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Reversible fan keeps it cool

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Published: December 18, 2008

FARGO, N.D. – Peak diesel efficiency is derived from high compression and high temperature in the combustion chamber. But that peak efficiency can blast out the exhaust stack when the engine overheats.

Some engines survive overheating well. For others, it takes only one experience to score the pistons and cylinders, or cook the tension out of the rings.

The engine may still run, but the power is gone and diesel fuel is wasted with every single r.p.m. The results of a plugged radiator can cost $10,000 or more to repair.

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Don Smail says there’s no excuse for it. He says a reversible fan with 100 percent airflow in both directions can solve the problem when working in heavy residue and dust.

“It’s essential to continually purge all the debris that collects on your radiators, coolers, air conditioning and other screens,” says Smail, the Canadian rep for Cleanfix VP reversible fans.

The VP designation stands for variable pitch. The blades on the Cleanfix VP rotate 180 degrees, allowing reverse airflow for blowing out dust and debris.

Smail says that on the Cleanfix system, the reverse airflow can be triggered by the operator with a button in the cab when temperature gauges start to rise or the air conditioning starts to go lame.

Cleanfix also has a timer control option so the fan automatically switches to reverse flow on its own. The operator sets the time intervals to match the debris conditions.

In addition to preventing a cooked engine, reverse flow fans can assist today’s Tier 3 and tomorrow’s Tier 4 power plants, which are more temperamental than previous generations of diesel engines. To reach the fuel efficiency and performance they’re designed for, temperatures must remain in the correct range.

Smail says the system saves money through a few key features. The thermostat-controlled variable pitch enables the blades to feather out, like the propeller blades on an airplane.

“Keeping the engine and hydraulics in the right heat range gives you a significant fuel savings on any diesel engine, even more so on the newest engines.”

When the engine is started and temperatures are down, the blades remain flat to draw less air through the radiator and consume less of the engine’s power. This allows the engine and hydraulic systems to warm to their recommended operating temperatures more quickly.

As temperatures rise, the thermo elements expand, causing the blades to gradually turn into a more aggressive angle, thus pumping more fresh air through the coolers.

As temperatures fall, the blades turn to the appropriate angle required for cooling. This prevents overcooling.

The adjustment is continual when the engine is running, whether at an idle or under full load. It provides more cooling in hot weather and less cooling in cold weather.

According to Cleanfix calculations, their variable pitch fan can save up to 60 percent of the power consumed by the fan when full cooling isn’t needed. That translates into fuel savings.

In their example with a 30 inch Cleanfix variable pitch fan and a machine running in cool weather, the fuel saving is three litres per hour because the blades feather out to pump less air.

Diesel fuel prices vary, but assuming a value of $1 per litre, the fan can knock $3 per hour off operating costs in cool weather.

Smail says there are also significant cost savings in never needing to stop the machine to clean the radiator. He says this is possible only if the fan is fully reversible.

Using a figure of $50 per hour for cleaning downtime, one hour a day for 90 days pencils out to a cost saving of $4,500.

That dollar figure could be higher for producers running new equipment and those paying higher wages for operators.

Smail says for a reversible fan to be effective, it must push and pull air at full capacity in both directions.

An incomplete cleanout of the radiator, coolers and screens means producers will still need to stop to manually finish the cleanout or run on a partially plugged system.

“Our system differs from other reversible fans. They use the backside of the blade to push air back through the radiator so they only get 20 to 30 percent of the normal airflow.”

Achieving a full 180-degree blade pivot at full operating speed proved an engineering challenge. Smail said there’s a pneumatically operated piston on the inside of the fan hub.

The inside end of each fan blade houses an eccentric pin with a bearing that fits into the piston. When air pressure moves the piston, the pins move and the blades pivot.

Smail says more farmers and manufacturers are becoming aware of the benefits of a good reverse airflow. Every new New Holland TV6070 has the Cleanfix VP fan installed as standard equipment at the factory.

“We installed so many of these fans on the older version TV 140 and 145 tractors that it was a natural progression for them to make it standard equipment on the new tractor. New Holland uses the exact same fan you can buy for your tractor.

“For retrofit, the fan hub bolts to the original mounting point, whether you have a belt driven fan or hydraulics. We have kits available for literally thousands of different engine models from anywhere in the world.”

Smail says the technology was developed in Germany in 1997 and crossed to Canada in 2001.

The Cleanfix VP is available in sizes ranging from nine-blade 18-inch fans for $1,900 to 12-blade fans with a 49-inch diameter for $5,500.

For more information, contact Don Smail at 519-349-2200 or visit www.cleanfix.ca.

About the author

Ron Lyseng

Ron Lyseng

Western Producer

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