
From your descriptions and how **** you and I both are about our trucks, I don't get the used rad for the quality of testing I have in my mind you are about to embark upon trying to achieve. Seriously! You can find cheap, brand new OEM rads on eBay all the time by just waiting out for the one(s) you are looking for.
As I said in another thread, if you want my Durango fan results as I come across them, I am happy to share back-yard scientist to back-yard scientist.![Smile](https://dodgeforum.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif)
IndyD <--- off to work under his hood.
I know you are very interested in myth-busting CFM ratings and doing a service to the Dodge community by becoming a testing lab for multiple popular setups. Plus... it sound fun and sorta cool.
![Smile](https://dodgeforum.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif)
With that said, different radiators will provide different results in cooling regardless of the fan CFMs. You told me that right? So then, why use an old junk yard radiator? My old one I just removed was gutted to see the insides. The bottom of the tanks were buildup free. Having a slightly hot issue, that surprised me. Perhaps the lines were plugging and nothing yet had settled to the tank bottom. Nevertheless, as an old radiator... one with age and miles worthy of a junk yard... it was ready to be tossed out. Why setup your special tests to be considered credible using old junk yard parts?
For the sake of costs... I can understand COMPLETELY the use of a junk yard shroud. Plastic is plastic even if is old and dirty. The radiator should be a component that's new for optimal results. Even better, different rads for different fan setups could be the next move after all are tested on the initial setup.
From your descriptions and how **** you and I both are about our trucks, I don't get the used rad for the quality of testing I have in my mind you are about to embark upon trying to achieve. Seriously! You can find cheap, brand new OEM rads on eBay all the time by just waiting out for the one(s) you are looking for.
As I said in another thread, if you want my Durango fan results as I come across them, I am happy to share back-yard scientist to back-yard scientist.
![Smile](https://dodgeforum.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif)
IndyD <--- off to work under his hood.
Last edited by IndyDurango; 06-12-2009 at 08:02 PM.
#117
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I said different radiators will provide different pressure drops, resulting in different fan airflow. I don't remember my exact post, but should have clarified it better by saying different radiator DESIGNS will provide different pressure drops. Didn't get anything into the 'cooling' as related to engine temp. Your radiator is aftermarket, should have less of a pressure drop, therefore your fan set up should flow more air in your truck then if you would have installed it with a stock radiator.
I'm doing what's called a 'dry coil' test. So, as long as the fins are straight and clean exterior wise, actual components within the radiator are irrelevant. I keep talking about pressure drop, I need to establish a baseline pressure drop in order to accurately chart the performance of the fan.
Also, this is some very preliminary testing. I want to initially measure the fans at 0 s.p., because as I've said, it's a fake number. I've been informed by industry insiders that most of those numbers are made up for advertising purposes. I want to find out what manufacturers are the worst/best with that. After I have that cfm, I'll do testing to verify pressure drop of a stock radiator. A factory Dodge radiator with straight/clean fins should have a fairly consistent pressure drop regardless of age. I would prefer to do the pressure drops on non new components for my recomendations to forum members, because lets face it, most who are adding an aftermarket electric fans are doing so to an existing radiator. Using a factory shroud because I know certain fans will not be affected by our factory shroud, so want to testing with and without it. I want to find one that will work behind the factory shroud so guys don't have to mess with finding new bottle locations.
My end goal is not to be a test bed for forum members, it's to change the industry. You found a lot of bad information researching your installation. Not saying it won't work, mind you, but what if you did all the research you did and ended up frying your engine? How is that fair to you? You went in thinking you needed a higher cfm requirement then necessary, sized a fan off of false specs according to that, and as a result will probably have a working system with a bit more amp draw or components then needed.
On the flip side, if you went in believing you needed a 2300 cfm fan, bought one advertised at 2300@0 pressure drop, but when mounted only flowed 1400 and you blow a head gasket, why isn't someone else responsible for false advertising? I think it's wrong and want to change that. I was honestly shocked when I started looking at fan specs and seeing how they were advertised. Wish I could get across to everyone what's really wrong because some people don't seem to think it's really a big deal.
I'm doing what's called a 'dry coil' test. So, as long as the fins are straight and clean exterior wise, actual components within the radiator are irrelevant. I keep talking about pressure drop, I need to establish a baseline pressure drop in order to accurately chart the performance of the fan.
Also, this is some very preliminary testing. I want to initially measure the fans at 0 s.p., because as I've said, it's a fake number. I've been informed by industry insiders that most of those numbers are made up for advertising purposes. I want to find out what manufacturers are the worst/best with that. After I have that cfm, I'll do testing to verify pressure drop of a stock radiator. A factory Dodge radiator with straight/clean fins should have a fairly consistent pressure drop regardless of age. I would prefer to do the pressure drops on non new components for my recomendations to forum members, because lets face it, most who are adding an aftermarket electric fans are doing so to an existing radiator. Using a factory shroud because I know certain fans will not be affected by our factory shroud, so want to testing with and without it. I want to find one that will work behind the factory shroud so guys don't have to mess with finding new bottle locations.
My end goal is not to be a test bed for forum members, it's to change the industry. You found a lot of bad information researching your installation. Not saying it won't work, mind you, but what if you did all the research you did and ended up frying your engine? How is that fair to you? You went in thinking you needed a higher cfm requirement then necessary, sized a fan off of false specs according to that, and as a result will probably have a working system with a bit more amp draw or components then needed.
On the flip side, if you went in believing you needed a 2300 cfm fan, bought one advertised at 2300@0 pressure drop, but when mounted only flowed 1400 and you blow a head gasket, why isn't someone else responsible for false advertising? I think it's wrong and want to change that. I was honestly shocked when I started looking at fan specs and seeing how they were advertised. Wish I could get across to everyone what's really wrong because some people don't seem to think it's really a big deal.
Last edited by hutch1973; 06-12-2009 at 09:37 PM.
#118
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One more note...what I'm posting here will be advertised '0' pressure readings vs actual. That's a fairly easy process for me to test. Otherwise I'll be posting items specific to a dodge ram installation. For that reason, I already have everything I need (well, power supply didn't come today) to do that testing. That will be totally public.
Specific testing for what should be posted in the industry, (fan ratings at .1 through .8 s.p.) is going to be a lot more complicated. An industry standard does not exist, so I'm writing one. Issue is, the coils (radiator coils) I'll need to test individual statics do not exist in a cost effective manner for this testing. While I can test any fan on 'our' radiator to determine our specific installation, 'real' fan ratings need to be across a broad range so they can be applied to any vehicle install.
Currently designing something to accommodate this, but it's going to be through trial and error with my temporary 'chamber' to get some of the finer details worked out. Won't be cheap to build, so want to make sure it will be working from the get go when it's built.
Specific testing for what should be posted in the industry, (fan ratings at .1 through .8 s.p.) is going to be a lot more complicated. An industry standard does not exist, so I'm writing one. Issue is, the coils (radiator coils) I'll need to test individual statics do not exist in a cost effective manner for this testing. While I can test any fan on 'our' radiator to determine our specific installation, 'real' fan ratings need to be across a broad range so they can be applied to any vehicle install.
Currently designing something to accommodate this, but it's going to be through trial and error with my temporary 'chamber' to get some of the finer details worked out. Won't be cheap to build, so want to make sure it will be working from the get go when it's built.
#119
#120
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I'll be honest, no clue where this is going to end up when I'm done. Waiting to see what the build cost would be for the 'coil' I'll need for accurate testing. Already have an idea how to write the standard. While I've kicked around the business side of this, I know it would be a fairly limited income potential business, and after running some numbers, not the kind of money I really are about making. In the end, all I really are about is honest advertising and clearing up the misconceptions in the industry.
I've spoken to an attorney. Currently registering a LLC, I'm expecting a backlash, and want to make sure it can't affect my primary business. I'm really surprised this amount of false advertising has been going on for so long.
I've spoken to an attorney. Currently registering a LLC, I'm expecting a backlash, and want to make sure it can't affect my primary business. I'm really surprised this amount of false advertising has been going on for so long.