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svshaw82

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey guys... was just looking for some thoughts. Im rebuilding my XJ and Ive been thinking about building a radiator fan setup with 3 10" electric fans. Ive copied a picture below of what i was thinking about doing.

I thought about having fan 1 running full time with the engine. Fan 2 on temp relay, Fan 3 on a toggle switch, and all on with A/C running.

I have 2 different radiators I can use.

1. All brass core with brass tanks in good shape.

2. Aluminum fin radiator, with the crimped on plastic tanks.

Which one do you think would work better?

Overall, having 3 fans each can pull up to 1200cfm to 1400cfm. On a aluminum or brass core radiator. What do you guys think?
 

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#2 ·
Go for brass if condition is acceptable. It is repairable and less sensitive for different kinds of coolingfluid (find a brass heatercore!).
Plus I still don't trust the plastic tanks of alu rads when building up pressure and a hot engine.
Must say in the pic above it looks neat.
Tony.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Ferryman said:
Go for brass if condition is acceptable. It is repairable and less sensitive for different kinds of coolingfluid (find a brass heatercore!).
Plus I still don't trust the plastic tanks of alu rads when building up pressure and a hot engine.
Must say in the pic above it looks neat.
Tony.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that pic is cool. Found it on ebay for $500! Wayy more then I wanna spend. The brass radiator I have is in good shape. Im still going to have a rad shop clean it up and check it for me.

What do you think about the 3 fan design? Good upgrade idea, or waste of time and money?
 
#4 ·
Not a waste at all, there are 3-stage fancontrollers (Kenlowe I think) that react on coolanttemp.
Stage 1 is fan 1 permanent, stage 2 and 3 are adjustable at what temp fan 2 and 3 come on, and you can forget the standard static (visco) fan.
Tony.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
fergusoneddie said:
Subscribed!! My son has a 2001 and needs a cooling upgrade. I was looking at a similar setup. I'll be interested to see what you end up doing and how it works out.

-ed
Click to expand...
Nice, I heard alot of debate about mechanical vs electric. But I think if they are setup on progression fan 1, fan 2, fan 3, etc. It should balance out good.

Ive found these s-blade fans for $20 each. So I figured $75 max for fans, and $50 or $60 for the controller, I can have a nice upgrade for under $140.

On top of that I figured 1200cfm per fan, if needed I have up to 2400cfm in reserve. Im just feeling out the other ideas, and seeing what everyone else thinks.

I might just go for it, and see how it pans out.
 
#7 ·
My personal preference would be to use the brass rad if its in good nick ... for the reasons mentioned above.

Is it a one, or two row rad ??

As for the fans ......

Aim at using some sort of shroud arrangement, rather than just slapping them on the rad with zipties or something.

...... probably something similiar to the shroud marketed by Dirtbound Offroad.

I wouldnt worry about fancy switching arrangements ... until you find out whether the fans will actually be suitable - for your driving requirements,

..... 3 switches and suitable relays will let you play with needed turn on/turn off times, in various driving scenarios .... to establish what you need on a permanent basis.

... i.e. If the fans dont perform as well as the advertising faerie tales and claims ... you might need all of them running all the time .. ;);)
 
#8 ·
I have been toying around with the idea of 3 fans and a custom made shroud,maybe in the spring who knows but they should be more than enough I've run two stock electric fans with switches for about 3 years now and really haven't had a problem.
 
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Discussion starter · #9 ·
Carves said:
My personal preference would be to use the brass rad if its in good nick ... for the reasons mentioned above.

Is it a one, or two row rad ??

As for the fans ......

Aim at using some sort of shroud arrangement, rather than just slapping them on the rad with zipties or something.

...... probably something similiar to the shroud marketed by Dirtbound Offroad.

I wouldnt worry about fancy switching arrangements ... until you find out whether the fans will actually be suitable - for your driving requirements,

..... 3 switches and suitable relays will let you play with needed turn on/turn off times, in various driving scenarios .... to establish what you need on a permanent basis.

... i.e. If the fans dont perform as well as the advertising faerie tales and claims ... you might need all of them running all the time .. ;);)
Click to expand...
Awesome! This is the kinda thoughts I was hoping for! Thank you!

You say fans dont perform as advertised... if that is the case... what kind of cfm should I be looking at?
 
#12 ·
svshaw82 said:
You say fans dont perform as advertised... if that is the case... what kind of cfm should I be looking at?
Click to expand...
Hehe Heh ... you're gunna get me in trouble .. :)

.... I wrote ... If ... they don't perform according to the sales spiel .. ;);)

Err on the side of caution ... use your choice of reputable/known brand fan or supplier.

As for cfm ... As high as possible and hope the motors are long lasting.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Carves said:
Hehe Heh ... you're gunna get me in trouble .. :)

.... I wrote ... If ... they don't perform according to the sales spiel .. ;);)

Err on the side of caution ... use your choice of reputable/known brand fan or supplier.

As for cfm ... As high as possible and hope the motors are long lasting.
Click to expand...
Gotta admit, your post made me laugh. "your gonna get me in trouble" and "on the side of caution" Thats awesome!

I get what your saying. Im just trying to soak in all angles, ya know? Thanks for the feedback! :cheers2:
 
#14 ·
I run a triple e-fan setup using Dirtbound's fan shroud on a 3-core copper/brass BTR radiator with great success. Currently one fan comes on shortly after desired operating temp is hit, and the other two come on shortly before overheat. They all also run with the AC. I'm controlling mine with a temp sensor in the driver's side tank (XJ rads from the early 90's have a port there for the aux fan switch, so I used one of them; later years operated the aux fan via computer and no port). DC Controls makes fantastic fan controllers, and I may yet switch to one someday myself (http://www.dccontrol.com/constant_temperature_controllers.htm).

Regarding the type of radiator: it doesn't matter. Read this--http://www.bricethomasradiator.com/2013/06/27/aluminum-vs-copper-brass-radiator-the-great-debate/
The bottom line is that their performance is comparable in the end, and the real differences are price, weight, and ease of repair. People royally misunderstand the science at work and love to spread bad information on this topic, but that article does a great job of explaining it. People especially love to argue back and forth about radiator materials' heat conductivity, and that article sums it up fairly well when it says:
So while copper may conduct heat better than aluminum, both the solder used in its construction and the decreased surface contact with the fins reduces the radiator's ability to transfer heat. When you combine all of these factors together, the end result is that both a two row aluminum radiator and a four row copper-brass radiator have about the same cooling ability.
Click to expand...
So base your decision on something other than cooling ability since they're essentially equal (assuming you're comparing radiators of relatively equal quality construction).

P.S. Consider using a fan shroud such as Dirtbound's in order to make your fans pull air through the radiator more efficiently.

This will only pull air though the circular areas where the fan's face is plastered to the fins, and not too smoothly either.
Image


Using something like this will pull air a little more smoothly and through the entire area of the radiator AND without making the fans compete with each other for air (a wall divides each fan from the others). (http://www.dirtboundoffroad.com/dirtbound-fan-shroud-upgrade-10-fan.html)
Image
Image
 
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Discussion starter · #15 ·
mschi772 said:
I run a triple e-fan setup using Dirtbound's fan shroud on a 3-core copper/brass BTR radiator with great success. Currently one fan comes on shortly after desired operating temp is hit, and the other two come on shortly before overheat. They all also run with the AC. I'm controlling mine with a temp sensor in the driver's side tank (XJ rads from the early 90's have a port there for the aux fan switch, so I used one of them; later years operated the aux fan via computer and no port). DC Controls makes fantastic fan controllers, and I may yet switch to one someday myself (http://www.dccontrol.com/constant_temperature_controllers.htm).

Regarding the type of radiator: it doesn't matter. Read this--http://www.bricethomasradiator.com/2013/06/27/aluminum-vs-copper-brass-radiator-the-great-debate/
The bottom line is that their performance is comparable in the end, and the real differences are price, weight, and ease of repair. People royally misunderstand the science at work and love to spread bad information on this topic, but that article does a great job of explaining it. People especially love to argue back and forth about radiator materials' heat conductivity, and that article sums it up fairly well when it says:

So base your decision on something other than cooling ability since they're essentially equal (assuming you're comparing radiators of relatively equal quality construction).

P.S. Consider using a fan shroud such as Dirtbound's in order to make your fans pull air through the radiator more efficiently.

This will only pull air though the circular areas where the fan's face is plastered to the fins, and not too smoothly either.
Image


Using something like this will pull air a little more smoothly and through the entire area of the radiator AND without making the fans compete with each other for air (a wall divides each fan from the others). (http://www.dirtboundoffroad.com/dirtbound-fan-shroud-upgrade-10-fan.html)
Image
Image
Click to expand...
Very informative! Thank you! I had ideas on a type of shroud, but I hadnt put much thought into it until you just posted all this. Very awesome! Thank you!

I love that they sell the shroud by itself, thats a nice setup!
 
#16 ·
I did the Taurus 2spd fans and stock efan out of a 99 xj. With a stock radiator ( lack if funds at time if build ).
I wired both fans with relay kits. I used the kc light kit.
In Florida last summer 105 degree day in the woods never hit 210 with a 195 tstat.
Same fan set up on my renix. With a/c towing my boat never above 210. That Taurus fan moves serious amounts of air. I run it on low always. Use the stick efan when it gets warm.
I like the 3 fan set up. Best friend runs it in 99 xj. Works great but he has cash. $1000 for the set up that included shipping and the brass radiator.
 
#17 ·
uberxj92 said:
I did the Taurus 2spd fans and stock efan out of a 99 xj. With a stock radiator ( lack if funds at time if build ).
I wired both fans with relay kits. I used the kc light kit.
In Florida last summer 105 degree day in the woods never hit 210 with a 195 tstat.
Same fan set up on my renix. With a/c towing my boat never above 210. That Taurus fan moves serious amounts of air. I run it on low always. Use the stick efan when it gets warm.
I like the 3 fan set up. Best friend runs it in 99 xj. Works great but he has cash. $1000 for the set up that included shipping and the brass radiator.
Click to expand...
I've read about this set up, do you have a write up?. I'd love to read about it.
 
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svshaw82
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