Fitting an Elec fan on Intercooler

[chickencake]

id be looking into something like a hobbs switch with a time delay before coming on... so the hobbs closes the contacts and after 3-4seconds if its still closed contacts it will pull in your water pump and spray the cooler...
honestly i dont think your going to notice any difference with a fan... with water spray over the intercooler maybe... till not going to be massive... you also then need somewhere to keep the water that is cool...
so your looking at investing "x" in say 10L tank, some sort of pressure pump, hose and fittings and some type of nozzle to spray the cooler its self.
plus what ever the electrical gear will cost you say around $50-$100 for something nice.
guessing the whole lot would set you back $200-$300 at least.... id rather invest in a larger intercooler to start with, should be able to fit a 450x300x100 behind the tritons front bar?
and they can be had for around $150-$200 on ebay... how good are they? well guys run 9's in vl's with ebay 600x300x75's so they cant be too bad...

[MilkmanDan]

I have to ask the question has anyone actually checked IAT temps before and after the I/C in various driving conditions? I'd be looking at that first to ascertain if the fan is actually required or not, yes when IATs rise from heat soak generally when slow moving or stopped in traffic but do stabilize once moving again.

Maybe look at water spray or even ducting to direct air to the I/C, however I'd be looking at what the temps actually get to before putting a fan on OR even better if anyone who has put a fan on can post results

[variflex]

I have just wired mine to a switch, its runs as soon as the car is switched on, I keep the fan running constantly, only switched off for water crossings, I will see if I can get a camera in there for photos,\
Basically used the cable tie things that came with the fan, tied directly to the Intercooler

[MitchMN]

Have a look at variflex's link on the previous page chicken there are some good gains to be had and alot easier and cheaper than a water injection system.

4x4ing a couple of months ago when it was still "cool" up here in mackay I was getting temps of 75º on the torque app and 65º on the inland drive home which was a little worrying so something would be nice to help with that.

Yeah right that sounds like the go I would probably rather it running all the time anyway and would make it pretty easy to wire up that way. Did you just get a supercheap one or a what?

[variflex]

I bought my fan off eBay, it's a 7" fan however i believe you could fit an 8" fan, simply tapped into a blank circuit in the fuse panel, put a switch inline which controls a relay, again i alway keep it switched on unless about to do a water crossing, nice and simple and less than $50 for the whole job

[MitchMN]

Yeah that sounds like the go thanks for the help.
Just gotta get it done before fraser in the new year now.

[miekss]

does anyone know if and where i can get a thermo fan for my triton its a 2009 ml (the 2.4l, 4 cylinder petrol) ?

[Cowboy Dave]

Have a look in this thread http://www.newtriton.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12913&p=310861&hilit=thermo+fan#p310861

If it's not for the aircon then even supercheap etc sell the davies craig ones. Ebay has tonnes too.

[MitchMN]

Finally got around to installing the thermo fan, went with a 7" off ebay. Was only $40 and from the little drive I went on i couldn't get intake temps to go over 60ºc with it on and they were going over 80ºc with it off. cruising temps were 40ºc with it on and 55ºc with it off.
For the small cost and easy installation im very happy with the results.

[trouble]

That is some cool temps, mine (ML) isn't even warmed up yet at 50 deg!
It runs a 80 deg when warm

[hookS]

That idea to me will work well for slow speed low range work rock crawling ect, but at highway speeds would the actual fan be blocking air intake to intercooler?I would of thought at speed you get more intake than the fan could supply interesting all the same.

[variflex]

From what I see on my scan gauge the fan still makes a difference on the freeway at speed if you have the Xrox bar blocking the airflow per Mitch's description above, clearly the fan won't replicate the same airflow that you would see with no bar fitted when at speed on the freeway etc.

[triton_guru]

Ive installed intercooler water misters but thinking about doing a thermo fan install, any idea whether it would be really restrictive at high speeds?

[ag9111]

Ive installed intercooler water misters but thinking about doing a thermo fan install, any idea whether it would be really restrictive at high speeds?

for the cost, try it and report back

[triton_guru]

The water misters lowered the air intake temp by 11 degrees but that wasn't a constant spray

[RHKTriton]

Would be ideal if a fan could be fitted on the back side of the intercooler - less restriction to natural flow.

[variflex]

Triton guru, would you be able to post some pics of your water mister set up, I wouldn't mind adding one to compliment my fan IC fan install

[sheepo]

Has any body fitted one of these fans with a Arb bar with winch fitted does not seem a lot of room???

[variflex]

Ive installed intercooler water misters but thinking about doing a thermo fan install, any idea whether it would be really restrictive at high speeds?

for the cost, try it and report back

I find when sitting on M4 doing 110kph the fan still makes a difference but is certainly a lot slower to bring the temps down compared to doing lesser speeds however I put that down to more the turbo pumping out hot air under boost, so basically yes it does make a difference at high speeds, I think with the fan and your water mist set up you should have the temps sorted,
I would love to see some pics of your water mist setup

[triton_guru]

Variflex, i used a pump from a window washer and used a irrigation hose and sprays, they cover the whole intercooler, i am in the process of upgrading intercoolers so have removed the misters but once the new intercooler is on i will be reinstalling them for sure. Best temp drop ive had so far was driving home after dayshift was 25ambient temp car was sitting on 8.1 psi boost (lots of up hill) sprayed for 10 seconds continuous spray and dropped the intake temp from 47c to 31c. So im pretty sold on the idea just need to make a system with a timer and also a decent water tank somewhere haha

[variflex]

Thanks mate, similar setup to what I'm thinking, I am thinking of it simply to assist when towing the camper up long steep hills just to pull the temp down that touch extra when things start getting extreme

[triton_guru]

Might just be a mental thing but i swear u can feel the difference haha might just be in my head. The intercooler in getting is long but narrow but quite deep. Its 550 long 160 depth and 120 height not to sure if there are thermo fans that small? If there is might need 2 of them lol

[Cowboy Dave]

Smallest I found was 6 inch on eBay.

[variflex]

Have a look at the fans being fitted to motorcycles, should get something to fit

[triton_guru]

Going to end up with fans from a computer or something , also there's a thing called intelligent water mister, it wires into the cars air intake temp or intercooler temp and when it rises the sprayers come on its meant to be quite good on saving water, in installing a water tank for potable water so drinking water etc so im just going to tap into that, im looking for about 50l water tank. Water mister and thermo fan would be ideal for low speed driving aka traffic or low range 4x4ing