I do; I installed an aftermarket electric gauge that I keep an eye on and I could easily wire it straight through the switch I have if it were to go out. That's how I had it before I had the controller installed. I still don't think it's going to die though. 15 amps is very unlikely to kill a 40 amp relay.

10 minutes is definitely not going to kill a battery unless your battery is on the verge of death anyway. It definitely does take some extra effort to run through a keyed power source. That doesn't mean it's hard, but it's still an extra step that is unnecessary if your charging system is well maintained and you have a quality battery.

Again, over a year's experience with this setup. I'm not making baseless guesses here.

 

It does look like the price has gone up since I got mine though, by a fairly significant amount.

Proform 69598 Adjustable Electric Fan Controller Thread In Probe Sensor 3/8" NPT

 

That's a stouter until than I thought you had mentioned earlier. I thought we were talking about a cheezy Parts store unit. Personally I would still upgrade but I wanted mine bullet proof.

I disagree that a charging system has to be on the verge if death to kill a battery like this. Most systems under full load (all the electrical accessories on at once) do not produce enough voltage to charge a battery in a short distance, at best they will leave it at right at 12v, in many cases less. Several short trips (under 5 miles) in a single day under heavy accessory loads (especially with a fan left running at every stop) will leave a battery in bad shape voltage wise. Personally I would like my vehicle to perform admirably in all conditions it could possibly encounter; busy city, slow trail crawling, deep discharges, long continuous idling, heat, cold, altitude, water...etc...etc

 

Nah, none of that. This was the cheapest available that was adjustable at the time of purchase, but definitely not the true cheapest available.

I've never remotely had an issue with it. Even when I was at school on campus making multiple repeated short trips in a day, lights on (hide and halogen off road lights at night without oncoming traffic), radio on pretty loud which was two separate amps; one running speakers and one running a 12" sub, and we're talking really quality stuff here so high draw. No AC running cause I removed mine, but the aftermarket stereo more than makes up for it. I'd use her to putter around campus and make trips to town 2-3 times a day multiple days in a row before going further.

The fan doesn't draw as much as one believes, and the system can handle more than you think. I once accidentally left my key in the accessories circuit on for an extended weekend; 4-1/2 days. The radio was on but volume was way down. I got in her and she cranked right up. I would also regularly run the radio with the engine off at half tilt or a little better for an hour at a time and I never once had an issue.