Electric fan questions

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Longroof79

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I know we've beat this topic to death..almost :lol: but a friend of mine is looking to convert to dual electric fans on his Cruiser wagon.

What OEM type DUAL fans do you recommend? He's concerned about the amperage draw. Something that doesn't pull an enormous amount of amps on start-up and run. I suggested something like the Dodge Intrepid fans, but don't know what they draw.
Does anyone out there have this info?.
I have F-body LS1 type fans that I plan on using one of these days...well until I upgrade my alternator to a CS-130 type. I don't have a clue as to what these fans draw either.

I recall some years ago, there was an aftermarket fan from a company Ramcharger. I assume that they've gone out of business. They were very reasonably priced..under $100. I saw them mentioned on the Monte Carlo SS forum.

My friend doesn't want to go for the big bucks fans like SPAL, Flex-a-lite, etc. being on a tight budget.

Thanks.
 

Longroof79

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Thanks man, I'll pass the information on to him. They sure look like the Ramcharger fans.
 

85GPLef41

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I have the Intrepid fans installed on my car and the cool it down pretty good. I am using a 200 degree temp switch but will changing it out to a adjustable one @ 180 or so. You will definitely need to upgrade the alternator as my stock one couldn't handle the draw.. I have a 130amp csi alt and it now everything is brighter and performs better. 8) the fans fit perfectly with the cutlass hold down plate and minor trimming. All for under 150 bucks :mrgreen:
 

FE3X CLONE

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Longroof79 said:
What OEM type DUAL fans do you recommend? He's concerned about the amperage draw. Something that doesn't pull an enormous amount of amps on start-up and run. I suggested something like the Dodge Intrepid fans, but don't know what they draw.
Does anyone out there have this info?.
I have F-body LS1 type fans that I plan on using one of these days...well until I upgrade my alternator to a CS-130 type. I don't have a clue as to what these fans draw either.

Well the issue is that you need a fan that draws a lot of amps to move enough air to properly cool an engine. That's why so many of the cheap aftermarket fans don't do jack squat.

I used to run LT1 F-body dual electric fans on my '87. I don't have figures for what the amp draw was but I'm sure it wasn't more than 50A. I can tell you that the stock, 75/78amp alternator did have trouble keeping up with them while they were running.

Now my aftermarket Derale dual electric fans draw a lot of power. Right around 25A each. When they kick on, the draw is so much that they can almost kill the engine. However they pull a TON of air.

So I doubt any of the factory fans pull that much except for maybe the Mark VIII fan. I know my LT1 fans never phased the engine when the turned on.
 

Longroof79

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Thanks guys!
His concern is not only the amp draw, but also the amount of CFM. I know some OEM fans are adequate for a 4-cylinder or average 6-cylinder engines.
I know that that the Lincoln Mk VIII draws a shitload of amps. Something like 50 amps, but they do move a whole lot of air. Something like 4000 + CFM.

I'm thinking the dual LT-1/ LS1 F-body fans should be adequate enough for a mild small block. Also being from a V-8 powered car, it would be closer in the ballpark. And again, I don't know how much air and amps they pull.

Jack
 

FE3X CLONE

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Something I've read on electric fans says that for every 1000cfm of claimed air flow, the fan(s) should draw 10A.

If you look at a lot of the cheap aftermarket fans, they'll say they pull 2000+cfm but only pull 7-10amps. That's a red flag right there that they don't actually move as much air as they claim.

Where as my Derale fans are rated at 4000+cfm but are also pulling 25A each.

For what it's worth, my F-body LT1 fans were enough to cool my 455 in traffic without a problem. However I would plan on them pulling 50A and design your wiring around that.

That Mark VIII fan actually pulls quite a bit more than 50amps at startup. I did some research online a while back and heard of guys that test them and found they spiked as high as 80-90amps at startup.

What's his concern about the amp draw? As long as you design your wiring to handle it and have an alternator that can keep up, there shouldn't be any problems.
Unless this is a drag car and he's concerned about the extra load on the engine. In which case he could install a manual switch to turn them off just before a run.
 

Longroof79

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FE3X CLONE said:
What's his concern about the amp draw? As long as you design your wiring to handle it and have an alternator that can keep up, there shouldn't be any problems.
Unless this is a drag car and he's concerned about the extra load on the engine. In which case he could install a manual switch to turn them off just before a run.
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Andrew,
It's a street driven daily driver with A/C. I think his concern about amp draw equates to a low output alternator to be able to handle running A/C and electric fans. Other than that no other power sucking accessories.

Just curious, what are you using for an alternator in your car? I was planning on going with a later type (105 amp) CS-130 instead of the 10si which is currently in there. I have seen upgrade kits for the 10si to bring it up to 140 amps. I'm wondering if they're even worth looking in to. I'd like something that has above adequate output at idle.
I just realized that this topic went from electric fans to alternators. But I guess it's all relative.

Thanks for input.
 

FE3X CLONE

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I have a universal 105A chrome alternator on my 455. However I'll probably be replacing that with something much bigger, it just won't be chrome as I don't believe the chrome will hold up to the higher heat of those alternators. Or at least the companies that sell them won't warranty the chrome plating on the higher output alternators.
What you really need to do is add up all of your electrical loads and find out what the total amp draw of your car is and then match the alternator to that.
I think on my car I'm actually over 140A but can't remember at the moment. If you figure the electric fans pull 50A, thats almost HALF of my alternator's output right there. Then you have to add in the ECU for my EFI, headlights, stereo, HVAC system, interior lights, ignition system, etc. etc.

Is your friend totally against the idea of just installing a bigger alternator? Even with the F-body fans I had, the amp draw was still enough that my stock alternator couldn't keep up. If I was at idle or in town for too long, you could steadily watch my voltmeter drop from 14.5v down to 11.5v until I could get moving faster.
 

Longroof79

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FE3X CLONE said:
Is your friend totally against the idea of just installing a bigger alternator? Even with the F-body fans I had, the amp draw was still enough that my stock alternator couldn't keep up. If I was at idle or in town for too long, you could steadily watch my voltmeter drop from 14.5v down to 11.5v until I could get moving faster.
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Andrew,
I think he realizes that he's going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade his alternator to something with more output.
Your right about the stock alternators. Unless they were a high output aftermarket model or from a police cruiser, they're totally inadequate. My current POS alternator was an Advance Auto special that screeches like a SOB when I either turn on the headlights or blower motor. I heard that they usually don't last too long anyway.

BTW, are you using a controller with your fans.. and if you do, is there any particular brand or brands that you recommend?
 
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