I HAVE A 1976 BARTH. WOULD IT BE A GOOD IDEA TO INSTALL AN ELECTRIC COOLING FAN FOR THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND REMOVE THE ENGINE DRIVEN FAN?
I don't have a problem with the cooling when the engine is running but when I shut down there seems to be a build up of heat in the engine compartment. I thought maybe with an electric fan connected with a thermostat which would run on until the temp dropped after shut down would be a good idea. I guess it would be a good idea to leave the existing fan and add an extra fan for this purpose. Thanks much for the info.

[This message has been edited by REGLOVER (edited November 24, 2001).]

I would be interested in any responses you get to this because I was considering the same modification to my 454.

quote:

Originally posted by REGLOVER:
I HAVE A 1976 BARTH. WOULD IT BE A GOOD IDEA TO INSTALL AN ELECTRIC COOLING FAN FOR THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND REMOVE THE ENGINE DRIVEN FAN?

Golly, guys, why would you want to do that? Are you having trouble with the factory fan? Whatever air the radiator needs has to be provided by a fan. Factory or electric, it is turned by the engine, either by belt or alternator. It would take a large expensive pair of fans to equal the factory fan. I use an electric fan with the factory fan, but it kicks in only for slow moving on hot days or hill grinding. You can improve your Barth a little by gluing in vinyl or fabric curtains to make sure that all the air that enters the grille goes through the radiator and doesn't take a short cut around it. You can also install a sheet metal shield in the right wheel well. The left side already has one.

In recognizing that Barthmobile.com does not get near as many hits as some of the larger rv sites out there, I will some time add post to glean some info for the Barth site. The following are couple of answers I received.

Auxiliary fan

Dave,
Tried to replace cooling fan with an electric fan on a 460 Ford . Fan vendor said I would need "4" electric fans to pull enough CFMS as the stock fan. I determined the cost would not outweigh the benefits.

Now one can add an electric fan to help with the cooling. You need to get correct size for your application.

Randy, Elaine, and Bojangle

Another Consideration

In addition to needing a lot of electric fans to equal the capacity of the OEM clutched fan, keep in mind that when they are running, their support structure and drive motor block some of the much needed airflow as well. That means that they will thus be needed more often just to overcome the reduced amount of cooling air for the radiator. So I'd be leary of going this route myself.
Acutally most - if not all - the OEM clutched fans I'm familiar with are two speed devices. They run at reduced speed until the air coming of the radiator reaches a pre-set temperature (145 deg F in the case of my '87 big block) before ramping up to a higher rpm. It's the best of both worlds - low noise and low horsepower drain when the engine has enough cooling and more cooling when needed. The OEM aux fans are intended for really severe cases - mine is set to come on when the engine temps get about 15-20 deg F above when the engine fan is engaged.

I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. If there is a cooling problem, check the front of the radiator - not the A/C exchanger. Several times the past few years when I've removed the radiator on both passenger vehicles and RV's I've found it was blocked with varying amounts of grass and debris. You can't see this with the radiator in place because the A/C unit hides it. In all these cases the A/C unit was clear, so apparently the stuff passed right thru it before stopping at the radiator. However it got there, in many cases it represented a significant amount of the radiator being blocked. So if it hasn't been done recently, just pulling the radiator and inpecting the outside might well solve a problem.

Tony Howard

'87 Suburban 3/4T w/ modified HT502 / Edelbrock MPFI / GearVenders

Radiator Blues

I also can add my $0.02 on the radiator question.
I heartily agree with the opinion that the electric fans just don't cut it. I have a CJ7 on which I had succumbed to the alure of an electric fan with the illusion that it would add horsepower. (It didn't work.) Well, the sad truth is that there is no electric fan that pulls or pushes enough air to compete with a mechanical fan--period. There is an application for these fans in situations where there really is not a need for as much air flow as a mechanical fan can produce, or in situations where it is not possible to mount a mechanical fan (such as front-wheel drive cars). However, when you need a lot of air flow--like at slow speeds while stuck in traffic--there is no substitute for a mechanical fan. At highway speeds, you can get enough air flow through the radiator just by movement down the road, but that won't happen when you're driving slowly. Just check your engine temps while trolling in a campground compared with highway travel! (Same thing for your transmission!!)

Also, don't fall for the flex fans. They also work if you have a high speed application with high engine speeds so that you have less parasitic drag, but they also won't pull as much air as you will want for cooling the engine under high loads.

Also, as previously noted, check your radiator for blockages--that makes a real difference as well. It is a good idea to check the transmission cooler as well. I added a second cooler with a thermostatic fan on a prior gas motorhome, since I towed heavliy with it, and the F-53 chassis had the transmission cooler mounted about 4" in front of the radiator with no cowling, where there was absolutely *no* air flow without vehicle movement!

*Add* an ausilliary fan if you want, but don't remove the mechanical one!!!

John Vandergrift, "Rock Doc

All of these responses were taken from www.irv2.com. I think this is the best "general" RV site.


[This message has been edited by davebowers (edited November 26, 2001).]

I received another response to a 454 overheating question and he said that you can replace the existing fan clutch that goes on at 230 deg to a fan clutch that cycles at 205 degrees. He felt that this really assited in helping the 454 keep it's cool.

Do you have any more info on problems that have been corrected or systematic of a 460 engine

I guess I'll throw in my two cents. When I replaced the engine (diesel) in my 1985 Regency a friend of mine suggested going to electric fans as it would increase my horse power by eleminating the engine fan. I designed a custom shrowd and installed four large electric fans. After the first test run was made (a drive about ten miles) it came appearent that the temp was up and that was on level ground.
I pulled everything out and went back to the engine fan. I agree with all that said stay with the engine fan. Now if you want to add an electric fan for slow or creeping driving it probably should be mounted at the rear (rear engine set up) to pull extra air through the radiator with a manuel switch or electric setup to kick in when the temp goes above normal.