I know you guys are sick and tired of answering newbee questions about e-fans, but I can't find any help on this using the search function...

I've landed two 2500cfm 16" e-fans.. that 5k cfm should be more than enough.. it won't fit in a pretty little parallel though, and building a shroud where both cover equal area's of the rad will create a pretty deep 'box'... So.. I checked this out and I dig it- but I don't know if it will be an issue...



yeah, funny pic, no? All I had was trusty 'paint' available... sorry...

I would like to reverse polarity (and fins) on one fan to make it a 'pusher', and mount it in the grill area adjacent to the passenger headlamp (for lack of better description)... It will cover 16.5" from left to right of the radiator, and scoop low enough for the oil/tranny cooler..

I would then like to modify the existing fan shroud to hold the other 16" e-fan in it's opening.. mounted as a puller..

I already have the wiring worked out on paper and I'm not concerned with it..

What I AM concerned with is the function of this rig- one side of the rad being 'pushed', and the other 'pulled', and the fans overlapping about 6" or so...

What are your thoughts on this? It will be nice and neat, and the existing shroud (w/wiper and overflow containers) will stay put... I'm thinking the entire rad, oil/tranny will have nice flow, but I don't know if it will work the fans over by doing this..

I've already waterproofed the connections so that h2o won't be much of an issue...

anyway, thoughts?

 

It'll work just fine provided the fan can be reversed and the polarity reversed.

Do you have A/C? You might have to mount the pusher on the condenser and that will hinder the flow a bit. Keep a close eye on the temp of the coolant on your first drive out to be sure you don't overheat. Perhaps even test in the driveway idling as that will put max strain on the cooling system. Watch the voltmeter as well.

Can you post a pic of the fan in question? There are some straight bladed fans that do not need the blades swapped, only the wires. The proform fans I run are like that.

 

I was just going to leave the a/c shroud and fan alone...

I'm driving a 3rd gen... I hang out here because you fellas, uh, 'appreciate' the value of a good magnum.. :-) Starting left to right in front of the truck looking aft, it's radiator, w/ tranny and oil cooler cells in front and a little below, and shrouded in it's own little unit.. the clutch fan is off-center, more centered on the grill.. the opening on that thing is right at 19", which will be nice for mounting the 16.5" e-fan within it..

the a/c has a shroud over it's condenser closer to the driver side headlamp, and w/ a stock e-fan driving it.. I was just going to steer clear of that rascal all together.. I sometimes hate that a/c.. it seems it's always in the way, and I hardly ever use it.. it stays because every once in a while a dame will talk me into using it, but that only last the first week or so of us dating.. you're getting me off subject now... dang it... :-) - it stays for re-sale value... that's all...

I have several controllers to work with.. The fans supposedly pull 28a combined.. I'll test that before I move on it.. But I have relay's and inline fuses, all over 10ga wiring.. the controller will 'soft' start the fan.. (I haven't decided yet if I want it to start both at the same time, or just one with the other standing by as an on/off rig)... it will increase voltage as temperature increases... supposedly that is... In the push/pull config, I'm thinking about starting both at the same time (softly), to eliminate hot/cold spots on the rad...

These are curved blade fans.. I gotta reverse the polarity AND flip it.. shouldn't be a big deal.. I went with two 2750cfm (personally, I figure if they say that then 2400-2500 is a safe bet) which, in most circumstances should be enough alone.. so if one 'soils the sheets', the other will get me by in a pinch..

I said earlier, that combined they would account for 5k-cfm combined, but now that I'm thinking about it, in this config they won't- they will combine for the max of one.. BUT... they will cover the entire radiator which should dramatically improve efficiency..

I like the fact, if this works, that I won't cut-up the factory shroud and can flop the factory clutch fan back on it if monkey wrenches start flying.. and that it will (using two) provide somewhat of a 'back-up'...

 

I thought I'd close this out...

Just finished the e-fan, and set it up the way I described in the picture..

I ended up using the Flex-a-lite control.. It seemed less 'gadgety'.. and by my way of thinking, therefor, more reliable.. I took my time and routed everything nice and neat, soldered every connection (with exception of the points on the controller, but the connectors ARE soldered to the wires)..

I blew a 25a fuse right off the bat..

I put in a 30a, and she works great.. The fans kick in a smidgen below the halfway mark on the temp gauge. Idling, they run for about 10 seconds, and drop the temperature sufficiently to cycle off.. I'm thinking I don't care much for the hysteresis value on the controller (I used the probe) as it seems to react slowly heading north (getting warmer) and is quick on the trigger to kick off... I'm not going to worry about it unless I see an issue..

I'm hedging my bet though- I have the clutch fan in the tool box if that e-fan rig soils the sheets..




side note: I don't know what I expected when those things kicked on- I expected they would move more air than they do... Now, that being said, there is no doubt in my mind that they move more air than the clutch system does.. But it's not like my alternator and a/c pump were putting their hats on backwards or anything..

If anyone is interested, I'll snap some pictures and share..

 

Very interested, definitely share some pictures.

 

I'll snap some pic's then- presently, UGA/UT is coming on- and I DON'T miss that game... PERIOD...


So I put the efan rig through the paces this morning.. I couldn't stand it... I just had to do it.... How asks you?

My buddy has a boat which needed winterizing, and he just got it back from the shop... He needed it put back in his drive next to his barn, and there is nowhere to turn around back there unless you like swimming in swamps- which means it's about a 100yds worth of backing up, through some pretty tricky turns at times.. We've always had a blast taking fellas 'man cards' for not being able to do this.. It sounds easy, but it isn't- it's a slow deliberate process, and it's hell on an engine running decently high rev's (2-3k rpm range or so), on the count of the weight of that thing.. ( 5500#'s +/- maybe 200)

Reasons like this one are the reason I wanted to go to an E-Fan to begin with.. barring mechanical issues, the only time I've ever come close to overheating was doing things like this..

Color me impressed... it didn't even come close to hot.. it never went north of the half mark... THIS THING IS THE DANG TICKET.... the only question I have is "Why did it take me so long to do it?"

Thanks Board, for turning me on to these things..