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Vehicle & Technical => Defender => Topic started by: Tiki Al on December 29, 2009, 16:59:41

Title: Electric fan
Post by: Tiki Al on December 29, 2009, 16:59:41
I'm gonna swap out the fan on my 200tdi 90 with an electric one, i've seen one on the bay of Eeeeee for a quater of the cost of a Kenlowe unit, anyone got any thoughts on what to fit ?

Cheers

Alan :)
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: bogie on December 29, 2009, 19:32:52
If its a reasonable fan it will do the job,they all do the same job!One of my 200s has never had a need to use the elecy fan.
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: extreme90 on December 29, 2009, 19:33:30
why you removing the viscous unit ?
i much prefer them over electric
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: bogie on December 30, 2009, 19:05:49
THEY ARE CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: graham2306 on December 30, 2009, 20:12:49
Get down the scrap yard  and get one out of a Mitsubishi FTO.  Then get to Maplins for a couple of relays, switches and some cable and stop at B+Q for some of their drilled strip.  Make up a couple of brackets from the drilled strip, hang the fto fan on the brackets and wire it up.  You get a great two speed fan for very little money.  I have put all my fuses and relays in a 99p wilkinsons lunch box to keep them away from the water.
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: Jake on December 30, 2009, 21:12:59
why you removing the viscous unit ?
i much prefer them over electric
I totally agree
Why change a perfectly good viscous unit for a electric one?
What advantage do you think you'll get?
 :-.
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: topless matt on December 30, 2009, 21:16:36
Another vote for the viscous unit.  Why would you want to change from something that will not get angry when it gets wet or muddy, has the potential for problems with electrical connection problems or involves switches that may be forgotten about.
Just stick to the fan that works when you need it to and will not let you down!
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: extreme90 on December 31, 2009, 00:19:14
THEY ARE CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they aint crap at all, some one has filled your head full of bull  :roll:

for one, a leccy fan will never ever move as much air when its in demand as a viscous unit !
a good viscous should free wheel at anything more than 1500rpm and will stop as soon as it hits water.
mpg an d power gains are also over the top as above a proper unit will work efficiant.
( wrong example but some people only do it for this reason) if your that concerned about gaining hp and mpg, fit a isolator to the alternator and turn it off !! as thats the biggest sapper on a engine.
electric fans are more hassle than therer worth,
to get them to work you need to have them virtually toutching the rad...all good until it grabs a twig or muddy,bricky crap and sends it through the rad.
then theres the good old getting jammed and blowing fuses
or even if it works after going through water.
if your going to fit a leccy fan, buy a decent one thats waterproof !
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: Tiki Al on December 31, 2009, 12:00:21
Well after hearing your views on electric fan's i think i may stick to the viscous unit, i was going to swap it out to electric so i could turn it off when it's not needed, especially when it's cold as i'm sure mines not getting hot enough, think i may try a rad muff ( well cardboard ) instead :)

many thanks for your input and advise

Alan :)
Title: Re: Electric fan
Post by: zulublue on December 31, 2009, 13:24:28
I've had a mondeo fan fitted for 18 months now, I also fitted a X-Eng thermostat linked in to the bottom hose and connected to the fan via a switch / relay. in the past 18 months the fan has never cut in, once up to temperature I put my hand on the bottom hose to find it was reasonably cool, the top hose was too hot to touch, so to satisfy my concerns I fitted a digital temp gauge and can confirm it has never been above 83 degrees thus why the fan never kicked in.
I have now removed the thermostat and just wired the fan to a switch, just in case it gets blocked with mud etc.

The advantage of electric and Dan may disagree Viscous units unless you are checking then on a regular basis can malfunction without you knowing - with electric it either works or doesent= easier to spot
There is a supposed small increase in power- nothing to warrant a change though.
It does give you a lot more room to work in the engine bay on a 200 Tdi.
I prefer them for deep water, never had an issue either using twin HD Kenlowes on the V8 bobtail or the mondeo on the D90.

This will give you some ideas

http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=369251.0 (http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=369251.0)
http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=47357&view=&hl=mondeo fan&fromsearch=1 (http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=47357&view=&hl=mondeo fan&fromsearch=1)
P.S. the fan cost £10 on ebay, and you only need to cut one end if you rotate the fan 90 degrees like in link 2, and not chop and change as in link 1

Each to their own









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