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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - electric fan

Hi guys,

Just getting round to fitting an electric fan onto my new alu rad , was going to buy a revotec one about £120 but was just browsing e bay and can see a 12" fan for approx £25 and i noticed in a local motorsport shop to me the part that fits into the hose and controls it for about £30 including the relay , so I could save about £70 just wondered if i was missing anything ??

I know you get what you pay for but its a hell of a difference

Thanks
Andy
Andy Chaffey

Andy,

12" may a little bit large. A fan which sits in front of the radiator and pushes the air through the matrix is a neater fitting and provides more clearance as it's a bit tight between the rad and pulley.
I bought a Revotech unit for a Mini on ebay for £45 and although it's a 'puller' I wired to spin in the opposite direction - not as effective as a pusher (because of the angle of the fan blades) but it keeps the car cool even in the hottest weather - well what passes for hot in the UK.
I prefer the Revotec fitting rather than the type which necessitates a wire being trapped under the hose and clamp.

Jeremy
Jeremy 3

Totally agree Revotec inline top hose thermostatic switch is the way to go much neater & you can adjust it very easily for when it needs to cut in.
Mines wired to a 10" sitting in front of the rad. The only thing I did different was not use the fan fittings that go through the rad (look like long skewers) I made up some alloy brackets to bolt to the rad mounting bolts. (see pic)


Ed H

I just bought two 10" completely reversible rotation and blades) fans for a total of $55 including shipping off Ebay - work great. $15ea for fan, $15ea for shipping, $5 off total shipping for buying two at once. Came in three days. At that price I can afford to replace them if needed.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e11400.m1842.l1181/7?euid=2b5739a752ec45ddaa4322b2f6aecb26&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fmyworld.ebay.ca%2Fsuperadiator%3FssPageName%3DADME%3AL%3AOC%3AUS%3A1181

And the fully adjustable controller from Summit Racing - $40 incl shipping
FAL 31147 Fan Control Thermostatic Adjustable 160 to 240 Degrees Kit...

With two fans I will fit it with a relay, although the controller rating is probably adequate.

FRM
FR Millmore

Ed i like that, it turned out good

Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Prop
Thanks, Yeah cost me $5 for the peice of alloy , 30 mins measuring and making a tenplate. Then 15 mins with the jig saw & file. My main reason was you can remove the radiator and fan easily , with the skewers its a pain and you up the chance of damaging you rad & fins.
Ed H

I've got thev Revotec kit with relay, wiring and 10" fan in front of rad on Revotec neat cut brackets and their thermoswitch that splices into the top hose

if I was doing it again I'd have a deeper or wider fan to act faster

I have mine wired direct to battery via fuse (and relay) so that it stays on after ignition is turned off and I don't bother with an overide switch, I trust it to work

it's mainly about quality, reliability and longevity of fan and motor and thermoswitch - I know Kenlowe have a good track record but I prefer the neat Revotec thermoswitch spliced into the top hose rather than the large Kenlowe dail switch and probe slid into side of top hose
Nigel Atkins

On my 1966 midget with vertical flow radiator, I fitted a 9 inch "puller" fan behind the rad right inside the cowling. I fabricated a couple of brackets for it bolted through the sides of the cowl so that the fan sits right up against the rad matrix. The experts all tell you to put it behind the radiator if there is space as it doesn't interfere with the forced cooling of the rad like one in front will do. In my photo you can see the fan inside the cowling.

The fan is a Spal unit from Serck Services Motorsport and cost £55.20 +VAT. It is terrifically efficient, pulling down the temperature in very short order. I bought an adjustable thermostat from Car Builder Solutions and put the probe into the tapped hole in the side of the rad header tank.


Mike Howlett

In this photo you can see the probe in the header tank and the control for the fan is right at the front of the engine bay on the left of the picture.



Mike Howlett

Ed

You made a great job of the fan bracket!

I fitted a fan from a rover 400, the cowl fits nicely in front of the rad and it works well

.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-400-414-1995-2000-Engine-Cooling-Fan-Shroud-Part-no-PGF-100710-/150921506843?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item23239f701b

For the switch I used an inline one from burton power that takes the standard 14mm switches that are OE fitted to many cars.
Robin Cohen

Nigel,

According to the instructions that I received with my Kenlowe fan, the probe goes into the lower hose connection to the radiator (crossflow).

Another point with the kenlowe and their recommendation to set the temp. switch to a higher setting than normal so that the fan only comes on when the engine is at it's highest operating temperature. It also raises an issue with the warranty if the fan is running constantly at a low setting.

Dave
D MATTHEWS

Dave,
I don’t dispute what you’ve put, I do remember my mate telling me about a debate on whether it should be sited in lower or top hose

be interesting to see how many users fit in top hose and how many in bottom hose

also be interesting if you could post up a jpeg of the fitting instructions to see what they mean by setting the switch to a higher setting than normal

the ones I’ve had, and the current Revotec thermoswitch, have been in the top hose, as does my mate’s Revotec thermoswitch to (I think) a Kenlowe fan

regardless of where it’s sited provided if it’s within the heat range of the switch you should be able to set the switch so that it comes on around normal operating temperate

having it set too low and it will run and cool for longer than is necessary but you’d have to have it set far too low for it to remain on constantly

my crossflow rad is possibly a bit too efficient when on the move so unless I have a variable radiator blind the temperature difference between travelling at say 40 mph and leaving the fan to cut in at the highest temperature would be very wide
Nigel Atkins

Dave / Nigel,

The sensor has always been fitted in the top hose for all the installations I have known over the years. This is detailed on the website:

http://www.kenlowe.com/fans/consumers/fans07.html

HTH,

Doug
Doug Plumb

thanks Doug, that link does have this though - 'Dial cut-in temperature as shown in the instructions'

I'm surprised they don't have PDFs of all the fitting instructions for their standard kits with high volume sales
Nigel Atkins



Doug/Nigel

As Doug pointed out - kenlowe's website does suggest that the probe goes into the top hose.

However the paperwork that came with my kit certainly stated that it should go into the lower hose connection. I wonder if they differentiate because it's a crossflow radiator (and 1500 engine). As there must be quite a temperature difference between the top radiator inlet and the lower outlet, it means that the probe is monitoring the lower outlet temperature, which suggests that the engine is operating at a much higher temperature than than with the sender in the top hose.

As regards the remarks about the warranty issues - I haven't been able to find the paperwork (not an uncommon state of affairs in my garage). If I do, I'll scan them and post them on here.

Dave
D MATTHEWS

Hi Dave,
as I put I’m not disputing anything you’ve put just interested to see the Kenlowe instructions and if they're specific to include a Midget 1500

I wonder if the instructions are the same for the crossflow in the 1275 Spridgets as they tend to run cool whereas the Midget 1500 seems to heat up more by what I’ve read here so you’d want the thermoswitch to monitor the heat in the engine at the earlier point to cut the fan in as soon as possible – unless the design of the Midget 1500 engine cooling system makes a difference (would it go in the bottom hose on a Spitfire 1500 too?)

I think the difference in temperature between the top and bottom hose would be negated by the setting on thermoswitch normally
Nigel Atkins

Andy,

I run a Spal 11" Low Profile Puller (30100411) 970 cfm. It covers more of the core than a 10" and is about as wide a fan as I could get in there. This fan is lower profile than the Hayden 10" 650 cfm model that Moss sells, and which I had for a while. Both fans will run as push or pull (I think); I know the Hayden is easily converted.

I put a sensor in the head (with a threaded adapter that Moss sells, and which keeps the probe from bottoming out).

You are welcome to my 10" Hayden for the cost of shipping; no idea how much that would be. But if you want the thing and shipping isn't prohibitive, just send me a PayPal payment for whatever shipping is, and it's yours. Works fine, and was only on there for a few months. I was just messing about and wanted to mount the Spal.

Joel
JM Young

This thread was discussed between 18/10/2012 and 21/10/2012

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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