He and I had a long discussion the other day about fan clutches and blades. This man is one of the sharpest knives in the drawer as far as I am concerned .
He indicated to me that the "blue" clutch was one of the best he has monkeyed with and he also outlined his "theory" about how "ringed fans" work. He is a very sharp fellow and I listened to what he had to say and "filed" it in the back of my mind, thinking that he may, or may not, have a valid observation.
Fast forward to my last Powell trip. I had some warm running issues and I condemned my "newish" blue clutch (I have a "ringed" fan because I have a blower).
This evening I deliberately left the engine idling with the A/C on and the aux fan off. The engine temp slowly raised to 210 and I couldn't really hear any air movement. I tried to stop the blade using the "gloved hand" test and damned if I couldn't do it So, I say to myself "Remember what Kevin said about ringed fans creating a vortex if they are not run in a form-fitting shroud?".
I throttled the engine up to about 2,000 rpm and the fan was pulling. I felt the air movement and there was a significant ammout comming out around the edge of the fan. I carefully placed my hand behind the center of the fan and felt NOTHING, bordering on negitive pressure .
I am CERTAIN that blown engines equipped with the ringed fan ARE NOT set up properly.
I am now actively studying to find a conventional blade that will fit the clutch and have proper spacing to avoid hitting both the radiator and blower drive on the back-side.
Thank you Kevin for planting that seed in my brain............
D-
He indicated to me that the "blue" clutch was one of the best he has monkeyed with and he also outlined his "theory" about how "ringed fans" work. He is a very sharp fellow and I listened to what he had to say and "filed" it in the back of my mind, thinking that he may, or may not, have a valid observation.
Fast forward to my last Powell trip. I had some warm running issues and I condemned my "newish" blue clutch (I have a "ringed" fan because I have a blower).
This evening I deliberately left the engine idling with the A/C on and the aux fan off. The engine temp slowly raised to 210 and I couldn't really hear any air movement. I tried to stop the blade using the "gloved hand" test and damned if I couldn't do it So, I say to myself "Remember what Kevin said about ringed fans creating a vortex if they are not run in a form-fitting shroud?".
I throttled the engine up to about 2,000 rpm and the fan was pulling. I felt the air movement and there was a significant ammout comming out around the edge of the fan. I carefully placed my hand behind the center of the fan and felt NOTHING, bordering on negitive pressure .
I am CERTAIN that blown engines equipped with the ringed fan ARE NOT set up properly.
I am now actively studying to find a conventional blade that will fit the clutch and have proper spacing to avoid hitting both the radiator and blower drive on the back-side.
Thank you Kevin for planting that seed in my brain............
D-