The electric fan vs the factory clutch fan has made many threads and the argument pops up occasionally still. I saw this on YouTube and thought I would share. As a spoiler though, they did not test the clutch type fan when hot and working. I imagine the result would be comparable to their test of a stock, steel, fixed blade fan.

 

I saw this a few weeks ago and found it an interesting watch.

 

This actually made me consider going to electric. I think they mentioned that clutch fans are not as reliable as electric, I thought it was the other way around?

 

Efans have been industry standard for years.
OEM fans are very reliable, in my experience.
There's a lot of chintzy aftermarket stuff available and that's what most people think of when the reliability issue is discussed.
Go OEM and you can hardly go wrong.

 

I totally predicted the shroudless would chew less juice. Its not doing as much work - > the air gets to take path of least resistance. Those guys surprised me with the "whips the air up" theory.

 

yeah, lets make a show and leave out the one mechanical fan that makes the biggest difference. anyone who watches it and immediately draws a conclusion from that episode is an idiot.

if you're going to do a comparison of electric versus mechanical it should be with the most modern mechanical fan which is the clutch fan, and also compare it against a big electric fan while it is working and using electrical energy that is also taking power from the engine.

then there is fan reliability, considering i have never had a mechanical fan fail and my cars combined have about a million miles, that's not unreliable by any means. yes mechanical fans fail but they only fail about equally as much as a very good quality OEM electric fan used on passenger cars. most aftermarket electrical fans though, definitely do not hit that mark and actually can be a liability. another problem is, too many dumbasses can't wire an electric fan, and/or use aftermarket e-fans and then wind up overheating their 30 year old rotary that is already due to kick the bucket and is just looking for a reason.

 

You bring up two of the least relevant issues- relative power consumption and reliability- and completely ignore the most important distinction between the two systems...the efan can be precisely controlled and the mechanical fan, even with the clutch, cannot.
This is important because exactly when it is most needed- idling at a stop- the mechanical fan is at its lowest output, an inherent design feature that cannot be overcome.