Blower fan alternatives.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

I'm missing a blower fan for the front luggage compartment. Rather than pay strong money for a 40 year old part like the one that's currently on eBay, I had a look around. There are lots of 12v inline fans available - blowers for boat bilges, etc.

Any idea what sort of CFM would be needed?

What other non standard  solutions have people got, if any?

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Random example from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004TL2B1W/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?qid=1463653664&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX175_SY253_QL65&keywords=12v+blower+fan+inline

[jbcollier]

What year and model of Europa?

[buzzer]

if you search "smiths blower" on eBay you will find quite a few original blowers if you want to go period.

dave 

[EuropaTC]

It is quite easy to get one that's OEM style on Ebay. The later TCs, or at least the export ones, had the snail type enclosures similar to a lot of BL cars of the period and even those crop up regularly.

I've just fitted a replacement to mine because, well basically the OEM thing looked a bodge. I used a 12v fan, a Honda PS125 Radiator fan which seemed a neat fit. Ebay, £12 delivered and it is like new.

I haven't photographed it since it's installed but can do if you want. Here's one shot of the new fan alongside the OEM installation. It's a touch slimmer so less to catch when getting the spare wheel out and having a guard around the blades it seems to push more air forwards than the old, unchanneled original version.

Brian

[Grumblebuns]

Brilliant idea. You can widen the donor source for fans by searching for motorcycle radiator cooling fans also.

Joji Tokumoto
Fallbrook, Ca 

[EuropaTC]

That was exactly my thoughts Joji, after fitting a modern enclosed fan on the radiator I wanted the same for the blower. All the ones I saw were too large until I thought about motorcycles being fan cooled these days and then it was just a case of finding one with the right dimensions. As you say, there are a lot of very neat fan installations on bikes.

Brian
(and much lighter as well, Colin would have approved)

[StrawberryCheesecake]

What year and model of Europa?

It's a 47 replica, so originality to the road car isn't a big deal for me.

[buzzer]

Brian, you got me thinking about my special. I always thought it had a snail type fan. I didn't get one in the pile of parts I got with the car and it was raced. I thought it was discarded and the hole in the bonnet for the fan was enlarged for airflow, but I'm thinking that it may have had the type of fan in your picture originally as the hole looks the same.
Dave

[EuropaTC]

I think it was only the Federal versions which had the snail blowers, the UK customers just got the backyard bodge version. 

The BYB version is lousy in terms of demisting the car because half the air flow bounces sideways rather than forwards. The only way mine ever worked during winter was to drive the car to get some air pressure inside the front chamber and having a good foam seal all round the front lid was essential if you wanted to see where you were going. At least with this Honda fan all the air is channeled where you want it to go.

If you're in the position of having no parts to fit, then I'd look at what JBCollier did with his S1. Installing a blower right next to the heater seems a brilliant idea to me for demisting. Even if it only works on heated airflow, the cold air feed has always been good once you're moving.

Brian