Electric Fans

[ray1933]

Just read the article in the Diesel Power Magazine about the Electric fans, how many of you have gone that route and has it helped the milage as much as they claim. This was done on a 97 3500 and they said milage increased from 2 to 3 mpg with about a 27 hp gain. The fans are over 530. 00 from

flex-a-lite.com thur your local auto parts.

 

[WUnderwood]

I dont know if they are available for the Common Rail or 24 valve trucks yet

I would definately like to try them out, though

 

[d90boy]

From my experiences, I would never consider putting electric fans on my truck. Unless they have improved a lot they won't move the air like the stock one. One friend put a set on his Land Rover and set out for colorado across kansas in the summer. A few miles down I-70 he had to shut his A/C off, turn the heat on, and pull over and take his off road lights off the bumper to try and get enough air flow. The whole system was more headache than it was worth with all the wiring, relays, thermostat etc.



I thought the 3rd gens had a fan more like a Horton that turned on and off like a clutch instead of a viscous drive?

 

[rbattelle]

I thought the 3rd gens had a fan more like a Horton that turned on and off like a clutch instead of a viscous drive?

We have a viscous drive, but it's controlled by the ECM. In fact, the ECM can control the RPM of the fan. Pretty cool, I think.



There have been attempts to move to electric fans.

Good thread.

Part of GShail's sad story about the stock fan.



If you take a look at the stock fan you realize it's capable of moving an enormous amount of air. Equally important, it's capable of generating a pressure ratio high enough to suck air through the A/C condensor, intercooler, and radiator (the intercooler and radiator in particular are thick). I can't recall seeing any electric fan with blades that look as powerful as the stock fan.



I'm not saying there are no electric fans out there that can do the job. I'm just saying it's going to have to be one (or 2) very large and powerful units.



It's interesting to note that, according to Diesel Progress, there's a lot of interest in electric fans in trucks right now. But the fans I've seen for those applications are set up in arrays (quantity proportional to cooling requirement) and use gigantic blades.



Maybe there's a market opportunity there for an entrepreneur? Medium diesel electric fans that flow more air than our stock ones do? It would be a challenge to package the fan and motor small enough to fit in the engine bay.



Ryan

 

[d90boy]

I wanted to put a non-mechanical fan on my Unimog so it could be shut off for wading or even reversed in hot weather, slow moving applications. The only drive I think that would work would be hydrostatic.



I may be totally off with this thinking but if electric fans freed up 27hp, isn't that roughly the amount of power you'd need to move the air?

 

[cerberusiam]

The 27 HP has to come from somewhere, engine via belt drive or electric which has to be fed by an engine accessory.



Stop and think about this for a bit, how large an electric motor(s) will it take to flow the amout of air the stock fan will? How much will this motor(s) draw in amperage? What is going to generate the needed amperage? How much HP will the generation accessory draw?



There is a very good reason why the fan is run off the engine and not off the electricity. I know cost is going to be prohibitive and suspect that even if the capacity was available in the correct size it would take more HP to generate the electricity to run electric fans than just driving it off the crank.



Sometimes the simplest solution really is the best solution.

 

[rbattelle]

Sometimes the simplest solution really is the best solution.

I totally disagree. The simplest solution is almost always the best solution.

Ryan

 

[CBrahs]

One of the downfalls that I could see using an electric fan for our diesels is that (in my experience) the Tstat for the fan would trigger it to run even after the engine is shut off until is drops below the set temp. I remember a thread in the past talking about electric fans for the CTD and how much current it would take to produce the CFM to cool is amazing. It would drain the batteries down in nothing flat. Maybe going with a pusher to aid in cooling would reduce the time the fan clutch is engaged in hot weather would be a better choice.

 

[nickleinonen]

One of the downfalls that I could see using an electric fan for our diesels is that (in my experience) the Tstat for the fan would trigger it to run even after the engine is shut off until is drops below the set temp. I

nothing a key on triggered relay won't fix. .

 

[jelag]

Please remember that our trucks already have a fuel saver fan on them... . and the blades only move at about 15-20% of the normal speed based on the wind blowing through the radiator at any given time and they kick in when needed to add the extra cooling... .

At the price of these engines I'd never trust an electric fan when I've got a load pulling a hill in bad traffic..... there's always a chance that the circuit would fail, the traffic would be bad and you'd have overheating problems... . I just wouldn't consider it.....

We have a large truck with a 10 L Cat engine... that fan is spring released, and air applied clutch... that fan blade sits almost idle 90% of the time until needed and than locks with air pressure to engage the clutch..... A system that is simple and very functional.....

 

[SpicyJam]

Well I am considering the fans after IRP I was hunting to see who maybe running them. Here is a link to the fans for the 94-02 24V trucks.



15 inch twin electric fans



Please let me know if any one is running them... ... ... hate to drop 549 for them and they suck.

 

[Mhannink]

i think it would work remember the fans isnt going torun most of the time. yeah when it does it will take a lot but only then. i think when you sitting in traffice it would cool better since it would beable to run at full power w/o increasing rpm.



i would run the set up from flex lite if i had the money right now. well maybe another day i guess

 

[hotram03]

gonna wait and let the guinea pigs run with it, I once was a pig myself, now I've learned patience, sit back, relax and see... ...

 

[CBrahs]

I am going to wait til they do it from the factory. Many pickups are now coming with electric fans (gas motors) and it will only be a matter of time when they start doing it to diesels when they see the power savings which leads to fuel savings.

 

[monkeyman]

I installed the flexlite kit on my 2nd generation after having a Horton for years. got tired of the horton engaging at the wrong moment. And then the wires getting ripped out of a $450. 00 clutch! I love this kit. A/C is much better, installation is easy, quality kit. As far as mileage, i just drove faster with the electric fans!
Rick

 

[DAWG-1]

Monster Fan

I have Flex-A-Lites Monster dual fans on my truck for about 3 years. I have had no problem. They have a nice electrical connection center. You connect power, A/C compressor wire (for signal), Manual on and off if you want. Very nice and compact. I have towed with a GCW of 14,000 and no temperature problems. I am going to buy the new one for my, just for the new aluminum housing. Sam.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

I run w/ no fan 7 months out of the year. 11 years experience with this mod. Never overheated.



Summit's going to have the Flex-a-lite dual fan setup for the 2nd generation in stock 6-13. Pricey, but you get free beach chairs.



Fans, Electric - summitracing.com

 

[MickeyMiller]

Ryan,



"We have a viscous drive, but it's controlled by the ECM. In fact, the ECM can control the RPM of the fan. Pretty cool, I think. "



I agree, but is there any way we could rig a switch to shut off the stock fan for deep water crossings? I don't go looking for deep water but there is always a chance... .

 

[rbattelle]

I agree, but is there any way we could rig a switch to shut off the stock fan for deep water crossings? I don't go looking for deep water but there is always a chance... .

Sure, it's been done before. Check out this thread. Matt400 is the resident expert on 3rd gen fan switches.



Ryan

 

[Jengle]

I called Flex-A-Lite and they referred me to their techs, when I asked about the 3rd gen truck solution. The tech guy said they are having trouble getting around the temperature probe to fan clutch wiring. He said putting a jumper in it, causes a CEL that they can't figure out how to disable. Until then, they won't offer the fans for the 3rd gen trucks. This was a few weeks ago. I guess they haven't figured it out yet.