Electric Fans

[antnip]

Has anyone replaced the regular engine fan with an electric? I did this on
an old Delta 88 I owned to get more HP. But on the GMC it would also
eliminate a bit of clutter and noise.

I ran almost 3/4 of the way from NY to FL one year without the fan, as the
clutch seized while on the road. I just took it off and went on my way.
Under highway driving, the engine ran cool as always even without the fan.

The electric I had, and I'm sure modern ones are better, ran on demand.

I was wondering if anyone has tried this or could offer some reason this
wouldn't be a good idea.

Thanks in advance, Tony B.

 

[john wright]

This thread has been explored several times this year without a clear
choice coming to the top.

I use a hayden 2797 Serve duty clutch setup, others use any number of
the lessor rated hayden fan clutches and swear by them. I guess it is
what your willing to risk. The choice for the fan clutch is really
yours to make

As for Electric fans several GMC'er have gone to all electric fans with
varied success. The cost of the fans and necessary control hardware is
considerably more than a HD fan clutch assy. Your Electrical charging
system must also be updated to provide the necessary power to run the
fans which is more dollars.

I find that when I get over 35 mph my 2797 hayden pretty much free
wheels and uses little hp.

That is how I feel and I am sure there are other netters that will share
there experiences so that you can make the choice on which direction
that you want to go.

J.R. Wright
GMC GreatLaker
77 Eleganza II
Michigan

>
> Has anyone replaced the regular engine fan with an electric? I did this on
> an old Delta 88 I owned to get more HP. But on the GMC it would also
> eliminate a bit of clutter and noise.
>
> I ran almost 3/4 of the way from NY to FL one year without the fan, as the
> clutch seized while on the road. I just took it off and went on my way.
> Under highway driving, the engine ran cool as always even without the fan.
>
> The electric I had, and I'm sure modern ones are better, ran on demand.
>
> I was wondering if anyone has tried this or could offer some reason this
> wouldn't be a good idea.
>
> Thanks in advance, Tony B.

 

[steven d. ferguson]

J.R. wrote:I
find that when I get over 35 mph my 2797 hayden pretty much free
wheels and uses little hp.
That is how I feel and I am sure there are other netters that will share

there experiences so that you can make the choice on which direction
that you want to go.

J.R.,
Agreement here! I ran a modified 454 in a '55 Chevy for 8-9 years and
went through some real cooling wars. I tried everything from flex fans
to twin( "16 "tornado") electrics and nothing worked when needed most.
In fact, the twin electrics would over heat at 65 mph because they
blocked too much ram air. When those babys kicked in in traffic, (when
engine rpm is also at it's lowest) they pulled 40 amps on start up and
20 total to sustain. The turn signals slowed down & the lights got kinda
dim also. I eventually wound up with a clutch fan and an aftermarket
shroud that really worked well. No matter what the conditions, the
engine temp never exceeded 190 deg.
I HAVE used electrics with good results in some applications though.
Understand that any electric will pull better than it will push. I have
a daily driver '57 Chevy with modern A/C and with the stock radiator it
has a tendency to get hot in traffic. I have a similar shroud & clutch
fan on it as on the '55 however, it is mounted inside the shroud and is
relay activated off of a signal from the brake light switch. It works
well when needed (stop signs etc.) and since I have a 88 amp alternator
on the vehicle, the bad effects of the amp draw are minimal.
I'm on my 3rd clutch fan in the GMC. The first one was not the
recommended Hayden 2797, I hadn't started reading the digest at that
time so I made the mistake on my own. The second one was the
recommended heavy duty Hayden and it solved all my problems. It just
crapped out in 1,000 miles. I replaced it under warranty and it works
just fine now. The big difference in the heavy duty vice any other is
the percentage of engine rpm that the fan spins at when not locked up.
This is exactly why the first one didn't do the job. It spins much
faster in the neutral position and is exactly what is needed to cool the
GMC under normal driving conditions.
I hope this help anyone thinking of switching to electrics for primary
cooling.
Steve Ferguson

 

[gene]

Nice post guys, this is one of those comes-around comes-around topics-----
so stuffed it into the ol-web-page
gene

>J.R. wrote:I
>find that when I get over 35 mph my 2797 hayden pretty much free
>wheels and uses little hp.
>That is how I feel and I am sure there are other netters that will share
>
>there experiences so that you can make the choice on which direction
>that you want to go.
>
>J.R.,
> Agreement here! I ran a modified 454 in a '55 Chevy for 8-9 years and
>went through some real cooling wars. I tried everything from flex fans
>to twin( "16 "tornado") electrics and nothing worked when needed most.
>In fact, the twin electrics would over heat at 65 mph because they
>blocked too much ram air. When those babys kicked in in traffic, (when
>engine rpm is also at it's lowest) they pulled 40 amps on start up and
>20 total to sustain. The turn signals slowed down & the lights got kinda
>dim also. I eventually wound up with a clutch fan and an aftermarket
>shroud that really worked well. No matter what the conditions, the
>engine temp never exceeded 190 deg.
> I HAVE used electrics with good results in some applications though.
>Understand that any electric will pull better than it will push. I have
>a daily driver '57 Chevy with modern A/C and with the stock radiator it
>has a tendency to get hot in traffic. I have a similar shroud & clutch
>fan on it as on the '55 however, it is mounted inside the shroud and is
>relay activated off of a signal from the brake light switch. It works
>well when needed (stop signs etc.) and since I have a 88 amp alternator
>on the vehicle, the bad effects of the amp draw are minimal.
> I'm on my 3rd clutch fan in the GMC. The first one was not the
>recommended Hayden 2797, I hadn't started reading the digest at that
>time so I made the mistake on my own. The second one was the
>recommended heavy duty Hayden and it solved all my problems. It just
>crapped out in 1,000 miles. I replaced it under warranty and it works
>just fine now. The big difference in the heavy duty vice any other is
>the percentage of engine rpm that the fan spins at when not locked up.
>This is exactly why the first one didn't do the job. It spins much
>faster in the neutral position and is exactly what is needed to cool the
>GMC under normal driving conditions.
> I hope this help anyone thinking of switching to electrics for primary
>cooling.
>Steve Ferguson
>
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
mr.erf
http://www.california.com/~eagle/