UPS Delivered Exquisite Fine Art (3 Viewers)

[zonker]

I will take a photo or two of the change I made to the GEP housing later today. Should anyone order the SPAL fans along with the harness and need any virtual help with how to route it and or how to modify it.. just say the word and I will surface!

Also today I am getting in touch with Ron Davis at RD Radiators and explaining my perspective.. just in case anyone has experienced the same symptoms.

 

[zonker]

Okay.. some rudimentary photographs of the GEP housing and the common inline fuse holders. The Ron Davis radiator is on the right and left fender to the left of course. Starter battery is at the bottom and headlight bucket at the top.

The GEP housing is very high quality. In the housing all wires culminate and go to their respective positions in the GEP. Inside are two plug in solid state relays and in my opinion.. the dreaded 40a Mini fuses. The housing has a silicon seal of an immense size all around the bottom. There is a "tang" on the bottom outside edge that is the release to push the whole assembly out the bottom for access. The GEP housings can be configured in any way needed. Should I ever need in the future to have a waterproof all inclusive electrical control.. this GEP would be my choice. Did not know of them until now.

Install of the inline fuse holders was really simple. The input and output wires from the housing were clipped flush to the bottom of the GEP. The fuse holders were then installed between the two clipped free wires. It took me about 45 minutes for the surgery. Then an additional 30 minutes to shorten the twin 12g wires that went to my AUX battery. The two wires now terminate at the starter battery. In thought.. by shortening the load wires from their original length of 29" to the 18" length needed for the positive terminal located right there on the starter battery.. I might save a few ohms.. maybe.. but betting it won't make a difference. But what the "hey"!

Would not have taken as long to solder the large 3/8" copper lug to the twin 12 gauge wires.. but I had to disassemble my propane torch head as for some unknown reason it was partially plugged. But what the "hey"!!

 

[zonker]

One bonus I have found with the Ron Davis is a little bit better fuel mileage. No joke! The engine as I have stated runs very cool. Of course that is until I can prove the true results this summer.. but I am very optimistic. Since I have no viscous fan anymore.. the load on the engine is decreased. Especially when on a long climb and the hub is fully locked up. The engine has to be using some HP to turn it. I measured several tanks worth after the install and was surprised. I do keep a running tab.. so I knew something was up. Then I increased the advance a bit more than where I had it set initially. I just bumped it up say 4 degrees or so. I didn't pay a lot attention to where I had it set initially as that was a couple of years ago. This was a test just to try.

My LC is fully loaded all the time since I love to just take off whenever I feel like and I live where I can be offroad in 10 minutes. Also I have a lot of extra steel bolted to it. Sliders.. bumpers.. skid plates.. roof rack.. lights.. winch.. recovery gear.. etc. So I am guessing that I am probably pushing 7,000 lbs. Have not weighed it in awhile since we don't have any truck scales around. I drive on the highway at 65mph.. with cruise control set. I drive it around town as a daily driver.. of course my town is the size of postage stamp. I am easily averaging 13mpg and I am VERY happy with that. Prior to my recent changes.. I was very lucky to net 12mpg. Guessing no engine load from the fan and cooler temps allowing me to bump the timing to what would normally be a little scary is the reason life is good.. at least in the winter time.

So there you have it.. some more of my endless ramblings!!

 

[Pierce]

Hey @zonker just wondering if you’ve had the chance to test out the Ron Davis setup now that it’s starting to get hot out. Looking forward to the update

 

[zonker]

Hey @Pierce.. great to hear from you! The quick answer is that the Ron Davis radiator is awesome for heat dissipation. The only thing that has been a problem is the electrical harness that controls the SPAL fans. I have written of those problems here in this thread. Also I posted a new thread regarding a "Ron Davis Update".. Ron Davis Radiator Update - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/ron-davis-radiator-update.1256296/#post-13924739

Bottom line I would not hesitate for a second to purchase a Ron Davis again.. just not the SPAL fans as they are loud and definitely not their electrical control harness. Expensive yes.. but superior quality and built by one of the masters of radiators. With his Dakar.. NASCAR.. 24 hour endurance vehicles.. I think he has building radiators for harsh environments down pat!

Buy with confidence!!
Zonker

 

[Pierce]

I appreciate the wisdom @zonker! Thanks for being the guinea pig!

 

[zonker]

I love being a Guinea Pig.. my destiny in life!