Electric Fans vs Engine driven.

[Guest loren6210]

Has anyone tried running electric fans on thier coach instead of the HP eating engine fan?

My fan eats about 30 HP an I still need to down shift on heavy grades to keep the rpms up and the temps, down.

My grandson is running two 1000 hp capable fans on his Drift car. It seems to me that they should cool my ISL 400 with no problem.

[redstickbill]

3 hours ago, loren6210 said:

Has anyone tried running electric fans on thier coach instead of the HP eating engine fan?

My fan eats about 30 HP an I still need to down shift on heavy grades to keep the rpms up and the temps, down.

My grandson is running two 1000 hp capable fans on his Drift car. It seems to me that they should cool my ISL 400 with no problem.

A number of years ago I had the Horton Electric Fan installed on my 04 Endeavor ISC 330, never had cooling problems in the years I owned the coach. The Horton Fan was installed by Jack Markem from Cummins Cross Point while at a HR Maintenance Session in Goshen, IN.

Bill B 07 Dynasty

[corkey_05]

Horton two speed fan (and off) ... no cooling issues and far quieter than the mechanical fan.  I had mine done in 2008 and never looked back.

https://www.hortonww.com/on-highway/drives/arctis-two-speed-drive.html

2008 Endeavor - Ford Edge in tow

Edited April 3, 2020 by corkey_05

[dl_racing427]

I've considered an electric fan on my diesel standby generator, to conserve fuel.

The rub is that the engine fan also pulls cool air through the enclosure for the alternator fan to circulate and cool the windings.

I wouldn't trust that 1,000 hp rating on those electric fans for one second. LOL 

For one thing, that's assuming an automotive application where the fans are only needed to cool at idle and low speeds.

A coach, depends on the fans almost totally for cooling airflow.  The Arctis fan clutch would probably work very well.

 

[Larry Laursen]

Loren,

Not sure what model coach you have.  In 2005 both the Scepter, side radiator and the Endeavor, rear radiator has the ISL 400.  On the rear radiator units you can install the Horton two speed fan.  Source Engineering in Oregon also has a higher efficiency fan.  If you have the side radiator than it has a hydraulic driven fan.  I don't think you mean 1000 hp. electric fan, I assume you miss typed that.  When considering power, the only source of power on the unit is the engine.  Therefore, the alternator has to supply the power to the electric fan for any extended period of time.  Yes, the battery can give a quick boost but that must be replenished. 

[Bob Nodine]

On 4/2/2020 at 5:24 PM, loren6210 said:

Has anyone tried running electric fans on thier coach instead of the HP eating engine fan?

My fan eats about 30 HP an I still need to down shift on heavy grades to keep the rpms up and the temps, down.

My grandson is running two 1000 hp capable fans on his Drift car. It seems to me that they should cool my ISL 400 with no problem.

Using electric fans to cool an ISL400 is not going to be a trivial task. To create the same 30 hp fan you now have would take 22,000 watts of electrical power. At 12 volts that is about 1833 amps. Don't think you alternator can handle that.

 

[dl_racing427]

21 hours ago, Larry J Laursen said:

Loren,

Not sure what model coach you have.  In 2005 both the Scepter, side radiator and the Endeavor, rear radiator has the ISL 400.  On the rear radiator units you can install the Horton two speed fan.  Source Engineering in Oregon also has a higher efficiency fan.  If you have the side radiator than it has a hydraulic driven fan.  I don't think you mean 1000 hp. electric fan, I assume you miss typed that.  When considering power, the only source of power on the unit is the engine.  Therefore, the alternator has to supply the power to the electric fan for any extended period of time.  Yes, the battery can give a quick boost but that must be replenished. 

The advantage to an electric fan on a front-engine vehicle is it can be shut off whenever there is enough ram-air flow to cool the engine.  None of the electric fans could cool the engine at full power without the ram-air flow.  Regardless, the alternator has to provide the power to run the fans, and that power comes from the engine.

On a diesel pusher coach, there is no appreciable ram-air effect, so the fan must be capable of providing all the airflow at all power levels.  This is the main reason for the very large fan on my generator, even though it's only a 50HP engine.

Side rad models already slow the fan speed in most conditions, and increase it to full speed when needed to climb long grades.  The 2-speed clutch can do the same for a belt-driven fan.

[birdshill123]

It is near impossible to get an electric fan that will cool a 400 HP engine. Do a Goggle for the amount of cfm Cummins requires. Then do a Google for the electric fans that produce the required CFM. You would need a larger alternator and room for multiple fans. You gain nothing. There is a reason why the higher end coaches have either a Hydraulic fan o a belt driven unit. Prevost has gone to an electric system but it is 24 volt and requires a cioputer and lots of room for the multiple fans.