Best E-Fan?

[Mediamonkey11]

OK, so long story short, I had my new fan clutch failed twice on the same trip… So, needless to say, I would like to switch to Electric fans!

My question is, in doing some research I found that some people put a Ford Windstar fan in, which is fine, but in older threads some other people put in separate aftermarket fans, which one would work best? And, do I have to have an expensive controller? Or, could I just install a grounding temperature sensor in the thermostat housing that would actuate the negative side of an appropriately rated relay?


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[Mediamonkey11]

Also, when programming a controller or buying switches, I know from reading that they should be 5 degrees apart, but haven't seen a good starting temperature yet. What should the first fan (or low speed) kick on at?


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[ExplorerTom]

Don't know but........

 

[AbbadonTD]

You answer our questions, not the other way around....

The Windstar fan you mention I have seen on many an F150 from our era of Expy.

 

[Bowesmobile]

The reason I chose the Windstar fan is that it pulls 4100cfm. They are very available from most junk yards and are cheap. Plus they are a close fit to the expedition radiator if you checked out my electric fan conversion thread. If you haven't, it should be in my Sig.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

The reason I chose the Windstar fan is that it pulls 4100cfm. They are very available from most junk yards and are cheap. Plus they are a close fit to the expedition radiator if you checked out my electric fan conversion thread. If you haven't, it should be in my Sig.

your sig is blank mate..

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

but you have replied to me on another thread where your sig had it in there, Here it is

 

[Mediamonkey11]

Thanks guys, Bowes, I did read your thread multiple times

Does anyone know the low side kick in temp?


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[Bowesmobile]

Thanks for reading. Sorry my sig doesnt show when I post from my phone apparently. I hope its helpful! The low side kick in temp for my 185 deg. Switch actually turns on at 190 deg. and then it shuts off at 175 deg.. You can buy different temp switches and I believe they will be within 5 degrees of advertised. Unless thats not what you meant...

 

[Mediamonkey11]

No it is, that's what I needed... I don't remember what the factory thermostat rating is but my thoughts would be that the fan should be set to kick on within around 5-10 degrees of its opening...


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[Bowesmobile]

That's temp is usually 210-215 degrees. So a switch rated around there will work great. I sized my thermostat a little cooler to 185 deg. and sized the switch to match.

 

[Mediamonkey11]

Any change in gas mileage or performance?


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[Bowesmobile]

None really either way. But it did improve my towing comfort with the air conditioning running in the mountains on a hot summer day. That was important to me.

 

[rtbrjason]

I went with the windstar fan as well. I setup the larger fan to work on a temp switch and the smaller fan to work from a manual switch.

When cruising, the temperature rarely drops below 200 in my truck. I have it set to come on somewhere around 230 (so that it doesn't kick on overtime I'm at a light), and it kicks off when it drops to 215-220ish.

Never had any overheating issues (230 is still in the normal range on my gauge) and I've never encountered an issue where I've had to kick on the 2nd fan.

Since this vehicle is mostly winter use for me, I setup a switch so that I can have the fan come on with the AC compressor or not. I find in the winter, you don't really need the fan at all and definitely not everytime you need to run your defrost, so for winter months I disable the fan coming on with AC compressor.

I didn't really notice much in the way of performance or mpg increase other than when my clutch fan was working overtime and I didn't have much power. In most normal driving situations though it drives/feels the same.

 

[Mediamonkey11]

Well I have a Windstar fan assembly and Derale 16795 PWM fan controller on the way, will update soon!


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[Mediamonkey11]

Well I ended up using a different pwm controller from Hayden, so far it works well! Only thing is it'll only control one of the fans due to amp draw so I have it hooked to the large one. Will post more updates soon...


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[Bowesmobile]

Well I ended up using a different pwm controller from Hayden, so far it works well! Only thing is it'll only control one of the fans due to amp draw so I have it hooked to the large one. Will post more updates soon...


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That was the reason I went with the volvo controller. You can control both fans independently. One is sourced to the A/C and the other to the temp switch. Let us know how long the hayden unit lasts. Ive heard mixed reviews.

 

[Mediamonkey11]

Yah the main reason I wen with a PWM controller was to run the fans without horrible amp spikes, I have a lot of audio equipment so that was a concern. Plus the controller will run the fan at lower speeds when full isn't needed and has the full speed A/C override that works well.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hda-3655

All the reviews I found on this particular one seemed great, but time will tell

 

[Mediamonkey11]

With the stock thermostat, what temperature should I set the fans to come on at?


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[Bowesmobile]

With the stock thermostat, what temperature should I set the fans to come on at?


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Personally I would set it to come on at 225 - 230deg. The motor will handle temps up to 235-240 deg. But you dont want to drive it that way normally. I dont want to really get into how I know that, but I guess if you read my electric fan write up, then you know how I know.