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Something that could make sense from a cost and airflow / cooling standpoint is the old Lincoln Mk VIII fans. They were a 2 speed fan controlled by a resistor in the low speed line. When running w/o the resistor they ran on high speed. They are available for cheap money from the salvage yards or if you want to go new I think I paid $180 for mine new from Ford.
Depending on how you start the fan it can have a moderate to high current draw. A soft start at low speed is easiest on the electrical system. An abrupt start at high speed is predictably the most demanding on the electrical system, Low speed operation is about 15 amps and high speed is around 23 amps. If you just turn on the fan without a soft start on high speed it will draw around 70 to 75 amps. I know, its a lot of power, but the easy fix is to use a soft start and a variable speed, temperature driven fan controller.
The really attractive aspect of the fan is the airflow. On low speed, depending on who you ask and which year fan you buy, it will flow somewhere between 3,000 and 3.500 cfm! On high, again depending on which year fan you buy and who you ask, the flow goes up to 4,500 to 5,000 cfm, some say higher.. The fans from the last two production years had the highest flow ratings. The earlier generation MK VIII fans were at the lower end of the rated flow ranges.
One of several attractive attributes these fans have is their intended lifetimes. These fans are 100,000 mile plus continuous duty OEM fans that we don't have to give a second thought to about durability. They are work horses and move significantly more air than any commercial aftermarket fans and they do it at a lower cost.
If you use a variable speed fan controller they start quietly, work as required (to maintain your target temperature) and definitely do not run out of cooling capacity.
The downside is they can require some effort to adapt to different radiator types and of course you don't want to allow small animals or children in the vicinity of the grill opening when they are on. 😊
Ed
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