electric fans, worth it?

been doing a bit of searching, if this has already come up then sorry :doh:

anyway in a 2.25 petrol. is this a case of its its not broken then don't fix it?
im hoping to squeeze a few more mpg out and make it a bit quieter (its actually not that loud, but i do like quiet)

To me, yes, it has plenty of advantages. Firstly for the cooling as when I am in hot places I can use it as an additional cooling aid. Beneficial in this country going through fords and other such things...good for this time of year as well because the engine can get up to warm quicker so the heater has a fighting chance of doing something.

I used a decent fan off a van (few quid from scrap yard), a Kenlowe thermostat, 30A relay, does the job well.

as above.
only downside i found, was after a while the mud and gunge cacks the bearings
up and they squeel and groan at me.
then pack up.
dont know the quality of kenlow tho, might be better sealed. mine are from the knackers
yard too......

I've got a Kenlow.
As rhino said, lots of advantages.
I've got one more: You can put your hand near the belt when the engine is running without having chopped fingers for dinner.
It gets warm faster, and you can turn on the fan when you know you'll be stationary for a while (...congestion...)
AND you can put the fan on max when a cooling hose has sprung a leak (...and drive around like that for about 500mi )

I think it's great, especially as it's seldom on on the overcooled S3

Or if you fit an engine that doesn't have room for a standard fan you can stick one in front of the rad.

anyone got one on a diesel, i have a friend who has and recko0ns it only comes on when winching or doing hard work.

the wreckers yard over here is frickin useless. they tried to stand over me and make me feel bad for fitting stuff from a different vehicle (ie if i got the indicator flasher unit off an old toyota and put it on my landie they get mad at me, and threaten not to sell me stuff)
I reckon they might be a bit crazy


anyway im thinking that at motorway speeds (in this country under 60mph) the fan won't even be any use as the wind from moving will be pushing through the radiator even faster. so having an electric fan will surely cut some noise and maybe even give me a bit more go as well

Im going to call the local landie parts importer and see if he can get me a kenlow fan

Jamesbil said:

anyone got one on a diesel, i have a friend who has and recko0ns it only comes on when winching or doing hard work.

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I've just put one on me 109 with a 2.5td. Dunno what it's off but it just fits inside the front panel. I'm going to wire it to a switch in the cab so I can put it on when I want.

hughesy said:

I've just put one on me 109 with a 2.5td. Dunno what it's off but it just fits inside the front panel. I'm going to wire it to a switch in the cab so I can put it on when I want.

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got one on mine too. never use it unless its doing stationary work or trailling.
have an issue with the temp tho when it gets driven hard, which the fans are of no use then.
(actually have 4 of them, but only 2 work)

nrgserv said:

(actually have 4 of them, but only 2 work)

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that's like with the lights then, innit?-)

philvy said:

that's like with the lights then, innit?-)

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didnt realise you could see the front of my motor from my avatar!

I got one off a rover 218 D, I think its the same as the petrol ones too.
It fitted well behind the rad, before I changed it all around and stuffed an intercooler in there as well.
You might want to measure one up.
Mine was stood outside in the rain and crap for 12 months and it still works, not the same as mud plugging on a landy I know but deffo weatherproof.

the wreckers yard over here is frickin useless. they tried to stand over me and make me feel bad for fitting stuff from a different vehicle (ie if i got the indicator flasher unit off an old toyota and put it on my landie they get mad at me, and threaten not to sell me stuff)
I reckon they might be a bit crazy

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I think I am lucky in that not far from me we have a proper old fashioned scrap yard - where they let you take your own tools, take off what you like at your own peril and charge reasonably for it.

My scrapyard fan has done quite a bit of mud stuff, and has done about 13,000 miles, quite a few of those on sand...so I wouldn't say fans breaking down is an issue.

rustyrhinos said:

I think I am lucky in that not far from me we have a proper old fashioned scrap yard - where they let you take your own tools, take off what you like at your own peril and charge reasonably for it.

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Hi rusty rhino
ive been looking for a scrap yard like that could you possiable give a name and address please you can PM me it
Cheers

rustyrhinos said:

I think I am lucky in that not far from me we have a proper old fashioned scrap yard - where they let you take your own tools, take off what you like at your own peril and charge reasonably for it.

My scrapyard fan has done quite a bit of mud stuff, and has done about 13,000 miles, quite a few of those on sand...so I wouldn't say fans breaking down is an issue.

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my wreckers tried to charge me $40 for an old car stereo. an 80's TAPE one.

for $40 you can get a CD player in near new condition

Or you can buy one off ebay already taken off and save yourself the petrol.

I bought one off a Peugeot 205 for next to nothing and put it on my 2.25 Series 111.

Heats up quicker in winter and never needed until in a traffic jam in the summer.

Controlled through a switch on the dash.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before on other threads, the old VW passat has the thermostat for the rad fan inline on the top hose, a nice easy fit to have the fan auto.

dr pepper said:

I'm sure I've mentioned this before on other threads, the old VW passat has the thermostat for the rad fan inline on the top hose, a nice easy fit to have the fan auto.

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Thanks for that pepper, will have a look at me mateys passat.
The temp sender of the Kenlowe isnt very suited for being put in and out of the hose several times a year...