Who’d have thought a radiator fan could be so clever?

The Cleanfix rotor made by German engineers Hagele can blow dust and debris out of the radiator system at the touch of a button.

The clever part is that cleaning can take place without having to reverse the fan. Compressed air is used to flip blade pitch 180 degrees, which forces air back through the radiator to blow away debris. This means cooling can still take place during the 20-second cleaning phase.

To improve efficiency, blade pitch is automatically adjusted according to engine temperature. As the radiator gets hotter, thermo-sensors increase pitch to push more air through the system. As it cools, pitch returns to a flatter profile, so improving efficiency.

Fans can be retro-fitted to most tractor and combine models, but at more than €1500 to fit one on a 150hp tractor they’re not cheap.

The latest incarnation takes this adjustment a stage further by using signals from the engine management system to trigger pitch adjustment. According to the manufacturer, pitch can be adjusted instantly, rather than waiting for thermo-sensors to react.