Electric fan size choice

[skullbucket]

I have 2 12 inch electric fans and today one burnt up.
So Im either going to replace both with two new 12 inchers or should I go to 1 16 inch on in the middle of the rad???

[OldMachinist]

If my math is correct the area of 2 12" fans is 226 and 1 16 is 201. Let that determine what you do.

[skullbucket]

I got the rad out and the fans off it, one is dead , dead, dead, the other one was real slow, so they both about bit the dust at the same time today.
The next ones I order will have ball bearings in front and back, Im going to tear these apart but Im sure they dont.

[mlcraven]

I've never experienced an electric fan failing before, on a DD or hobby car. How long have you had them? Are they OEM original, aftermarket or something pulled from a wrecking yard that you custom fit?

Regardless, that decides it for me; I'm sticking with the six-blade clutch fan that's on the FE in the Cyclone.

[skullbucket]

Ebay deals that have not alot of hours on them, today was 107 degrees to day and I think they burnt the insides out.

[CDMBill]

I wouldn't give up on electric fans because Skullbucket's EBay specials died. Clutch fans have their own issues and the are a number of good reasons why the OEM's have long since switched to electric fans.

As to what kind(s) to pick for a replacement, I'be happy with used OEM'S stuff, in mt case the Lincoln Mark VIII fan, but a lot of folks use the older model Taurus fans etc. the big thing is an integral shroud that matches the core size best. The shape of your radiator and available space will dictate what you can use. Some folks like two fans as a partial fail safe it one dies. In 12 years i've had just one used fan die. I now have a spare motor for events like drag week. Small piece to carry for the piece of mind it gives me.

I've been all electric for years now, meaning electric fan and water pump, and would not go back, as the flexibility and control it gives makes dealing with changing conditions and especially True Street drags or Drag Week or even auto-x events much easier due to engine off cool downs.

[Bob Holmes]

Gotta agree with Bill, OEM fans sourced from the JY are winners. The Taurus and Mark VII fans are big air proven performers...if you have the electrical system to drive them. I've got a dual fan Mark unit sitting in the garage, it was very cheap, and is quite thin in profile, if you need engine bay room.

[TheSilverBuick]

I wouldn't give up on electric fans because Skullbucket's EBay specials died. Clutch fans have their own issues and the are a number of good reasons why the OEM's have long since switched to electric fans.

Yeah. When we did the CC tour to Phoenix my car ate a fan clutch. I was lucky it didn't come loose and zing through the radiator. The car was running really cold that whole trip (well 5*F below normal), and while working on the engine (also the same one I blew a head gasket) the fan was rock solid, and with some inspection the ball bearings were coming out! One got wedged in the small gap while making it's escape and seized it up. But I did have an Autozone lifetime warranty on it and a local Phoenix Autozone had it in stock. Swapped it out in the parking lot in ten minutes. That's why I like the fan clutch, easy to service when they do go, but they can also go out in spetacular fashion that I don't think an electric fan could and wreck all sorts of havoc, but haven't had that happen yet.

[TC]

You want the fans to cover as much of the radiator as possible..... Plus they should not be mounted to the radiator itself, you should have a shroud that they mount to, that sets them at least an 1" away from radiator core........ Also you'll need a divider between the two fans to even out the air flow through the radiator......

[skullbucket]

There is nothing wrong with Ebay fans, they are just Flex-a-lites without the price.
I tore apart the fan this mourning and it was indeed burnt up.
I decided to get a 16 and center it, with my new aluminum 4 core, hi volume water pump it should be no problem.

[Russell]

OEM e-fans do fail I have replaced 2 one on my old Mark VIII and one on my current Saturn, used ones are about $30 at the local junk yard for the whole thing, motor, fan, shroud. When a new motor cast 4 times that. The only reason only reason I have not put one on my mustang or capri is the rest of the charging / electrical system is not up to the task.

[Barry Donovan]

I've never experienced an electric fan failing before, on a DD or hobby car. How long have you had them? Are they OEM original, aftermarket or something pulled from a wrecking yard that you custom fit?

Regardless, that decides it for me; I'm sticking with the six-blade clutch fan that's on the FE in the Cyclone.

clutch fans are the win. Double belts, older style setups should be a prerequisite.

they changed to electric fans for every reason not admittable...how bout that silly serpentine belt?

also silica oil, its crazy. I have taken the clutch apart and packed with high temp synthetic wheel bearing grease. meant to be an electrical dead, not a lightning sucker.

northern tier people can relate when I say: electric fans are crazy. You could hook them up per any foolproof diagram, and there will be times it just won't do as advertised. I still grab a plug, accept a static snap into my hand to get one work...why does that do that here?

is it the same reasons braces can get hit with lightning on a sunny day?

I rant about fans, it is actually the electron in general, as some geekster does not know it.

a universal tough setup really truly still utilizes a mechanically driven fan.

[CDMBill]

If I was preparing for the Baja 1000, or the Al-Can Rally I' d be ruining a mechanical pump and fan, otherwise it's the electrical stuf.

[anotheridiot]

mechanicals are different because it utilizes the shroud to suck the heat away from the motor more efficiently than a plastic electric fan sitting on the 190 degree radiator. Maybe you can find a way to get some kind of heat barrier between the radiator and the motor part of the fan so its not subject to that heat in an area that is really not getting cooled. McMaster Carr sells some wafer style aluminum plate for that very purpose. Its more probably why more electric fans fail far earlier than they should.

Its pretty awesome stuff, http://www.mcmaster.com/#aluminum-honeycomb/=iby2w0 just use regular hole cutting aluminum tools to gain some separation for parts that are close together. I use this to help keep the header heat from the starter too.

[squirrel]

If I was preparing for the Baja 1000, or the Al-Can Rally I' d be ruining a mechanical pump and fan, otherwise it's the electrical stuf.

What if you were driving the car to the midwest, and then home again?