| Author | Message | ||
| Ace (24.28.44.58) Rating: N/A |
Installing 12.5kw gen and would like to know about using bladed fan versus squirrel cage fan. I was told by Wrico that bladed fans are only good for stationary running which are also loud and most all bus conversionalist are using cage fans due to them being quiet and smaller. Cage fan from them runs $340.00 for the size I need. Are all cage fans the same as far as wiring. Researching, I see some are 2, 3 and even 4 speeds which is on high, and obviously will deliver the most CFM's. Another question is, my bladed fan is mounted on front of the radiator which also is mounted in front of generator and it pushes air away from generator. How would the cage fan work in relation to the radiator since it is smaller in diameter than the 18 inch blade fan I already have and how would I mount it in relation to the radiator? Wrico says mount the radiator away from the generator as in UP FRONT like a car but room there is limited and it would mean very long water hoses. They also said not many people put thier gens on slide outs anymore since all service is good from one side! If using a slide out how and what do you use to disconnect coolant hoses etc. when servicing? Would it be easier and better to tap into bus water coolant lines and use the bus radiator and fan? Problem I see with that is I would need to "cap" off the coolant lines/hoses when servicing or all coolant could be lost from bus! What would YOU do? I know what HE would do!  Thanks Ace | ||
| Ron Walker (Prevost82) (209.52.245.237)
Rating: N/A |
Hi Ace...the gen sets I've seen on slide-outs have long hoses that are loop, so when you pull the slide-out out you have enough hose. I'm still wrestling with fan...I mounted my 8 KW gen sideways on a double roll sideout and would like to mount the fan to the frame that the gen. is attached to ...no need for long hoses. But this also limits the what I can use for fans, a squirrel fan would be deep (for best efficiency the squirrel cage fan should blow through the rad.) So I think what I will end up doing is using a bladed fan and sucking the air through the rad from the outside and into a duct that dumps the hot air out the underside of the coach. "I was told by Wrico that bladed fans are only good for stationary running" If this was true we would all have fried motors, last time I looked I had a bladed fan sucking air through the on my Prevo Yes, a bladed fan is louder but a squirrel isn't all that quite either. Ron | ||
| Dick Bell (64.12.116.135) Rating: N/A |
I installed a 12.5 KW unit in my Eagle that I got used from another bus nut (four cylinder Perkins). It already was installed on the slide-out with the radiator/fan. Initially I had "boxed" the area that it is enclosed in. The cooling air intake opening is in the bay door and the same size as the radiator core. On the opposite end of the box I had mounted a "squirrel cage" fan with the exhaust blowing down through the bay floor. The fan is a 120 Volt multi-speed unit that initially was used in a heating/ac furnace. These multi-speed units can be had from your favorite HVAC contractor for practically nothing as the furnaces that they are in usually end up in the scrap heap for some reason other than the fan being bad. Be sure to get a direct drive instead of a belt drive unit. I feel that these types of fans are far more efficient at moving air with much less noise that the one on the genset. I wired it in to the output leads of the generator so that it runs automatically when the genset is on. Because it is pulling air from the outside and over the entire unit, I feel that it is doing a better job of cooling than if by just using the radiator fan. The reason is that it is also removing heat coming out of the vents of the generator section. The downside of this setup is that by blowing the air straight down through the bay floor, you will kick up quite a cloud of dust if you're off the paved roads. Be sure to seal the around the area between the radiator and bay door as you want all that nice cool air going through the radiator core instead of around it. I suppose there are a lot of opinions on this subject. Just my dos centavos Whatdya think 2D? | ||
| Ed Jewett (Kristinsgrandpa) (4.225.95.88)
Rating: N/A |
A few mo. ago I posted a message on here about using an electric car radiator fan and was promtly told by someone, who apparently thought he knew everything, that a fan designed like that wouldn't work, that it had to be a squirrel cage fan to get enough air. I didn't argue. If you argue with an idiot long enough people will wonder which one is the idiot. CFM is CFM where ever it comes from. My thoughts are "if it will keep a 3.8 L Pontiac cool with the air conditioner running in the bank line at 105 deg." then why won't it work on a 1.8 diesel. Squirrel cage fans do put out a lot of air but can sometimes be hard to mount in front of a radiator in close quarters. Also the air is concentrated in a smaller area and could leave the edges of the radiator with no air flow through it. You could back the fan out away from the radiator some but that takes up a lot of room. There is no right or wrong way, just your way, as long as it works. Some people don't want their genset right at the edge of the bay because of the noise which gives you room to use whatever you want. I like the setup that Dick Bell talked about. The biggest problem I see is the most fans don't have a CFM rating on them. If you end up with too much air flow the thermostat will take care of that, if not enough then it's back to the drawing board. Ed. | ||
| Cliff (Floridacracker) (65.33.16.120)
Rating: N/A |
Ace, Let me know if you still want those batteries. Thanks Cliff | ||
| John Rigby (24.174.238.253)
Rating: N/A |
Ace at busing 2004 I saw the gen set up. Very, Very, quiet, They had the gen set mounted in one box, heavily insulated, nealy air tight. With a squirrl cage fan working the opposit way that I have ever seen. It was mounted up in one corner of the box sucking in thought the swall nozzle side and expeling the air through the large opening( I guess they had it wired backwards?) Air was drawn across the genset and engine and exited through a 6"x18"bottom hole, on the opposite end. The radiator was mounted in a box next door ( it did not really matter were you put it,) the water piped across( you could put two valves on both lines to allow you to turn off the water flow disconnect a small piece off hose and pull the gen or radiator for service) The fan pushing air to the radiator was done also with a sqirrill cage motor, but this time the air was forced and controlled to go evenly over the rad then down and out the same kind of bottomhole. Be careful if directing the air down use a damper so on gravel sefices you dont have trouble with dust. John | ||
| Ace (24.28.44.58) Rating: N/A |
Cliff yes, but I have been so busy lately I completely forgot about them. If you keep reminding me, I will get up that way one day somehow and get them from you! I'm planning a trip soon to a friends house in Hernando which I think is pretty close, so maybe we can hook up then! Ace |