Looking For Options On Electric Fans

Rockwood said:
You wire them into the cold side of the radiator, correct?
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No.  We temp. source all our hydraulic stuff from the hot side.  In theory, if you switch it from the cool side you can get a condition where the fan relay would cycle rapidly enough to arc weld the contacts together.  And, you're only cooling a very small percentage of the fluid.  On/off/on/off/on/off....  Switching on the hot side, it has to cool the whole system off before cycling out.

One truck we build requires 160+HP to drive a water pump (6gpm~ @40kpsi).  Plus another 50ish for auxiliary functions.  This is done hydraulically, and all the power is taken off the truck engine via PTOs.  In this application we have to add a secondary oil cooler for the engine.  It's probably 16x20x3".  Holds 2 gallons of oil.  This all happens while the truck is doing about 1mph @ 2200rpm.  I'm firing up a fresh build tomorrow.  So, it will have to do this continuously in 115* heat.  We are taxing the hell out of the cooling systems....

 
Kraut_n_Rice said:
No.  We temp. source all our hydraulic stuff from the hot side.  In theory, if you switch it from the cool side you can get a condition where the fan relay would cycle rapidly enough to arc weld the contacts together.  And, you're only cooling a very small percentage of the fluid.  On/off/on/off/on/off....  Switching on the hot side, it has to cool the whole system off before cycling out.

One truck we build requires 160+HP to drive a water pump (6gpm~ @40kpsi).  Plus another 50ish for auxiliary functions.  This is done hydraulically, and all the power is taken off the truck engine via PTOs.  In this application we have to add a secondary oil cooler for the engine.  It's probably 16x20x3".  Holds 2 gallons of oil.  This all happens while the truck is doing about 1mph @ 2200rpm.  I'm firing up a fresh build tomorrow.  So, it will have to do this continuously in 115* heat.  We are taxing the hell out of the cooling systems....
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Makes sense. The reasoning I saw somewhere on the radiator was if the thermostat is closed and your sensor is close enough to the block, you’ll run fans for no reason.  

 
Rockwood said:
Makes sense. The reasoning I saw somewhere on the radiator was if the thermostat is closed and your sensor is close enough to the block, you’ll run fans for no reason.  
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This would really depend on the system design. Sensor location vs tstat and radiator. SBC, where the tstat is first,  Or, later stuff like LS and Honda, where the tstat is after the radiator.  On the Honda stuff the thermoswitch for the fans is down stream of the radiator and after the tstat. The tstat has to open before it will see engine temps.

 

This guy runs through some options, but summary:

2012 Chevy Volt: 2 12" brushless SPAL fans, 400W motor, $225 (for the pair) on RockAuto

2014-2019 Corvette: 14" brushless SPAL, 600W motor, $223 on RockAuto 

2016+ Camaro: 19" brushless SPAL, 800W motor, $250-290 on RockAuto

 
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Not sure if you have a windshield or not, but CFM is not the only parameter to judge the blades by. Need to look Flow vs. pressure to see if the fan works in your applications ;)

 
Goatpoker said:
Not sure if you have a windshield or not, but CFM is not the only parameter to judge the blades by. Need to look Flow vs. pressure to see if the fan works in your applications ;)
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To me, it's always fan size and motor power.  If I see 10A draw, I know it doesn't matter what the specs say or the fan's diameter, that thing is gonna spin slow enough to be visible. :biggrin:

Also: brushed current vs brushless current aren't at all comparable.  The brushless current draw will be the actual "this chit is running" current.  Brushed will account for in-rush, which is significant.  Brushless will move some serious air.

 
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What year is the car? does it have the small radiator. Stays cool most of the time but when pushed hard it gets hot? If so fans aren't going to help. It needs a bigger radiator like the one I did on mine. The one that comes with the car is just too small.

Screenshot_20230717-102919_Gallery.jpg

 
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I ran mine on a completely separate circuit. I used a temp switch from Summit (Dont buy the cheap ones as they fail) and wired two separate relays. I think mine come on at 205 and shut off at 185.

 
Carwashguru said:
I ran mine on a completely separate circuit. I used a temp switch from Summit (Dont buy the cheap ones as they fail) and wired two separate relays. I think mine come on at 205 and shut off at 185.
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ya with the holley it reads the temp and just tells the fans to turn on, it will still be its own complete circuit with separate relays and in the holley you can change the fan on and off settings on the fly to whatever temps you want. I would like to still have that adjustability 

 
HydroPower said:
so right now im leaning toward the spal brushless fans. my question is, can i just wire them into my holley system like normal and have the ecu control them or do i have to run the fans to the temperature sensor in the coolant system like it shows on kar teks website?

https://www.kartek.com/parts/spal-30107101-plus-series-16-curved-blade-brushless-puller-fan-drop-in-mount-sits-inside-shroud.html
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As long as the Holley has the Hz compatibility with the Spal fans it can be set up to control them.  That is what the video posted by Kevin was demonstrating.  You (your tuner) will just have to fine the correct data and set the parameters. 

 
Brushless works just fine with the Holley system.

Couple of buddies run them with the Holley system.

 
HydroPower said:
so right now im leaning toward the spal brushless fans. my question is, can i just wire them into my holley system like normal and have the ecu control them or do i have to run the fans to the temperature sensor in the coolant system like it shows on kar teks website?

https://www.kartek.com/parts/spal-30107101-plus-series-16-curved-blade-brushless-puller-fan-drop-in-mount-sits-inside-shroud.html
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Holley all the way. Just tell it what frequency and signal type (+ or -)

 
Kraut_n_Rice said:
I've only read a tiny bit about the delta pag units, but some PWM fans will go 100% if you put the signal wire straight to power/ground.
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Apparently the GM (Spal) fans won't fire if you short to ground as it'll think there's a wiring issue.  90% is maximum speed.

 
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