[DeTomaso] pancake fan for condenser

[John Taphorn]

Tom

Don't stop there; it is reasonable to have higher expectations.

1) Do you know how well the CFM of the pancake compares with the original 
fan? My previous research showed most pancake motors were not able to pull 
as much CFM as the original fan/motor with it's larger blade design. If you 
go to sites like http://www.the-fan-man.com/, you can see that the stock 
blade design on our original condensor consistently has more CFM than either 
straight or vaned blade pancake motors.

Perhaps a decade back on this Forum, an individual ran a informal test 
placing heavier flat items ( I believe it was cardboard )against the 
condenser grill to see which had superior sucking ability and the stock fan 
proved hard to beat.

The condenser is the challenge in the system.  It is smaller than ideal and 
requires more airflow.  You are focusing in the right area.

2) Another potential issue is the filter screen in the stock expansion 
valve.  These can become partially clogged over time and compromise the flow 
of refrigerant in to the evaporator.  It is in the inlet side of the valve.

If I were in your shoes, I would see whether spraying water from a garden 
hose on the condenser significantly improved cooling temps at the dash vent. 
I realize that this will be possible only while in your driveway.  However, 
take the car for a drive and allow it to get up to temp.  When you have the 
AC blowing at 55 degrees come into the driveway and have someone spray water 
at the condenser.  If the temps drop perceptibly, then you have your 
challenge - improve air flow through the condenser.  A guy on the PI forum 
fabricated a condenser shroud with two pancake motors.  Now your talkin'

Keep us apprised

JT


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <tmshinro at aol.com>
To: <michael at michaelshortt.com>
Cc: <detomaso at realbig.com>
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 2:58 PM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] pancake fan for condenser


>
> I wired it so that the fan sucked air in from the outside of the car, 
> which is how the factory fan worked.   Bill Gaino showed me at the Summer 
> Summit that he sealed the sides of the condenser housing to prevent engine 
> compartment air from being sucked through the condenser, which he said 
> improved his cooling performance.   I'll be doing the same thing as soon 
> as I can find some dense foam strips to stick in there.
>
> Unfortunately my cooling performance was not as good when I took the car 
> for a test drive with temps in the low 90s, high humidity and overcast. 
> I saw 38 degree air from the vents in my garage but after about 20 minutes 
> of driving the vent temps rose to 55 degrees and pretty much stayed there. 
> I figured I was seeing temps about 35 to 40 degrees cooler than ambient, 
> so I assume that is about as good as the system will do.   Curious if 
> others are getting colder air in hot weather.
>
>
> Tom
> #5186
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: michael at michaelshortt.com <michaelsavga at gmail.com>
> To: tmshinro <tmshinro at aol.com>
> Cc: detomaso <detomaso at realbig.com>
> Sent: Sun, Jul 10, 2011 9:24 pm
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] pancake fan for condenser
>
>
> did you hook it up to suck air into the car or blow air out of the car?
> Michael
> On Jul 10, 2011 10:01 PM,  <tmshinro at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
> http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso