Thread: zirgo elec. cooling fans

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Has anyone used this product. I have been getting mixed info on these fans. The claim for there high performance fans are -- around 3650-3950- cfm with a 16" fan- one hot rod shop told me that test prove that they put out 1700 cfm!

Richard, you are certainly correct in your belief that the best unit is a mechanical fan. I spoke with Griffin and two other aluminum radiator manufacturers regarding the best setup to cool a Chev motor at low vehicle speeds. Everyone (100%) suggested a mechanical fan with a tight fitting shroud with no leaks at the shroud/radiator interface. I did what they said and can idle for hours in 110 F weather here in Tucson.

Electric fans are an example of specmanship. I spec my fan to flow 1126.6 cfm and you top me with 1126.7......and someone believes me. Electric fans work using three things: motor rpm,
fan diameter, and blade efficiency (design). You cant jack the speed up because of (1) cost and (2) blade tip speed. You cant get too big because of mounting issues. And you cant spend too much money designing a perfect airfoil because you already paid for the damn mold......so you cheat on advertising. Why do they put a $1.50 motor on a $100 fan? Because they ran out of $1.25 motors!

I use dual flex-a-lite fans to push mounted in front of radiator as I don't have room to mount a mechanical fan. When driving the temperature stays about 180 degrees but idling to long will make my engine start to run hot so I have my electric fans to come on at 200 degrees. Never really liked the electric fans but since I don't have room for a mechanical one ,I use what I have to.

i use a elec. fan. off of a 1993 ford taurus on my LT1 motor because there is no where on the motor to put a mechanical one. ive used a lot of dif. ones over the yrs. and this moves about as much air as any ive used.

Why does everyone seem to think that elec. fans are no good? Are they really that prone to failure? The only trouble I have had with an electric fan is with a Hayden fan. I was simply trying to remove the plastic fan blade from the shaft, and it cracked the rear of the housing on the backside of the motor. It was an expensive mistake.

LT1S10- not to hijack this thread, but I'm interested in why you opted for a 1993 Taurus fan. Other than the air it moves, is there any other reasons for this choice? Also, you wouldnt happen to have the dimensions for it would you? I'm wondering if it will fit behind a 32' Ford radiator...I just dont want to go the Hayden route again.

Thanks,
Greg

Try Vintage Air, I run thier fans. They have a large selection of CFM's and Diameters too.

i use zirgo fans on the cars i build , i have not " tested " the cfm myself , but they do pull alot of air . i had a coustomer using a autoparts store brand straight blade 16 in fan on a 32 roadster with a 351 ford ( thats the first problem ) but i changed to a zirgo 16 ,and have had no problems since with heat .
i know a mechanical fan is better IF you can fit it into the car . my willys ,37fords with lt1 , nomad with ls1,and the 32 mentioned could not use a mech fan so i have to use electric . so would i recomend a zirgo fan , yes . along with a good shroud ,good relay power set-up ,thermostat and a good proper sized radiator .i can cool a 704 hp 540 in a willys with a small grill opening in 100degree weather .
good luck greg !

Thank's for the info. I kept the stock shroud , and placed the Zirgo fan in the ctr. i have a manual overide switch with a 185' block temp. switch. I have'nt had time to test it in the right conditions, but this summer will tell all. I can put the stock clutch fan back on if it fails to cool.

Originally posted by Blueovalfanatic
Why does everyone seem to think that elec. fans are no good? Are they really that prone to failure? The only trouble I have had with an electric fan is with a Hayden fan. I was simply trying to remove the plastic fan blade from the shaft, and it cracked the rear of the housing on the backside of the motor. It was an expensive mistake.

LT1S10- not to hijack this thread, but I'm interested in why you opted for a 1993 Taurus fan. Other than the air it moves, is there any other reasons for this choice? Also, you wouldnt happen to have the dimensions for it would you? I'm wondering if it will fit behind a 32' Ford radiator...I just dont want to go the Hayden route again.

Thanks,
Greg

i use a fan out of a 1990 to 1995 taurus 3.8 V6, because it was the size i need + it has a high or low speed motor built in. it pulls only 14 amps on low and 31 amps on high. i dont know the size of it right off and its not here right this min. but im using a radiator out of a 1985 to 1989 corvette and it fits perfect. it moves about as much air as the high doller after market one on low and i paid 50.00 for it. ive never had the hi side hooked up. they say the high side moves a lot more air than any after market fan. its 4-1/2" deep. which is all of the room i had. i do have ac. its the best elec. fan that ive ever used and ive used a lot of dif ones.

I think the discussion about electric versus engine driven fans is an interesting one. I absolutely agree that it may be folly to expect a simple electric fan attached to the front or back of a radiator to perform as well as the mechanical fans, shrouds and radiators that the auto manufacturers have paid their designers to come up with. That being said, I think we also have to admit that in recent years even the auto manufacturers have made a significant move to electric fans. There are numerous advantages, they can be fit into the tightest of spaces and shapes; they don't consume horsepower from the motor thus improving performance and fuel mileage, they can be controlled by thermostat or by the cars computer system so they only run when needed and can even be set to increase their flow on demand in the case of multispeed fans.

I think that the aftermarket fans are being used so widely because many modern hot rodders have gotten away from the heritage of adapting parts from one vehicle to another to improve performance or meet their needs. They can go to the hot rod shop and buy one of the aftermarket fans, bolt it on and hope it works. This is easier than scouring a wrecking yard to find just the right set up that will probably be cheaper, work better and be designed to last 200,000 miles. Of course in the wrecking yard theme you are still hoping it works, but as Mike said, once he found one the right size it has done exactly what he needed.

IMHO there is nothing wrong with using electric fans as long as they are used in conjunction with a well thought out total system including an adequate radiator, shroud, sufficient fan CFM and control system.

Pat

Originally posted by Stu Cool
I think the discussion about electric versus engine driven fans is an interesting one. I absolutely agree that it may be folly to expect a simple electric fan attached to the front or back of a radiator to perform as well as the mechanical fans, shrouds and radiators that the auto manufacturers have paid their designers to come up with. That being said, I think we also have to admit that in recent years even the auto manufacturers have made a significant move to electric fans. There are numerous advantages, they can be fit into the tightest of spaces and shapes; they don't consume horsepower from the motor thus improving performance and fuel mileage, they can be controlled by thermostat or by the cars computer system so they only run when needed and can even be set to increase their flow on demand in the case of multispeed fans.

I think that the aftermarket fans are being used so widely because many modern hot rodders have gotten away from the heritage of adapting parts from one vehicle to another to improve performance or meet their needs. They can go to the hot rod shop and buy one of the aftermarket fans, bolt it on and hope it works. This is easier than scouring a wrecking yard to find just the right set up that will probably be cheaper, work better and be designed to last 200,000 miles. Of course in the wrecking yard theme you are still hoping it works, but as Mike said, once he found one the right size it has done exactly what he needed.

IMHO there is nothing wrong with using electric fans as long as they are used in conjunction with a well thought out total system including an adequate radiator, shroud, sufficient fan CFM and control system.

Pat

the late model electric fans have improved a lot over the last few yrs. a few yrs ago when i was trying to cool down a 454 blown motor with a elect. fan and couldn't ,i got so against them that i hadn't tried one in a long time, until i had to with this LT1 motor and im sold on them now, it works great, i can control it and its just nice. to me its one of those deals where i don't think ill ever go back to the blades. JMO

Originally posted by Greg Peterburs
Thank's for the info. I kept the stock shroud , and placed the Zirgo fan in the ctr. i have a manual overide switch with a 185' block temp. switch. I have'nt had time to test it in the right conditions, but this summer will tell all. I can put the stock clutch fan back on if it fails to cool.

I am presently running a dual 11" spall fan that include a housing and relief one way flappers to exhaust air at freeway speeds with a griffin radiator. for my 327/300hp motor. fans rarely come on in the 100 degree So. Calif. heat, runs cool and when fans are on it will cycle off in about 1 min. They have run longer on over 100 degree day going up the montains. The other plus is that at slow to idle speeds in traffic they are moving a lot of air where the engine driven fan would be at a disadvantage. Ed ke6bnl

I own a radiator shop and have to admit, I believe zirgo fans almost have to be way overrated! I have included an attachment that shows a finished project for a gut from wichita with a blown 502. He had a becool module that wouldn't cool his car. Becool blamed the motor which was removed and torn down 3 times and found nothing wrong!! I built a 4 row "bad ass" aluminum radiator and used a vintage air fan (Biggest fan on the market I can find but $$$) with a shroud/fan mount built by me. The results were that we had to cycle the fan or it would run only 150 degrees and that was in August. (slow drive or highway) I have to admit, however, that the radiator was huge (thickness) but was the same overall size as the becool and I baffled the inside to pass the coolant through three times in sections. I agree with one of the previous posts that a well thought system including the radiator, shroud and fan (whether elec or eng drivern) is key to getting results. I have been building custom aluminum radiators for awhile and many of them with electric fans and have only had problems with a couple of them and it was always due to some type of plumbing problem so far. All systems need a reservoir that has the capability of returning coolant to the radiator and not just a puke can. Puke cans are a joke and a waste of money. Most of the "pretty" polished aluminum tube reservoirs are very undersized and will not hold an adequate amount of coolant. I personally do not use anything smaller than about 3 qts and always have a tube or hose connecting the two of atleast 5/16 id. This is important! I am currently running a ATI blown 383 Z28 and built a huge innercooler and shitcanned the one that came with the system (tiny) and accompanied this setup with a twice as thick and shorter aluminum radiator (built by me) and am using the stock fans that came with the car and still have no heating problems with 650hp. Keep in mind that I believe these are two of the crappiest oe fans for gm v8's that I think I have ever allowed to be reused on anything and they still do the job but are a constant on setup. Just goes to show you that there are many variables when building a hotrod cooling system and you can tweak any of them and get results. Contact me if you have any hard to figure problems and I can probably help. I have been in this business for 25 years and have learned a few things and would be happy to help. Thanks, Topradman ps, I will add some pics but this file is already too big

here's the 57 chev 502 shroud? fan mount with vintage air fan i built

here's the 3 pass 4 row aluminum rad I built for the same 57 blown 502