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Best electric fan for cheapest price?

Posted By: jpilone

Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/23/10 10:51 PM

I'm about to spring on a new aluminum cross-flow radiator for my convertible tomorrow on summit, any recommendations on an electric fan to keep this bad boy cool? mild/moderately built 440-5 speed manual in a '70 B body (no a/c)

I know it's an oxymoron, but I want a decent electric fan, but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg for one either..
Posted By: ahy

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/23/10 11:09 PM

The OE fans are much better than most aftermarket... and lower cost than the top end aftermarket. The Chevy HHR fan is supposed to be good. Available from a Chevy dealer or several knock-off's on the web.

PS... the belt driven thermal clutch fan with shroud works really well. And has no added electrical loads and wiring... but you asked about electric.
Posted By: jpilone

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/24/10 12:37 AM

Quote:

The OE fans are much better than most aftermarket... and lower cost than the top end aftermarket. The Chevy HHR fan is supposed to be good. Available from a Chevy dealer or several knock-off's on the web.

PS... the belt driven thermal clutch fan with shroud works really well. And has no added electrical loads and wiring... but you asked about electric.



The OEM HHR fan? Coincidentally I work in the service department at a chevy dealer, I'll have to check pricing on that tomorrow! How are they getting wired up? some aftermarket thermostatic switch?
Posted By: feets

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/24/10 01:07 AM

The HHR fans are cheap and move decent air. You have to hack the shroud to make it work.

The 2005 and newer Mercedes C-class fans are AWESOME and a near perfect fit. They make the HHR fan look like child's toy.
Find a used one at the wrecking yard (or LKQ) and drop it on.

The 2001 to 2004 C-class fans are a wee bit different and need a controller to operate properly. The same goes for most aftermarket Mercedes fans. A Moparts member is working on that and we're days away from testing the unit.

Here's the correct style Mercedes fan sitting on a trashed 26" radiator:



Here's the two different style Mercedes fans:



Do not use the fan with the heat sink as seen in the top of this picture until you have a PWM fan controller. The bottom fan is the best one to use with an on-off switch or simple controller.

Read the Monster Cooling Fan thread for more info.

Here's the HHR fan for comparison:

Posted By: jpilone

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/24/10 01:23 AM

I saw your thread on that previously, and it looks cool, but used ones are still expensive.

I can't pull it up on the LKQ website, but i did on car-part.com and they come up, but are uber-expensive...
Posted By: gtx69

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/24/10 02:14 AM


LKQ part no MB3000102 Cooling Module;01-07 C CLASS VARIOUS ENGINES/MODELS

List at 440.00 i paid 220.20
Posted By: ahy

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/26/10 01:19 PM

Quote:

Quote:

The OE fans are much better than most aftermarket... and lower cost than the top end aftermarket. The Chevy HHR fan is supposed to be good. Available from a Chevy dealer or several knock-off's on the web.

PS... the belt driven thermal clutch fan with shroud works really well. And has no added electrical loads and wiring... but you asked about electric.



The OEM HHR fan? Coincidentally I work in the service department at a chevy dealer, I'll have to check pricing on that tomorrow! How are they getting wired up? some aftermarket thermostatic switch?



The HHR fan or just about any other electric would be wired through an aftermarket switch and relay. A standard 30 amp relay will be marginal for a high capacity unit like the HHR fan. Use two relays or buy a bigger single relay. Summit and others offer several kits with various types of temp sensors and fuse/breaker choices. Some have adjustable setpoints. The big relay or the double relay may require modification of the kits. Use 10 guage wire for the power feed wires. 16 or even 18 will work fine for the relay control wires.
Posted By: Pool Fixer

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/26/10 03:18 PM

Quote:


LKQ part no MB3000102 Cooling Module;01-07 C CLASS VARIOUS ENGINES/MODELS

List at 440.00 i paid 220.20



the issue is that you need a fan from a later model or it requires a special controller. I think it's 06 or later. this fan you quoted is likely modeled after the earlier fan. Not the end of the world, but it is a small added expense I don't know what you would do if it broke a few years down the line...

I'd look for one from a local yard that's actually used and came from the later car. depends on where you live. around here it's likely easy to find one because everyone seems to have mercedes money except me lol.
Posted By: gtx69

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/26/10 04:01 PM

The best thing for you to do is to read the different posts on the mercedes fan.Do a search on mercedes fan upgrade also.
Posted By: The Sphinx

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/26/10 06:02 PM

I run an HHR fan on a 26" radiator and just fabricated some brackets to mount off the fan shroud bolt holes. My car may get to 180 on hot days, and it will blow rags and towels off my firewall when it's on. Best bang for your buck at $57+shipping from rock auto. No butchering was needed to make it fit.

BTW a buddy of mine used a mercedes fan on a B-body and the fit wasn't so great and it didn't last as long as a german engineered component should.
Posted By: feets

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/26/10 09:48 PM

Read my monster cooling fan thread listed above. It'll list everything you need to know about using the Mercedes fan.

The early fans will die if a PWM controller isn't used. The later fans (and those in a 2004 and newer CLK) will work fine. Look for the heat sink. If it's got one don't run it until you have a controller.
Posted By: dirtybee

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 02:19 AM

another very happy HHR fan user here. summit crossflow rad and thermo switch kit and a chevy type pigtail connector. i had to slice off the plastic disc that covers the fan motor (5 min.) for clearance to the waterpump pulley. it cools really well and the whole cooling system cost a little over $250, and that is with shipping to canada from summit and rockauto. this is in front of a 500" lowdeck with 10.93 to 1 comp on pump 94, never sees 190# but i have yet to really test in hot weather and traffic after a long highway jaunt.
Posted By: dustergirl340

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 03:10 AM

No hacking on the HHR fan required in my husband's small block Challenger's engine compartment. Been running it well over a year now, no problems.
Posted By: gtx69

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 03:28 AM

HHR fan when you are stuck in traffic for over 20 minutes and it's over 95 outside. Let me know how you like the hhr fan then.
Posted By: dustergirl340

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 03:36 AM

Already done that several times, no problems. There is plenty of room in the Challenger's engine compartment, with lots of air circulation, maybe that is key.
Posted By: gtx69

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 03:44 AM

Good it doesn't work for me been running one for over two summers.

Attached picture 6322700-HPIM0333.JPG
Posted By: feets

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 04:33 AM

The Mercedes fan would cool the twin turbo 440 in 100 degree Texas heat. The turbos were just inches away from the radiator and I had hot exhaust pipes running up and down each side of the engine compartment. It could cool the engine during repeated hard pulls under boost. We beat on it for more than three hours, never going more than a few minutes without a hard run. The temps were in the 90s that night and the engine never ran hot.

The MB fan draws air from more than 95% of the radiator core. The HHR shroud is much smaller and therefore draws air from a much lower percentage of the radiator core.

I would much rather have too much fan than too little.
Posted By: dynamite

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 02:33 PM

Those will work but cost a ton of cash...He said he wants the least expensive one that will work..The HHR is a great fan that is afordable...cooled my 440 with A/C in Florida ..I have one he can have cheap..in FL
Posted By: dustergirl340

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 03:48 PM

The post was best fan for the cheapest price...we haven't had problems with the HHR, but we also don't have a big block A/C car with a tiny grille opening. Ours has lots of air flow coming in from the front, and plenty of circulation in the engine bay.

For $50 we were willing to give the HHR fan a try. We also needed a fan for our engine test stand. We figured if it didn't work on the Challenger it would go on the stand.

Our Dart still has its stock cooling system, which works so well we have trouble sometimes getting it UP to optimum operating temp. I would go that route rather than drop big money on an electric fan, but that's just me.
Posted By: 1980volare

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/27/10 11:31 PM

i have two bmw 2 speed fans that fit a 22" wide rad perfectly.

id let them go for 50 plus the ride each...
Posted By: oleman

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/28/10 01:36 AM

Go to a selfservice junkyard and look at late model V8 cars.
Cooling fans are sized for the heat load produced by the engine. A fan from a little 4 banger not even. Very few engines installed today have fans that move enough air to cool a 440 in a small frontal area car. We have a 440 Dart with a 26 inch radiator. A clutch fan 18" barely cools. I have tried several electric fans none of them would keep it cool.
Good luck!
Posted By: brads70

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/28/10 01:52 AM

I have the HHR fan in my 70 Challenger 440/727 works like a champ! It was only $50 at RockAuto.com! I too used an aluminum rad.


Posted By: feets

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/28/10 02:05 AM

Quote:


Cooling fans are sized for the heat load produced by the engine. A fan from a little 4 banger not even.



That's why I went with the MB fan. Some of those cars have 7 different coolers in front of the fan. It needs to move a lot of air to overcome that much heat.
Posted By: Black_Bee

Re: Best electric fan for cheapest price? - 11/28/10 05:26 AM

Quote:

i have two bmw 2 speed fans that fit a 22" wide rad perfectly.

id let them go for 50 plus the ride each...



Do you have some details about these fans? What did they come off of, and do you have any pics? Also how deep are they?

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