Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach!
Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89312] |
Sun, 20 June 2010 13:04 |
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Well, I finally did it, with the death of my stock water pump, I decided to go ahead and put in a powerful electric fan system to eliminate the 10-12 lbs of rotating mass on the water pump and ungodly noisy fan clutch.
Now I know the conventional wisdom here says that aftermarket electric fans are not sufficient to cool our coach, and I might agree that the offerings from Hayden and even Flex-a-Lite leave a lot to be desired unless you buy their most expensive model, and even then it may not be enough.
So I thought what about OEM fans meant for high performance applications? immediately my mind went to the insane electric fans Ford put in the Thunderbird Supercoupes from 1989-1995! these fans had to cool a 3.8 liter prone to overheating and to top it off this motor came with a Eaton M90 roots blower! the fan is powerful, its an 8 blade 17.25 inch diameter fan with a 2 stage Siemens motor which moves 4300+ CFM at full tilt, now I thought, what about adding 2 of these fans? 8600 CFM should be plenty of flow, actually probably a little bit overkill, but hey go large or go home has always been my motto, and I still believe that more is in fact, still MORE! So off o my local men's malls I went in search for some T-bird super coupes...
Well I actually found 3 SC's and they were having a half price sale so that meant these babies were a mere $25 a piece! I removed the fans and shrouds that came with them, I figured I'd have a spare if one was bad because I intended 2 would be needed for the project. Well in fact I found that these fans were a little large, so to mount them I would need framing brackets from home depot to mount the shrouds around the radiator support frame rather then to the radiator itself like a traditional shroud. I also found that the oil cooler lines would need to be moved 90 degrees as to not interfere with the shroud on the fan to be mounted in the upper right corner, also a small bracket was screwed to the lower left corner to provide a mounting surface for the lower left fan.
I ordered a flex-a-lite 33054 Variable speed controller when I ordered my water pump from Summit (Thank god for bill me later, makes repairs on a budget easier), this unit is good for almost 50 amps, and is for their expensive 500+ dollar fan used on the ford super duty 7.3 diesel, it costs about $96. This controller starts the fans slowly at 60% and then throttles them up to 100%if the temp rises 10 degrees from the starting point, so say if you have the fan starting at 195 degrees, then if the coolant temp rises to 205 the fan will be 100% power by that time. this a great feature because it softens the drain on the charging system, and the soft start of the controller eliminates power surges and sudden loads on the alternator to keep the voltage regulator happy. The controller is also warranted for 1 year.
So after installing the water pump, and removing the original fan, I started the fitting process, now that I know how to do this, the hardest part is drilling the mounting holes on the upper radiator support bracket for the upper right hand fan. the rest goes in fairly easily once you see how everything sits in there. The rest is just a matter of wiring up the connections, power to the controller, and the wires to the fans, then a wire to the 12v switched source, and then temperature probe which goes into the radiator. The VSC also has provisions for 100% on when the AC clutch is engaged, and a manual OFF, or manual ON override switch to engage the fans 100% should you deem it necessary. I will add an override on switch a little later as well as hook up the AC which is currently not hooked up as it needs a new charge of refrigerant.
Well upon testing the fans I can tell yo that I was pretty much blown away, (Pun intended) I set the fans to come on when water temp in the rad gets to about 195* which is the point when the T-stat opens. so I started her and got her to temperature. finally I hear the fans spool up, they run for about 15-20 seconds! then shut off, they never got past the 60% power! granted the outside temp is in the 70s so not really hot but still! about 30 seconds later they come on again run for a brief moment before switching off, and here is the best part, IT'S QUIET! no more roar when the engine first starts. There is some drag noticed on the alt, when the fans first spool so I may need a more beefed up 100 amp job, but the fans are on so short of a time it doesn't matter if you keep the coach faster then 35 MPH the fans don't come on at all!
I also have a video which I am putting together so you will see the BFF's (Big Freak'n Fans) in action.
If anyone is looking for an electric cooling solution I highly recommend this, now I just need an actual road test to see if there is a mileage improvement, but there is definitely noticeable more power due to no fan drag.
Did I mention that its really quiet??
73 Canyon Lands, (a.k.a. The Yellow Submarine) West Los Angeles CA
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Re: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mensmall to your coach! [message #89316 is a reply to message #89312] |
Sun, 20 June 2010 13:27 |
Marsh Wilkes
Messages: 155 Registered: January 2004
Karma: -3
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Senior Member |
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Hi Shan,
Good luck with the fans, I would be interested to see the video and how well
they work out under tough cooling conditions.
It's been said that you can't cool a GMC with electric fans, I never agreed
with that statement however.
Done correctly there is no reason it wont work and with many advantages.
Marsh Wilkes
Perry Fl
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shan Rose" <defconfx@gmail.com>
To: <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:04 PM
Subject: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the
mensmall to your coach!
>
>
> Well, I finally did it, with the death of my stock water pump, I decided
> to go ahead and put in a powerful electric fan system to eliminate the
> 10-12 lbs of rotating mass on the water pump and ungodly noisy fan clutch.
>
> Now I know the conventional wisdom here says that aftermarket electric
> fans are not sufficient to cool our coach, and I might agree that the
> offerings from Hayden and even Flex-a-Lite leave a lot to be desired
> unless you buy their most expensive model, and even then it may not be
> enough.
>
> So I thought what about OEM fans meant for high performance applications?
> immediately my mind went to the insane electric fans Ford put in the
> Thunderbird Supercoupes from 1989-1995! these fans had to cool a 3.8 liter
> prone to overheating and to top it off this motor came with a Eaton M90
> roots blower! the fan is powerful, its an 8 blade 17.25 inch diameter fan
> with a 2 stage Siemens motor which moves 4300+ CFM at full tilt, now I
> thought, what about adding 2 of these fans? 8600 CFM should be plenty of
> flow, actually probably a little bit overkill, but hey go large or go home
> has always been my motto, and I still believe that more is in fact, still
> MORE! So off o my local men's malls I went in search for some T-bird super
> coupes...
>
> Well I actually found 3 SC's and they were having a half price sale so
> that meant these babies were a mere $25 a piece! I removed the fans and
> shrouds that came with them, I figured I'd have a spare if one was bad
> because I intended 2 would be needed for the project. Well in fact I found
> that these fans were a little large, so to mount them I would need framing
> brackets from home depot to mount the shrouds around the radiator support
> frame rather then to the radiator itself like a traditional shroud. I also
> found that the oil cooler lines would need to be moved 90 degrees as to
> not interfere with the shroud on the fan to be mounted in the upper right
> corner, also a small bracket was screwed to the lower left corner to
> provide a mounting surface for the lower left fan.
>
> I ordered a flex-a-lite 33054 Variable speed controller when I ordered my
> water pump from Summit (Thank god for bill me later, makes repairs on a
> budget easier), this unit is good for almost 50 amps, and is for their
> expensive 500+ dollar fan used on the ford super duty 7.3 diesel, it costs
> about $96. This controller starts the fans slowly at 60% and then
> throttles them up to 100%if the temp rises 10 degrees from the starting
> point, so say if you have the fan starting at 195 degrees, then if the
> coolant temp rises to 205 the fan will be 100% power by that time. this a
> great feature because it softens the drain on the charging system, and the
> soft start of the controller eliminates power surges and sudden loads on
> the alternator to keep the voltage regulator happy. The controller is also
> warranted for 1 year.
>
> So after installing the water pump, and removing the original fan, I
> started the fitting process, now that I know how to do this, the hardest
> part is drilling the mounting holes on the upper radiator support bracket
> for the upper right hand fan. the rest goes in fairly easily once you see
> how everything sits in there. The rest is just a matter of wiring up the
> connections, power to the controller, and the wires to the fans, then a
> wire to the 12v switched source, and then temperature probe which goes
> into the radiator. The VSC also has provisions for 100% on when the AC
> clutch is engaged, and a manual OFF, or manual ON override switch to
> engage the fans 100% should you deem it necessary. I will add an override
> on switch a little later as well as hook up the AC which is currently not
> hooked up as it needs a new charge of refrigerant.
>
> Well upon testing the fans I can tell yo that I was pretty much blown
> away, (Pun intended) I set the fans to come on when water temp in the rad
> gets to about 195* which is the point when the T-stat opens. so I started
> her and got her to temperature. finally I hear the fans spool up, they run
> for about 15-20 seconds! then shut off, they never got past the 60% power!
> granted the outside temp is in the 70s so not really hot but still! about
> 30 seconds later they come on again run for a brief moment before
> switching off, and here is the best part, IT'S QUIET! no more roar when
> the engine first starts. There is some drag noticed on the alt, when the
> fans first spool so I may need a more beefed up 100 amp job, but the fans
> are on so short of a time it doesn't matter if you keep the coach faster
> then 35 MPH the fans don't come on at all!
>
> I also have a video which I am putting together so you will see the BFF's
> (Big Freak'n Fans) in action.
>
> If anyone is looking for an electric cooling solution I highly recommend
> this, now I just need an actual road test to see if there is a mileage
> improvement, but there is definitely noticeable more power due to no fan
> drag.
>
>
> Did I mention that its really quiet??
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89326 is a reply to message #89312] |
Sun, 20 June 2010 15:22 |
Larry C
Messages: 1168 Registered: July 2004 Location: NE Illinois by the Illino...
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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If anyone is looking for an electric cooling solution I highly recommend this, now I just need an actual road test to see if there is a mileage improvement, but there is definitely noticeable more power due to no fan drag.
_____________________________________________________________
Let me throw a caution in here Sir....
When I was commuting to Joliet, about 99 miles from home I had a car with a 350ci engine. It had two electric fans, one came on when the temp tripped the sensor, the other come on with the AC.
While driving down the road you have benefit of ram air, at least this car did. The fans never came on, the AC fan came on whenever the AC sw was on, no themostat.
Using the IDIOT, I mean IDOT tollway and expressways, you have stop and go traffic for MILES AND MILES.
WIthout the benefit of RAM air, the engine would get hot and temperatures rose. Even with the fan kicking in, sitting there sucking in all that hot air from the other cars and pave ment did little for cooling.
WHAT I DID was adapt the system to kick on the AC fan when the thermostat called for it. I also had a switch on the dash so I could turn that option off or on.
The additional cooling of the AC fan took care of the overheating, but it ran the battery down. Replacing the battery did not help. I had the electrical system checked as good. I found I had to watch the power meter and keep high idles to try to maintain the voltage that the fans were sucking from the battery.
These fans pull a lot of power to force air through the radiator and cool the coolant.
Do a lot of testing and monitor your battery level to be sure you have not created a problem with your new fix.
Good luck...
LarC ( One must make mods carefully or one will see "OTHER" results )
Gatsbys' CRUISER 08-18-04
74 GLACIER X, 260/455-APC-4 Bagg'r
Remflex Manifold gaskets
CampGrounds needed, Add yours to "PLACES" />
http://www.gmceast.com/travel
_
[Updated on: Sun, 20 June 2010 15:24] Report message to a moderator
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89331 is a reply to message #89312] |
Sun, 20 June 2010 16:52 |
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Oh believe me, I'm not a stranger to stop and go traffic by any means. Living in west los angeles we have some of the worst traffic in the nation. I built this system to survive sitting on the 405 in rush hour. Last trip I took the rig on took me almost 3 hours to get out of LA county. When u see how fast these fans drop the temp you'll see why I'm a believer. Besides 1 clutched 17 inch fan at 2500 rpm doesn't move as much as 2 at the same speed. Though as I said seeing is believing. As for the power useage I do believe there is a trip to the mens mall in my future to get a beefier alt...
73 Canyon Lands, (a.k.a. The Yellow Submarine) West Los Angeles CA
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89336 is a reply to message #89331] |
Sun, 20 June 2010 17:25 |
midlf
Messages: 2212 Registered: July 2007 Location: SE Wisc. (Palmyra)
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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Duce Apocalypse wrote on Sun, 20 June 2010 16:52 |
Oh believe me, I'm not a stranger to stop and go traffic by any means. Living in west los Angeles we have some of the worst traffic in the nation. I built this system to survive sitting on the 405 in rush hour. Last trip I took the rig on took me almost 3 hours to get out of LA county. When u see how fast these fans drop the temp you'll see why I'm a believer. Besides 1 clutched 17 inch fan at 2500 rpm doesn't move as much as 2 at the same speed. Though as I said seeing is believing. As for the power usage I do believe there is a trip to the mens mall in my future to get a beefier alt...
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Get a LARGE converter and a 150A combiner and if the fans start to kill the engine battery start the genny and let the converter working through the combiner help out with the fan load.
Steve Southworth
1974 Glacier TZE064V100150 (for workin on)
1975 Transmode TZE365V100394 (parts & spares)
Palmyra WI
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89386 is a reply to message #89312] |
Mon, 21 June 2010 05:02 |
g.winger
Messages: 792 Registered: February 2008 Location: Warrenton,Missouri
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Nice report, thanyou. BUT, what does a "SC" t-bird look like compared to a regular bird. Are Mark7 or 8's the same,,,I think I heard thay are???? Can't wait for the fptos or film,,,,PL
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89431 is a reply to message #89386] |
Mon, 21 June 2010 13:32 |
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The tbird SC's are easy to spot as they say "thunderbird sc" on the rear bumper and have that big honking M90 supercharger sitting ontop of the motor, and there is a boost gauge in the dash cluster. The SC fans are much more powerful than the lincoln mk8 fan. The mk8 is a good fan but the SC fan moves about 1300 cfm more.
One bug I had doing the road test is frying the 40 amp maxi fuse! The fans went full tilt for about a minute and it zapped the fuse. I replaced it with a 50 amp fuse but these fans like a lot of juice! I may need to rig up one of the fans on a relay, or on the lower speed setting (the fans are bimode with a high and low setting) to redeuce the amperage so I donot fry my controller. I'm beginning to think I will need to control both fans with their own controllers. I will call flexalite and ask how much amps can I pull through their controller. I'm using 8 gauge to feed the controller and 2 10 gauge leads to the high setting on the fans. The low mode which is not used is 12 gauge so ovviously the low setting uses less current. I need an ampmeter to really find tje combine draw. On a side note I think with these fans I will need a 140 amp alt to feed them at idle. The thunderbirds came with 130 amp 3g alts but on that car everything was electric from fuel pumps to the ecm. So an alt in this range like the CS144 should be enough to get the job done...
g.winger wrote on Mon, 21 June 2010 05:02 | Nice report, thanyou. BUT, what does a "SC" t-bird look like compared to a regular bird. Are Mark7 or 8's the same,,,I think I heard thay are???? Can't wait for the fptos or film,,,,PL
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73 Canyon Lands, (a.k.a. The Yellow Submarine) West Los Angeles CA
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89463 is a reply to message #89435] |
Mon, 21 June 2010 21:56 |
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Dan, shouldnt be much of a problem to feed the beasties. will have to convert to a CS 144 style alt and upgrade the charge cable, which isnt that big of a deal. you can find CS 144s in 140, 170, and 200 amps pretty easily, hell I have even seen a monsterous 350 amp job with dual rectifiers for the high end audio boys and to run all the electronic crap in some Limos. one thing is for certain, these fans will cool the GMC with no problem, the temp gage droped 20 degrees from 210 to 190 in about 30 to 45 seconds with the coach in gear and standing still, the fans were also at only about 70% power! I suspect performance will be even better when its moving and you have air coming throgh the grill.
I'm gonna get some pictures probably tomorrow and reshoot some of the video since only about 2/3 of the video I got really shows the fans well, gonna need to do some editing too, so it might not be till the weekend that I can up the video to youtube, but it should be pretty easy to get some nice photos of the setup.
WD0AFQ wrote on Mon, 21 June 2010 14:45 | Keep it up Duce. Run a relay for the things. Let us know how it goes. I don't care how much they draw if I can find an alternator big enough.
Can you get pictures of the install?
Dan
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73 Canyon Lands, (a.k.a. The Yellow Submarine) West Los Angeles CA
[Updated on: Mon, 21 June 2010 21:57] Report message to a moderator
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89473 is a reply to message #89431] |
Mon, 21 June 2010 23:20 |
Larry C
Messages: 1168 Registered: July 2004 Location: NE Illinois by the Illino...
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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I'm beginning to think I will need to control both fans with their own controllers.
_______________________________________________________
Have you considered a second thermostat for HIGH SPEED.
Let the thermostat you are using start them up at low speed.
If the temp keeps rising, should not happen, a second thermostat, OR A SWITCH ON THE DASH can be used to run HI SPEED.....
I know you need to watch those amps and these fans use a lot.
LarC ( Give a little here, take a little there ..... )
Gatsbys' CRUISER 08-18-04
74 GLACIER X, 260/455-APC-4 Bagg'r
Remflex Manifold gaskets
CampGrounds needed, Add yours to "PLACES" />
http://www.gmceast.com/travel
_
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Re: Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89622 is a reply to message #89473] |
Wed, 23 June 2010 11:27 |
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Larry, the controller I have does have a provision for manual 100% on switch, but the load is still handled by the controller, basically the controller serves as a variable output relay, overloading is that is what I am concerned about, though it is rated for 45 amps. I need to test the amperage draw to make sure I am not overloading the fan controller. when the fans come on they are on for about a minute then turn off again. when they start the controller starts them at about 60-70% power. the fans I selected do have a lower draw "Low speed" setting that I do not have wired in. I could wire one fan up this way, but I rather the controller have total control over 100% of the fan speed. just need to know my amperage draw.
So far the fans work great, but one thing is for certain, I will have a CS 144 alt in my future. Gonna go yarding for one this weekend...
Larry C wrote on Mon, 21 June 2010 23:20 | I'm beginning to think I will need to control both fans with their own controllers.
_______________________________________________________
Have you considered a second thermostat for HIGH SPEED.
Let the thermostat you are using start them up at low speed.
If the temp keeps rising, should not happen, a second thermostat, OR A SWITCH ON THE DASH can be used to run HI SPEED.....
I know you need to watch those amps and these fans use a lot.
LarC ( Give a little here, take a little there ..... )
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73 Canyon Lands, (a.k.a. The Yellow Submarine) West Los Angeles CA
[Updated on: Wed, 23 June 2010 11:28] Report message to a moderator
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Re: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89630 is a reply to message #89622] |
Wed, 23 June 2010 13:05 |
Steven Ferguson
Messages: 3447 Registered: May 2006
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Shan,
You may be starting a new chapter in GMC cooling here.
On Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 9:27 AM, Shan Rose <defconfx@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Larry, the controller I have does have a provision for manual 100% on switch, but the load is still handled by the controller, that is what I am concerned about. I need to test the amperage draw to make sure I am not overloading the fan controller. when the fans come on they are on for about a minute then turn off again. when they start the controller starts them at about 60-70% power. the fans I selected do have a lower draw "Low speed" setting that I do not have wired in. I could wire one fan up this way, but I rather the controller have total control over 100% of the fan speed. just need to know my amperage draw.
>
> So far the fans work great, but one thing is for certain, I will have a CS 144 alt in my future. Gonna go yarding for one this weekend...
>
> Larry C wrote on Mon, 21 June 2010 23:20
>> I'm beginning to think I will need to control both fans with their own controllers.
>> _______________________________________________________
>>
>> Have you considered a second thermostat for HIGH SPEED.
>>
>> Let the thermostat you are using start them up at low speed.
>>
>> If the temp keeps rising, should not happen, a second thermostat, OR A SWITCH ON THE DASH can be used to run HI SPEED.....
>>
>> I know you need to watch those amps and these fans use a lot.
>>
>> LarC ( Give a little here, take a little there ..... )
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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--
Steve Ferguson
'76 EII
Sierra Vista, AZ
Urethane bushing source
www.bdub.net/ferguson/
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Re: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89634 is a reply to message #89622] |
Wed, 23 June 2010 15:10 |
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ljdavick
Messages: 3548 Registered: March 2007 Location: Fremont, CA
Karma: -3
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Senior Member |
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Don't forget the double pulley!
Larry Davick
On Jun 23, 2010, at 9:27 AM, Shan Rose <defconfx@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Larry, the controller I have does have a provision for manual 100% on switch, but the load is still handled by the controller, that is what I am concerned about. I need to test the amperage draw to make sure I am not overloading the fan controller. when the fans come on they are on for about a minute then turn off again. when they start the controller starts them at about 60-70% power. the fans I selected do have a lower draw "Low speed" setting that I do not have wired in. I could wire one fan up this way, but I rather the controller have total control over 100% of the fan speed. just need to know my amperage draw.
>
> So far the fans work great, but one thing is for certain, I will have a CS 144 alt in my future. Gonna go yarding for one this weekend...
>
> Larry C wrote on Mon, 21 June 2010 23:20
>> I'm beginning to think I will need to control both fans with their own controllers.
>> _______________________________________________________
>>
>> Have you considered a second thermostat for HIGH SPEED.
>>
>> Let the thermostat you are using start them up at low speed.
>>
>> If the temp keeps rising, should not happen, a second thermostat, OR A SWITCH ON THE DASH can be used to run HI SPEED.....
>>
>> I know you need to watch those amps and these fans use a lot.
>>
>> LarC ( Give a little here, take a little there ..... )
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
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Larry Davick
A Mystery Machine
1976(ish) Palm Beach
Fremont, Ca
Howell EFI + EBL + Electronic Dizzy
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Re: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89639 is a reply to message #89637] |
Wed, 23 June 2010 18:15 |
k2gkk
Messages: 4452 Registered: November 2009
Karma: -8
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Senior Member |
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Hams have done something similar in the past
to be able to run much higher power with rigs
that used vacuum tubes. A separate alternator
is tapped using three LARGE custom transformers
to take the three phase 12V AC alternator output
up to 100-2000 Volt level and then convert that
to high voltage DC. With the advent of solid
state devices that can run pretty high power
at nominal 12V DC supplies, this has pretty
much disappeared from use. It was very rare,
even back in the "old days."
I seriously doubt that you could develop
enough power from an alternator to run a
120V AC air conditioner. You are talking
about several kilowatts of AC power and
even a 100 Amp alternator could only provide
about 1.2 kW.
Fun to think about, but you must remember that
the AC that is available is 3 phase and your
air conditioner is single phase.
Also, the frequency of the alternator output
will vary all over the place with engine speed!
* Mac Macdonald *
* USAF, Retired *
* Oklahoma City *
** "Money Pit" **
* '76 ex - P.B. *
---------------------------------------
> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
> From: cchoffataz@yahoo.com
> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:03:03 -0500
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach!
>
>
>
> Y'know, I was thinking, if one takes an alternator and removes the DC conversion circuitry, and added a control ckt to extract 120VAC and 60HZ, we could run the roof AC units off of that... Anyone know if such a bugger exists? No time to engineer something myself. :(
> --
> -Chr$: Perpetual SmartAss
> 77 Ex-Kingsley 455, Power Drive, 3:21 FD, Quadra bag. The Engineer's Motorhome
> Scottsdale, AZ
>
> Photosite: Chrisc "It has Begun"
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
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Re: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach! [message #89664 is a reply to message #89639] |
Wed, 23 June 2010 21:48 |
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Once converted to a CS 144 style alternator it is possible to get many high powered units. I have a little experience with the need for high output DC voltage with the 2.2kw Stereo system in my mustang.
you can get a high output alt from Quickstart and Iraggi, the quickstart unit here makes 350 amps
http://store.alternatorparts.com/350-amp-cs144-series-extreme-duty-dual-rectifier-alternator-1.aspx
And Iraggi can make you a cu$tom alt from 400 to 700 amps!!! they have many multi alt setups (Saw a vid of one with 6! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pQeeUkPoyk&feature=related ), when matched with some of their custom alts can push nearly 2000 amps!
heres a video of one of ther 400 amp models being bench tested
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-hGZBB9Swg
one may ask why the need for all those alts? well if you have ever seen a stretch escalade limo, or heard some of the high end car sound systems which can eclipse the roar of a 747 at take off, well that takes some serious power to run all that stuff. I would speculate with a large invrter and 1 or 2 of these high end alts you could rig up the roof AC to be powered by alternator, there is no reason it cannot be done. the only thing is, it wont be cheap, as you will need the alts and the 3 kw inverter to make it happen.
to run my fans all you would need is a caddy CS 144 found at mens malls everywhere for about $25, and at 140 amps you will hav enough to keep the wheels turning, but the roof AC is truly a cu$tom project. still I wouldnt mind trying it out someday
k2gkk wrote on Wed, 23 June 2010 18:15 |
Hams have done something similar in the past
to be able to run much higher power with rigs
that used vacuum tubes. A separate alternator
is tapped using three LARGE custom transformers
to take the three phase 12V AC alternator output
up to 100-2000 Volt level and then convert that
to high voltage DC. With the advent of solid
state devices that can run pretty high power
at nominal 12V DC supplies, this has pretty
much disappeared from use. It was very rare,
even back in the "old days."
I seriously doubt that you could develop
enough power from an alternator to run a
120V AC air conditioner. You are talking
about several kilowatts of AC power and
even a 100 Amp alternator could only provide
about 1.2 kW.
Fun to think about, but you must remember that
the AC that is available is 3 phase and your
air conditioner is single phase.
Also, the frequency of the alternator output
will vary all over the place with engine speed!
* Mac Macdonald *
* USAF, Retired *
* Oklahoma City *
** "Money Pit" **
* '76 ex - P.B. *
---------------------------------------
> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
> From: cchoffataz@yahoo.com
> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:03:03 -0500
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Electric Radiator Fans: Practical cooling from the mens mall to your coach!
>
>
>
> Y'know, I was thinking, if one takes an alternator and removes the DC conversion circuitry, and added a control ckt to extract 120VAC and 60HZ, we could run the roof AC units off of that... Anyone know if such a bugger exists? No time to engineer something myself.
> --
> -Chr$: Perpetual SmartAss
> 77 Ex-Kingsley 455, Power Drive, 3:21 FD, Quadra bag. The Engineer's Motorhome
> Scottsdale, AZ
>
> Photosite: Chrisc "It has Begun"
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