Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi all

I have been reading the recent articles regarding radiators/cooling systems with some interest as I own a 1972 Plus 2S, fitted with the manufacturer's standard size small radiator and I am looking at making the cooling system a bit more reliable. My vehicle still has the standard Lotus factory electric motor and fan and I am considering updating it with a Kenlow fan kit.

I notice that Kenlow now do two types, a standard electric fan and a two speed high performance, 2nd Jet boost speed fan kit, (page 59 Burton Catalogue) which comes with a new type electronic thermostat. On the fast speed setting, it will draw 9 amps, does anybody know what the original fan draws, has anybody had experience of fitting one of these high boost kits and if so what size fan did you purchase and how easy was the wiring modifications?

Any advice on the subject will be gratefully received

David

Hi David,

I fitted the wider (22") radiator to my '70 Plus 2S. The 10" Kenlowe fits very nicely on this rad. (I have two Kenlowes, one on auto, one on manual, for the Alpine passes and hot afternoon traffic jams in places like Milan and Valencia ) (I have a photo somewhere in previous postings on this topic)

I would say a single 10" would be more than sufficient for any situations in this part of the world. IMHO the original electric fan is practically useless

I've checked out the Kenlowe Jetspeed in Burtons catalogue, and I think there may be an error here, They only list a single amp figure (9 amps)for the 10", but the 12", 14" and 17" have a double figure 0f 18/24 amps, or as they quote, 265 Watts ! So it seems possible the 9 amps would be normal current for the 10" , and high speed possibly around 12 amps going on the same proportions.

Wiring is straight forward, but relays are definitely required.

I much prefer the Revotec variable electronic controller (Burtons, page 60) to the Kenlowe or Pacet capillary units

Sean

Hi

If you're not a stickler for originality- fit a fan from a Citroen BX19. Has an integral cowl and size could have been designed for the elan. Draws a lot of current though so you must use a relay (if using a manual control as I do).

Cheaper too at around ?25 from a breaker. You'll need to fabricate the mounting points.

Regards

John

There is a wide range of efficiency of radiator fans considered from a point of view of ft/min air flow vs amps draw. I don't think there is any reason to have a draw in excess of 7 amps.

The other side of the coin is that for there to be cooling of the water, there has to be water flow through the radiator. Depending on the engine and water pump, there can be very little water flow at low rpms. This means there will be little cooling, no matter what size fan you use.

Some owners have gone to an electric water pump. (Davies-Craig (http://www.daviescraig.com.au/Electric_ ... -list.aspx) makes a unit most frequently mentioned). Davies-Craig uses an ECU type module that pulse width modulates the water pump for variable flow independent of rpm. At low temperatures, it maintains a minimal amount of water flow. As the temperature increases past a preset limit, it increases water flow to keep the temperature constant.

Together with a radiator fan, over heating in stop and go conditions becomes a thing of the past.

And if you are a fan of the theory that you get more power with low water temps and better fuel economy with high water temps, the control module allows for the target temperature to be adjusted.

David
1968 36/7988

Sean Murray wrote:Hi David,

...... IMHO the original electric fan is practically useless

Sorry Se?n,

I very rarely disagree with you but....I have found the original electric fan more than adequate for my +2...but it hardly ever gets 'hot' here in Ireland anyway

Haven't (touch wood) had an overheating problem yet.

I DO have an override switch on teh fan just in case.

Peter

peterako wrote:

Sean Murray wrote:Hi David,

...... IMHO the original electric fan is practically useless

Sorry Se?n,

...but it hardly ever gets 'hot' here in Ireland anyway

Peter

Peter,

Please remember !

I'm "The Sunny South East"

Combine that with traffic holdups on the Waterford -New Ross road.

You'd be toast

Sean

Hi David,

I've just done that upgrade, only 2 weeks ago. My Sprint has the standard small radiator, and up to now it had the original electric fan. I found the fan always did good job of keeping the temperature below 90deg. However this season I decided to replace it with a Kenlow 10 inch unit, more for reliability than anything else. On a hot summers day, stuck on traffic, I didn't want to depend on a 30+ year old fan any more to keep things under control.

I got the standard Kenlow fan type, not one of the newer more powerful types. To be honest I haven't found much difference in cooling power between my old unit and this one, despite what people say. However, it is much quieter, it draws less current, and it's very very slim, you hardly notice it's there.

I kept the otter switch and the manual override switch I had, so changes in the wiring were minimal in my case. The power is switched by the same relay I had with the original fan.

The 10 inch size is right for the radiator, but you will have to trim the bottom and top plastic edges to make it fit flush with the core.

--Antonio

I fitted one from the scrappy..
cost a fiver
Only trouble is the quietness. first time I used it I had to stop the car in order to check it was working!
Tim