Review on 🔴 Efficient Cooling Solution: Derale 16795 PWM Fan Controller in Vibrant Red by Jacob Brooks

I'm split 50/50 on this product. The controller itself is great. The rest, including the probe, is garbage. In my experience this is an amazing example of a Derale product. The included temperature sensor doesn't seem to work well in aluminum heatsinks - if at all. Ignoring the fact that "pluggable" sensors are generally a bad idea. Poor quality connectors - consider a clearance sale at any discount auto parts store. The supplied primary wire is a very lightly stranded, VERY stiff wire. Poor quality and a very poor attempt to lower costs for Derale. I suspect a self-healing circuit breaker was used in the kit to reduce support calls. I haven't used it because I'm against "self-healing" circuits. If the switch works, you have a PROBLEM that needs addressing, not ignoring. I didn't use it either because I didn't want the exposed bare connectors in the engine bay carrying more than 40-50 amps. Seriously, would it be that hard to turn it on with the cover on? I installed this controller along with a Ford Contour dual fan assembly. The fans run in parallel and typically draw 20-30 amps each at startup and around 18-20 amps each at 100%. Luckily, the controller gradually revs up the fans, so booting isn't much of a problem, as in some cases. Normal power consumption depends on who makes the motors. Motorcraft (OEM) engines draw significantly more current (both starting and running) than cheap Chinese Dorman engines. Of course, Motorcraft engines use much more air than cheap Chinese ones. :) The first thing that makes this controller work is more money. More money to replace all their inferior POS parts. More money to accommodate two powerful fans. I spent an additional $100 on a probe, clamps, wire, fuse holder, (real) wire ties, and shrink wrap. The circuit breaker was replaced with .109154 MAXX-DUTY 60 AMP sealed fuse holder (DIY). Also, there was a few extra bucks for the high temp conduit for the wire harness, motor connectors and the connectors between the fan assembly and the controller so the fan assembly can be removed without touching the controller, but Derale won't normally do this - 10 AWG The sensor is fine, but I bought and used better wiring to go from separate fans to two 2-pin connectors (one for each fan motor) and then combined the two positive and two negative 10 AWG wires in two (positive and negative) 8 AWG wires to the controller. I ended up with about 8 feet of 8 AWG (4 feet). red and 4ft black) and 8ft 10 AWG (4ft red and 4ft black). run was very short, using 10 AWG for the entire assembly would have introduced an undesirable voltage drop. (CMMs are what motors do, when the voltage drops the current drawn increases etc.) The entire assembly has been in use for three months now and there have been absolutely no problems with the controller or the Derale threads in the probe. The temperature configuration was very simple and there were no deviations from the Derale documentation. Using a multimeter, follow the instructions and set up the controller as directed and everything just works. Deral tech support is bad. All the horror stories on the internet? You are all right. If you need to call them they will have you running around massively. I had a few questions about using their controller on Contour fans and using their threaded probe instead of the included plug-in probe, to which I didn't get an answer. In fact, the technician has repeatedly stated that the plug-in probe doesn't work on this controller, although Derale recommends using this probe with HP aluminum heatsinks and they themselves admit that the plug-in probe doesn't work well when anyway, on high-end aluminum heatsinks like Howe. If you're willing to spend $$$ this is a good controller. In fact, the cost of the controller plus what I spent brings the total cost down to the cost of controllers from other manufacturers. Manufacturers who actually ship good components with their controller. IMHO Derale could save himself a lot of negative press by raising the price and supplying good components instead of selling them at a discount price with crappy components. OR they could lower the price to around $80-$90 just for the controller and let the customer buy the components they need.