Aerofan (technical tips section of magazine)

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I read about the 'Aerofan' in the Technical Tips section, page 38 of the latest magazine, with interest.
What do people on here think?
It seems a good idea, making the fan more efficient and the engine more economical.
I'm hoping there's a follow up report, on whether the author of the article found it of benefit or not.
I am, of course, assuming it will fit without fouling anything.
Mind you finding one would probably present a problem in itself.....
Best wishes,
Mike.

[geoberni]

The 'Aerofan' uses a variable pitch blade to reduce the airflow as the engine gets faster.
When I had a Mk1 Ford Escort back in the 70s, I had a fan with a sort of fluid drive clutch to the way it was built. Once a certain RPM, it didn't matter the speed of the engine, the fan didn't get any faster, so slightly different approach to the same problem.

[Chipper]

A similar item is fitted to many 1980s BMWs and Mercedes (possibly other makes also), of a viscous fan coupling.

[SteveClem]

I don’t really think that a Minor needs any enhanced cooling or improvement. Works just fine as it is

[jagnut66]

Spotted this on eBay (link below), however the boxing doesn't mention the Morris Minor.
So does that mean the blades would be 'handed' the wrong way for the inline A series in the Morris Minor, as opposed to the transverse engine mounting in the Mini / 1100 etc. quoted on the box?
Best wishes,
Mike.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUSTIN-MORRI ... SwB4Je5QSh

[Tea]

I don’t really think that a Minor needs any enhanced cooling or improvement. Works just fine as it is

Unfortunately, one of mine needs additional cooling in the hot weather when stuck in a traffic jam to stop fuel vaporisation. No idea why two cars are fine and the other is not. Maybe this aerofan is the answer! I've not seen the article, but if it's similar to the one posted on the ebay link, could you not just add a second fan blade to the original assembly?

[don58van]

could you not just add a second fan blade to the original assembly?

All Australian Minors were fitted with two blades (ie 4 arms).

Don

[jagnut66]

could you not just add a second fan blade to the original assembly?

All Australian Minors were fitted with two blades (ie 4 arms).

As I understand it the Aerofan is not just about cooling better when stuck in traffic but also about being more efficient (and therefore making the engine more economical) when it isn't required as much, namely when the Morris is on the move and the rad is getting plenty of 'natural' cooling.
Four standard blades would just make everything work harder I believe and shouldn't be necessary in the UK.

one of mine needs additional cooling in the hot weather when stuck in a traffic jam to stop fuel vaporisation

If your car is overheating you may want to flush your system through, as you may have a blockage somewhere.
Do you have a tap at the rear of the engine block? Does your coolant flow freely out of it when it is in the open position?
What is the condition of your rads core?
If it is just fuel vaporisation you are experiencing, this is not an uncommon problem and a 'Grumpy' heat shield or something similar might be what you need / solve the issue.
Link below.
Best wishes,
Mike.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead ... BA2&adurl=

[Murrayminor]

I seem to recall the mini fan blows the air through the radiator rather than suck it as would be the case on a Minor.

[MCYorks]

I seem to recall the mini fan blows the air through the radiator rather than suck it as would be the case on a Minor.

Yes, indeed the mini fan does blow the air through the radiator rather than suck. It was fitted with a 16-blade fan and the radiator had a cowl to direct the air flow. I once compared the mini and minor radiators. The mini radiator was only half the size of the minor yet able to cool a 1275 engine! That's quite efficient. Incidentally the Morris Ital had a viscous coupled fan but unfortunately it is too large to fit the minor.

[liammonty]

I don’t really think that a Minor needs any enhanced cooling or improvement. Works just fine as it is

Unfortunately, one of mine needs additional cooling in the hot weather when stuck in a traffic jam to stop fuel vaporisation. No idea why two cars are fine and the other is not. Maybe this aerofan is the answer! I've not seen the article, but if it's similar to the one posted on the ebay link, could you not just add a second fan blade to the original assembly?

The fuel vapourisation isn't down to the engine overheating, though - if you had a temperature gauge fitted, you would likely see that the engine is still running nice and cool when that's happening. The vapourisation is due to the proximity of the exhaust manifold to the carb, and a localised heat build up - that's why there used to be heat shields manufactured (by 'Mr Grumpy' among others) to alleviate the problem. Providing more radiator cooling capacity won't help this ;-)

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

I ran without fan on my Series II and it was fine, I haven't bothered removing it from my current 1000 and doubt I will. It's only a 2-blader so not exactly critical equipment unlike some cars with 6 or 8 blade fans you'd be foolish to remove.

[Tea]

I have the heat shield between the float chamber and exhaust manifold, but the bolts sent with the part around the fuel pipe weren’t the correct size and I never ended up asking for the correct ones to be sent out. Another job added to the ‘I must get around to that’ list.

Does the fan not also increase the general airflow in the engine bay and therefore keep air circulating preventing fuel vaporisation? That’s only a hypothesis on my part.

Also, is it true that having an extra fan blade attached reduces the engines bhp by a couple?

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

If you place your hand behind the fan with the engine running you will feel the airflow. I think the effect on power by removing the fan is more psychological than noticeable. Some cars develop fan roar at high RPM.

[MCYorks]

I have the heat shield between the float chamber and exhaust manifold, but the bolts sent with the part around the fuel pipe weren’t the correct size and I never ended up asking for the correct ones to be sent out. Another job added to the ‘I must get around to that’ list.

Does the fan not also increase the general airflow in the engine bay and therefore keep air circulating preventing fuel vaporisation? That’s only a hypothesis on my part.

Also, is it true that having an extra fan blade attached reduces the engines bhp by a couple?

It's true the fan can consume quite a bit of power at high RPM, but you're unlikely to notice. A friend of mine reckoned he could get an extra 1 mpg on motorway runs by removing the fan. In my opinion, at any speed above 15 mph the forward motion of the car will push enough air through the radiator for sufficient cooling. So most of the time when you're driving the fan is just wasting energy. This is one of the reasons why most modern cars have thermostatic controlled electric cooling fans. The fans only run when really needed.

That being said modern cars use fuel injection and don't really suffer from fuel vaporisation. So with the Minor something keeping air circulating in the engine bay while in slow moving traffic is probably a good thing.

[Matt]

Hmm

I have a couple of "Aerofans" but no idea where they are