Electric VS Viscous fan

[WESKUSKLONG]

I want to change the viscous fan to a electric fan .

The plan is to put a temp switch on the engine and a override switch inside the cab.
What is your thoughts about it?

[CasKru]

I would suggest you think twice and if you then come to the conclusion that you need to go electric, think again

[WESKUSKLONG]

I would suggest you think twice and if you then come to the conclusion that you need to go electric, think again

If I may ask why do you say no for electric?

[CasKru]

I would suggest you think twice and if you then come to the conclusion that you need to go electric, think again

If I may ask why do you say no for electric?

If you are planning to do off roading, wading through water is a problem with electric fan. Accept for this, a viscous fan can never fail where an electric can.

[cprinsloo]

I would also like to know pro's vs con's.

As I have it: electric fan draws about 400 w electrical power, say 30 amp. Can your alternator continiously deliver that witoput burning out (when it delivers power to other loads as well?)

Mechanical fan darws about 1.2 kW (always), even when you don't need it (high speed), but what will happen with dune driving with an electric?

C

[Rebel 4x4]

I would suggest you think twice and if you then come to the conclusion that you need to go electric, think again

If I may ask why do you say no for electric?

If you are planning to do off roading, wading through water is a problem with electric fan. Accept for this, a viscous fan can never fail where an electric can.

Even if the viscous do fail, you can always "jam" it, so it will always turn while driving if you are in the middle of the bush.

[cprinsloo]

What about if you install 2 elec fans, what's the chance of both failing at the same time?

And wading through water: easy to install a switch to disable the fans, not so easy with a normal fan that can then put blades through the rad, or throw water on the plugs/dissy?

[WESKUSKLONG]

What about if you install 2 elec fans, what's the chance of both failing at the same time?

And wading through water: easy to install a switch to disable the fans, not so easy with a normal fan that can then put blades through the rad, or throw water on the plugs/dissy?

That is the plan and the reason for the conversion is to gain power and save fuel as I use my bakkie 70 % on road .
I have a 140 A alternator should handle it.

[Mud Dog]

Electric fans are4 OK .... just have to remember to switch off and then to switch on again before and after water crossings. They don't like muddy water though and as Cassie says, there is the possibility that it fails you at the worst possible time. Yes you do gain a fraction extra power, but the alt works harder and drains a bit of that back, so IMO it's not really worth it to do just for the power gain aspect if one weighs up all the pro's and con's.

[pietpetoors]

Question is if the difference will be so much that you will realise the difference in fuel consumption. If it uses 1.2kw like Chris said I doubt that you will see a big difference in fuel consumption.

[Mud Dog]

From my understanding, the difference is only noticeable if you have been carefully and accurately monitoring your consumption and continue to do so. In terms of the rands and cents, I would wonder how long it would take before you see a return on your outlay.

[pietpetoors]

If it is not broken don't try and fix it

You will get better results changing your driving habits

[WESKUSKLONG]

If it is not broken don't try and fix it

You will get better results changing your driving habits

In the past I use to built fast cars without turbos and was very successful because I enjoy a challenge . One day a friend of mine said to me if you want a challenge build something that is light on fuel or runs on alternative fuel .
So I find my challenge my Hilux is using 1l of fuel for every 10 km's and that is with a lift and 33" tyres.

[pietpetoors]

If it is a challenge, go for it, you then have enough reason to do it and even if it saves you 0.05km/l you have achieved something
We would love to hear the feedback and learn from you.

I don't think that it can be bad cause many conversion runs electric fans, most of them.

If water crossings is the main disadvantage of an electric fan, then add an extra switch in the cab so that you can switch off the fan at a real big water crossing you might encounter once in 3 years.

[Mr_B]

With Bolt I tried the elec fans route, issue I had was noise! A viscous fan is pretty quiet, while an electric fan(as I learnt) can be pretty darn noisy. The noise eventually got the better of me and I went back to a viscous fan!

[pietpetoors]

The noise eventually got the better of me and I went back to a viscous fan!

Especially on a trail I presume?

[Mr_B]

The noise eventually got the better of me and I went back to a viscous fan!

Especially on a trail I presume?

Ya, the first trail we did, 2 Oceans, if was a real pain, having the fan running flat out when driving slow!

[ThysdJ]

I had an electric fan on Kaspaas that worked on a thermal switch (85°C) with manual override, because there was no place to fit a viscous in front of the 7MGE motor. Worked fantastically, but I would have preferred a viscous.

Firstly if a viscous fails, it is "allways on", where-as an electric is "allways off". Building in redundency (a spare fan) is also not always practical, and extra expense.

Electric fans are noisy as B said. In thick sand, and on rocky trails the fan was always on...

Water crossings can be accommodated with clever use of switches, but the fan motor does not like muddy water, and bearings and internals fail suddenly and unexpectedly.

If you want to do it to get aan extra 2 kW out of your motor, it is not worth it. If you want to do it for a challenge, and to try it out,and you have the parts available, go for it...

[Johannes van die See]

Ek stem saam Pieter, verander jou bestuurs tegniek, as jy steeds lus is vir n challenge, join ons op n GTG.

[WESKUSKLONG]

Dankie vir almal se input , maar ek moet se ek het nooit gedink aan die geraas faktor nie .

[krazy_kameleon]

When I had the 3c in Rokorok I had an electric fan and shroud from a volvo 2.0T
in the cab I fitted a 3 way switch (always on, always off and auto on via a temp switch)
when it was in the always off position it lighted a red LED and in the always on position it lighted a green LED
was going to mount the LEDS in the cluster but never got around to it so they remained taped to the dashboard until I removed the 3C

Now that I have fitted the 22R I have gone back to the viscous. the wiring is still there so I could revert to the electric again if necessary