how much electric fan cfm??

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green67cuda

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I'm looking into losing the nylon fan on the car now, and just wonder how much cfm I need in a fan....my radiatior is a 26x19 aluminum, so i'll probably get a 16" fan.....also....difference in cfm for shrouded/unshrouded....i am also thinking about fabbing a shroud out of aluminum sheet...something the size of the core and then make a hole for the 16" fan to mount....i figure that'll require less cfm for the same cooling
 
a rule of thumb we always used was 200cfm for every 100 c.i then add for a/c and tranny cooler an additional 50 cfm per 100 c.i also makes a difference if its a pusher or a puller fan.... pullers cool better than pushers
 
Search Ebay for a 16" Zirgo fan, it's the best deal out there for electric fans right now. 3300 cfm for less thean $90. They are 3.5" thick so you have to make sure you have at least that much room between your water pump and radiator.
 
I only have 3" clearance.....but I found a 16" thin SPAL and a 16" medium SPAL....
the thin is 2" thick, the medium is 2.5"
thin: 1300 cfm....thick: 1610 cfm

so..what would be better, the 1610 cfm directly to the radiator

OR

the 1300 cfm on a 1/2" thick shroud (that covers the whole radiator)????
 
I would think one that was shrouding the whole radiator would be more efficient even at a lower cfm
 
I just out an Electric fan in front of the radiator,
in my Valiant.

I went to the local Advance Auto Parts store, and bought an
adjustable temp fan controller.

I had to remove the hood latch support to get the fan to fit,
but that was easy, only 3 bolts, and 2 nuts near the top.

I had the fan in the cellar, from my old camaro,
that i sold 2 years ago.

I set the thermocouple heat sensor at the top of the radiator,
near the tank. I have the controller adjusted to turn on at about
180f.
 
I am with OUTLAW, go with the fan and shroud combo. Right now I am running a stock fan and shroud with an electric in front of the raidiator. It is set at 180* but my 360 is punched 40 over so it likes to run on the hot side so it will creep up to 200-215 in traffic.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/scamp_of_doom_73/album?.dir=/a0a8scd

I am going to swap over to an aluminum raidiator and a thinner electric with a shroud pretty soon. Im ganna go with close to the same set up that abodyjoe is running.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=12067
 
As prosport said Search Ebay for a 16" Zirgo fan, it's the best deal out there for electric fans right now. Just did a seach to see where they`re homebase was since I never heard of them, sounds good to me, based out of Portland, Ore. I myself running stock steel 7 blade from `68 air model on an 60 over 360 with no over heat issues in 115 heat we just went thru last week..! http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/Zirgo/Products/Products_FANS.lasso
 
Not sure on the CFM, but here's my $76 brand new fan on my 26x19 radiator. when its about 110* out it keeps my motor at about 205* or so. Which is still only 100* above ambient. Lately its been like 95* and it stays at about 190* or so. So still about 100* over ambiet. It's doing the job. Its not all that thick either. and looks great.

fsan2.gif

fan.jpg
 
So, What does everyone think of this?

I have a 360 (9:1). No a/c, but it I will be adding both an oil cooler and an external trans cooler besides the one in the radiator. Using the math above:

200 CFM/100 Cubes
50 CFM for EACH cooler/100 cubes

So total I am looking at 350 CFM per 100 cubes of motor.

350CFM x 3.6 = 1260 CFM.

My friend just gave me a new in the box 14" Mr. Gasket fan rated at 1800 CFM and 10.3 amp draw. Does this look like it will work OK? There is no shroud, the radiator is a factory style 2 core, and the fan will be set up as a puller (I have the clearance).
 
What actual reason do you want to run an electric? The original factory viscous fans ARE the way to go. If your having cooling issues having your radiator recored to a 3 row will help immensly. Allows me to run a stock four blade metal fan and still stay cool idling along in traffic on a 90 degree day (the engine that is, no A/C means hot intirior!) Although I do intend to switch to my seven blade viscous set-up just as soon as I can find a damn shroud for my 22" spaced mounting holes on my radiator. Electrics dont give you any huge horsepower increase or savings, however you want to look at it, and as for cooling they just arn't as up to the task as the original five blade viscous fan set-up is for the ole iron block engines. Yes they will work for the small aluminum engines of today but they are lacking for old iron engines. If your a hard core drag racer and you have to have that very last tiny little hp increase that you can get then their ok there too, but you ain't cruising 5 miles of slow traffic then either. For a street cruiser that you want to be practical and reliable, there is no substitute for the original factory parts. Of course if you have a fan that was given too you and you want to use it, do it. You can always change back if your not happy with it's performance.

IMO.
 
Reason?

1) Horsepower (yes, I know it's only like 5hp)
2) Novelty (It's cool..excuse the pun).
3) This is Texas. Even with a 180 T-stat and radiator and fan intended for A/C (which the car no longer has), and a Mopar high colume water pump, it gets hot when stuck in traffic on our standard 100+ degree days. The motor just doesn't turn enough RPMS to move the air.

My only alternative is a different radiator. If I go that route, I'm going aluminum, but the problem isn't THAT bad (It's already an almost new radiator). It warms up, then drops once I get moving, but DFW is known for stupid accidents that shut down highways...and I don't want my car to overheat.

I actually think I am going to install this 14" on my 4.7L Ram now anyway. Much better suited for the task.

If I go to an electric on the Dart is going to be a 16" moving 2000+ cfm. I know plenty of people that run them here and they seem to do fine.
 
Just so you know, there was a radiator shoot out in Street Rodder mag some years back to settle this age old discussion brass vs alum, brass won out by almost 10 degrees, also there is a differance in coolants, some dropping running temps more so than others as well as the mix, IMO run a brass three row with the PROPER mix coolant (remember plan water cools better than anything) the coolant just raises the boiling point and helps prevent rust, and preserves the seals in the pump!
 
A new question:

For those with electric fans, what type of switch did you use?

I am caught between a fixed temp (190 on, 170 off) switch, or a Flex-A-Lite adjustable switch. Any input?
 
superdart said:
A new question:

For those with electric fans, what type of switch did you use?

I am caught between a fixed temp (190 on, 170 off) switch, or a Flex-A-Lite adjustable switch. Any input?
Click to expand...


I run a PainLess 180* on, 165* off. with a 180* thermostat. High quality stuff. nothing in the cooling system goes to work until the motor is up to running temp :toothy7:

I was cruising around town today in 102* weather at 185*. It sometimes goes up to 195* when i get at a cruising rpm. but thats still very manageable. 195* is still in the very safe zone so im not concerned.
 
I run a PainLess 180* on, 165* off. with a 180* thermostat. High quality stuff. nothing in the cooling system goes to work until the motor is up to running temp
Click to expand...

I run the same, in another vehicle, except I have an overide switch, in the event of an failure....!
 
i partialy agree with Krabysniper but another thing to look for with a stock type fan is that you realy need a shroud on it, it makes a whole world of diference!
sure electric fans work i have a 16" mrgasket fan and a radiator taken from a 4cylinder ford scorpio and it keeps my hardblock filled 340 cool even at standstill cruise nights in warm summerwheater! (record so far is 8 hours without any stop for cooling, in fact it has never overheated beacuse of a to small cooling system)
 
Have you ever considered wrapping your exhaust with the "tape stuff" Oh I forget the name off hand.. That could greatly reduce underhood temps.
 
Eric_S68 said:
Have you ever considered wrapping your exhaust with the "tape stuff" Oh I forget the name off hand.. That could greatly reduce underhood temps.
Click to expand...


If he is running headers, that exhaust wrap will greatly increase the rusting process on the headers. They hold in moisture and just hold it right on the metal.
 
Yep, header tape is very bad. also induces cracking of the primary tubes. Mine are ceramic coated anyways, which made the engine much cooler.
 
There is a right way and a wrong way to use header tape. The right way is to first use it for a race only vehicle and start with a new painted header thats had the heat treating process already done (headers mounted, run for a few minutes to get it hot to the point you can just smeel it, then cooled, then run to hot again. Then after you do that, you rap them as per instruction, run to "bake in", then last step coat header wrap with high temp header paint and "bake in" again. The proper process helps alleviate the speeded rust out process, but dosn't eliminate it, the reason being is the the inside of the header is not protected from the heat which is now "trapped" in the exhaust (so to speak) and if any of you know anything about metalurgy, very thin steel exposed to extreme heat will always prematurely rot out do to the changes in the steel at the molecular level.

The best headers I have ever seen that lasted the longest are the ones that are ceramic coated INSIDE and out. I know of a guy who has a little 63 Nova that has the same set of ceramic coated headers on it for almost better than 15 years now and they look as good as the day he put them on. Expensive yes, but very worth it. Also, they are good for a little more HP over a non coated header due to the increase in exhaust scavenging and under hood temp reduction which leads to increased starter life, under hood wiring, electrical component and rubber component life.

Only thing better (for the street) is a good set of HP manifolds that have been extrude honed, and we all know just how feasible that is.
 
That is why I spent the bux on having mine ceraminc coated inside and out. There is a noticeable drop heat from when they were not coated.
 
superdart said:
That is why I spent the bux on having mine ceraminc coated inside and out. There is a noticeable drop heat from when they were not coated.
Click to expand...


Where and when did you have them coated?

If the place offers more than one process, what one are you happy with.

:) Thanks.
 
I had it done locally at a shop called Specialty Performance Coating.

They do strictly ceramic coating in two finishes: Black or Polish...anything else will cost you....dearly. He does a lot of production work for companies, and does a lot of performance/race cars in the area. My headers had already been run and started to rust. They came out looking really nice, but the NEW stuff he was coating looked even better.

7410503233.jpg
 
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