Finally getting AC

[hemi43]

You do have a thermostat installed?

[mister.freeze]

I recently tested the thermostat. That's one of the first things I looked at.
Running much cooler now without Condenser fan. The business card test was a good idea. So without the condenser fan from the kit, condenser mounted right against the radiator, and my 2 14" (I think I originally posted 12") fans, I feel confident in the cooling system to proceed with the install. Apparently, running or not, the condenser fan was doing more harm than good. The shroud, oddly, didn't do much good.

[Richard]

I had said shroud does not really matter at highway speeds. Lower speed traffic through town is where it will help. A shroud with space between the fan and rad will allow the fan to pull through more of the radiator and still allow airflow at speed. Still do not understand people purchasing high dollar aluminum rads and blocking 50% of the airflow through them with a flat plate. I would guess your condenser fan was wired to run anytime the A/C is on instead of through a pressure switch. If condenser fan was running at highway speeds it was probably inhibiting airflow.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Richard

I had said shroud does not really matter at highway speeds. Lower speed traffic through town is where it will help. A shroud with space between the fan and rad will allow the fan to pull through more of the radiator and still allow airflow at speed. Still do not understand people purchasing high dollar aluminum rads and blocking 50% of the airflow through them with a flat plate. I would guess your condenser fan was wired to run anytime the A/C is on instead of through a pressure switch. If condenser fan was running at highway speeds it was probably inhibiting airflow.

Aluminum rads cost less than $200 if you build your own and will be better quality than the Chinese crap you see everywhere. A shroud covering the complete surface of the rad is what you want because this insures 100% of the surface area will be utilized. Take a look at late model cars, they use a full shroud for a reason.

[mister.freeze]

Not sure I'd be able to build one, but my current setup seems to be working ok now.