Electric Fans, can they replace my clutch fan?

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WSUTARD

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I have two 12" electric fans mounted on a AC condenser in front of my radiator. I'm wondering if these, in the current configuration, would suffice for replacing my clutch fan? I'm not entirely sure how they turn on right now. They are connected, via a relay, to the AC clutch turn on wire but they turn on when the AC is not on.

I have no other info on them right now as I cant see a part number to look up.

Anyway, thoughts on using just these fans?
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Hard to say without knowing anything about the fans, but I would lean toward no. You can definitely run just electric fans, I do. But there are a lot of electric fans out there that don't push enough air to replace the stock fan entirely. And before you just dropped your clutch fan you'd have to know how those fans are wired and controlled at the least.
 
Take a good look at how much rad is covered by those fans. Then imagine what will happen if they suddenly quit working.
Try to figure out how many electrical connections exist between the battery, and making them run automatically, and back to the battery.

I believe in KISS.
When the engine runs, the fan turns.
When the engine runs really fast, the fan turns really fast.
And it's all automatic.
 
I ran electric pushers in front of my condenser and a factory water pump fan pulling on a BBChevy in a 37 Ford coupe. It occasionally would overheat. One day I was was discussing the problem with an electrical engineer and he told me the pushers actually decrease the air flow through the radiator when used with a puller. So I shrouded the factory water pump got rid of the pushers and it never overheated again.
 
Pullers really out perform pushers. Pullers with a shroud are the ideal setup. One car I had, had 2-8"pushers, and 4-8" pullers in a shroud. It was a worst-case-scenario set-up. Big-inch, Siamese-bore, with A/C.
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Yup, pushers get in the way of the incoming air flow. If they're designed to be there they can work, but, if you just slap them on in front of a mechanical fan set up they usually do more harm than good because the mechanical fan wants as much uninterrupted air flow as it can get and the pushers sit right in the middle of that. They can work, but combining them with a mechanical system isn't an efficient way to do things.

As far as electric fans in general, you just have to take the time to figure out your new system. The CFM capability of the fans has to be matched to the cooling capacity of the radiator and the horsepower the car is producing. Then you have to make sure your electrical system can handle the draw that the correct CFM fan will pull. And then you need to control the fans properly so they're running when they need to be. Pretty much all new cars come with electric fans, and they're all designed to go well over a 100k miles. Properly set up, electric fans can work great. I love the Ford Contour electric fan set up I run on my Duster. It pulls a crap load of air, has a shroud that fits my 26" radiator well, and because its a factory part I can get parts for it anywhere. And the fan itself was only a little over a 100 bucks because it's re-popped, so, it was MUCH less expensive than some of the fancy aftermarket electric fans out there. But, I also spent money on a digital controller, upgraded to a 100 amp alternator, and set up a relay system off of a continuous duty relay to power it. That's where most folks go wrong, if you just slap an electric fan on there without a shroud, run it off a simple thermostatic switch and scab it into the stock electrical system your results will probably be underwhelming.

Mechanical fans can have failures too, and although they're generally more reliable when you have a fan clutch or blade failure (riveted blades) the results can be catastrophic. But, they fail less frequently and have a lot fewer parts to fail. If you have the space and the factory system works its a much easier way to go. Make sure you've got the right fan shroud and a good fan and clutch system and they're pretty darn good. But do to space constraints and application they don't always work for everybody.
 
My Problem actually came down to room in the engine bay behind the radiator, 37's are pretty tight on space.
 
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My current situation had me order a new radiator with 2, 11" hi-output fans in a shroud....in a pusher setup. I only have 4" from my water-pump to the core support. I'm getting a single row, 2" tube, dual pass radiator, 28" wide.

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MMissile said:
My current situation had me order a new radiator with 2, 11" hi-output fans in a shroud....in a pusher setup. I only have 4" from my water-pump to the core support. I'm getting a single row, 2" tube, dual pass radiator, 28" wide.

View attachment 1715044739
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Come on, be truthful, you just wanted to show that drop dead gorgous engine bay & hemi. I gotta stop now, my drool is getting on the keyboard!
 
72bluNblu said:
Yup, pushers get in the way of the incoming air flow. If they're designed to be there they can work, but, if you just slap them on in front of a mechanical fan set up they usually do more harm than good because the mechanical fan wants as much uninterrupted air flow as it can get and the pushers sit right in the middle of that. They can work, but combining them with a mechanical system isn't an efficient way to do things.

As far as electric fans in general, you just have to take the time to figure out your new system. The CFM capability of the fans has to be matched to the cooling capacity of the radiator and the horsepower the car is producing. Then you have to make sure your electrical system can handle the draw that the correct CFM fan will pull. And then you need to control the fans properly so they're running when they need to be. Pretty much all new cars come with electric fans, and they're all designed to go well over a 100k miles. Properly set up, electric fans can work great. I love the Ford Contour electric fan set up I run on my Duster. It pulls a crap load of air, has a shroud that fits my 26" radiator well, and because its a factory part I can get parts for it anywhere. And the fan itself was only a little over a 100 bucks because it's re-popped, so, it was MUCH less expensive than some of the fancy aftermarket electric fans out there. But, I also spent money on a digital controller, upgraded to a 100 amp alternator, and set up a relay system off of a continuous duty relay to power it. That's where most folks go wrong, if you just slap an electric fan on there without a shroud, run it off a simple thermostatic switch and scab it into the stock electrical system your results will probably be underwhelming.

Mechanical fans can have failures too, and although they're generally more reliable when you have a fan clutch or blade failure (riveted blades) the results can be catastrophic. But, they fail less frequently and have a lot fewer parts to fail. If you have the space and the factory system works its a much easier way to go. Make sure you've got the right fan shroud and a good fan and clutch system and they're pretty darn good. But do to space constraints and application they don't always work for everybody.
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I couldn't agree more on pretty much every word of this.
Fan CFM (AND physical area of the radiator covered), electrical supply, relay and controller all make the difference between a win and a fail here.
 
retroron said:
Come on, be truthful, you just wanted to show that drop dead gorgous engine bay & hemi. I gotta stop now, my drool is getting on the keyboard!
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Thank you. I gotta get some pics up of the new rad, once it's delivered. The 2" tube thing is pretty cool. I wanted to use a puller-fan setup, but the amount of room, won't allow strong fans. I'm setting it up for the final engine that'll be going into the car. This engine is just for this year....during the 50th anniversary. Can't have the car sit for this season.
 
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Assuming the electric fans are "enough" and the shroud is well designed, there IS ON advantage of electric........when you don't NEED the fan..cruising.. THEN it will save HP over the mechanical.
 
kc0r8y said:
Roy, is that a single 16 inch fan?

I'm looking to switch my setup to electric fans and go with a single 16 inch fan. I was leaning towards this fan and harness. I have a 100 amp alternator already.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/spu-ix-185fh
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/spu-ix-30102113
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The one I bought came with the shroud and fan. But do to the thickness of the radiator, I couldn't use the shroud. It centered the fan and the fan motor wouldn't clear the water pump. So I mounted the fan direct to the radiator. Seems to be doing the job.
Here is the link to the one I bought.
1970-1972 Dodge Dart Small Block V8 3 Row Champion Radiator,Shroud & 16" Fan | eBay
 
barbee6043 said:
wow! an OEM fan, good radiator, shroud........ like is simple!
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Why? cause it won't clear the radiator. Plus I have a 3 core 068 A/C radiator in my 69 Dart 360, doesn't compare cooling wise to the champion. Even after I had it rodded out, added a shroud and new MP clutch fan.
 
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FWIW, I went with an electrical setup for a short while, but constant heat problems forced me back to fan and shroud. I was willing to accept the loss of a few parasitic HP.
 
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