Sunday, 14 September 2014

Electric fan

Fan fitted, with on/off switch in the glove box as a temporary measure.

It covers quite a small proportion of the area of the radiator. After a bit of thought, I installed it under the inlet from the top hose over towards the near side of the radiator (this was also convenient for wiring it up). A quick test at tickover, after a short drive to get the water and oil up to temperature, went well. I allowed the indicated temperature to rise to about 95C, switched the fan on, and after about 30 seconds the indicated temperature started to reduce and eventually came down, after 4-5 minutes, to the thermostat control temperature which is just above 80C.

Repeated as above, worked the same.

Air temperature around 18C.

The rate of reduction wasn't rapid but that's not a bad thing, although I don't yet know, of course, how it works in hotter ambient temperatures.

I measured the DC current before completing the wiring; about 7-8 amps on battery alone (will be a bit higher with the engine running and hence the alternator providing a slightly higher voltage).

The feed to the fan is direct (ie, not ignition controlled) via a 25A fuse, as recommended by Kenlowe.

I'll retain the Kenlowe controller and switch for future use, should I decide to install a new radiator.



No comments:

Post a Comment