Diesel guys read this

[pp_rp]

I have been a paramedic for 12 yrs. In that time I have driven the Powerstroke 7.3L and 6.6L The ambulances are large and are very heavy. We drive them very hard and at times upto 100 mph as long as 15 min. The oil we use is Conoco 15w-40 HD Fleet Supreme. Never ounce in 12 yrs. with 60,000+ calls a yr. (whole company) and millions of miles have I seen a blown engine or an oil related problem. I would say this is a pretty good record and diesel oil.

 

[D-Roc]

Any UOA's on those engines?

 

[pp_rp]

No, just the experience. They get ride of the old ambulances at 300,000 miles. 5000 mile services.

 

[Panzerman]

Thats actaully probably the best thing for those engines. Contrary to popular belief and the fact that they run at lower rpms that hard running is not good on a diesel. But they are made to run hard and work hard. Putting around in a diesel will kill it, they like to idle or run hard. Pretty much what you all do.

 

[pp_rp]

Actually we drive nice most of the time with alot of idleing. We are not on calls most of the time. But when we are those rigs are beat on.

 

[wcbcruzer]

Idling is not good for a diesel.

 

[Michael_P]

pp. I am a paramedic as well. When we set the brake and put it in park the RPM's kick up to about 1250. Do your medic trucks do this? This helps the cause.

 

[pp_rp]

In the summer there is some idleling. In the winter there is alot of it. I'd say about 50% of us use the emerg. brake and the rpm's increase. It depends if were sitting in the truck or not. If not it's just a regular idle. So over all there is alot of idleing.

 

[Drew99GT]

Quote:

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Idling is not good for a diesel.

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Many commercial fleets, especially in the north, are running literally 24/7 and idle all night. If it was that bad, I think they'd have found out now.

Ever stop at a rest stop in the middle of BFE midwest at night when it's still 85 degrees out with 100000000000% humidity? Trucks are all idling with the air on.

 

[Master ACiD]

I just watched a show called ice road truckers. one fellow "high" mentioned his rig is NEVER shut down. it runs continously for month at a time. it idles while he isnt using it. even if that means days at a time. if idling was bad these ice road truckers would all have engine problems. however i didnt see one engine problem during the entire series.

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Many of the older locomotives without "Smart Start" run continuously througout the Winter, I have witnessed an SD40 idle for two-months 24/7 without being moved...until it ran out of fuel...and then coolant was dumped to avoid freeze damage...

 

[allan5oh]

Idling IS bad for the engine. Especially cold weather, the water temperature drops, and engine wear increases.

The problem is, some engines cannot handle being started at -20 or colder.

So they get idled.

For the record, I always shut mine off. It has started every time. Even -48 with windchill.

I run an espar engine heater anywhere from 2-4 hours.

 

[Rob Taggs]

At work we idle the dump trucks at 1,000 rpms, my personal dumptruck is idled at 1,250 rpms- Manuf.specs. Odd thing is when the oil samples results are sent back to us there is no change whether its winter or summer. Iron always runs in the teens summer or winter.

 

[tsmay51]

I have seen a cummins used on a ranch that has been idled alot while doing chores around the ranch. There is over 500k miles on that truck. No problems at all. As someone else said truckers idle their trucks all nite sometimes.

 

[Mike_dup1]

My neighbor drives for Swift and is on the road for weeks at a time. For about 5-7 days every month last winter when he was home the darn tractor would startup on it own every in cold weather and run at fast idle for a long time (24/7). The colder it was the more it would start and the longer it would run. I think he has a KW but told me this spring the truck was going to be replaced. Looked new but had over 500,000 miles on it.

I am glad they moved so I won't have to listen to that next winter.

Those ice road trucks don't shut because it may never start again and they can't afford that. The rig will freeze up, the fuel will gel.

When I worked at the DOT, our 2-1/2 ton winter plow trucks took a beating and every winter several IH diesels would blow up. Seen it many times, 3 trucks down at the same time and a snow storm hits. Hauling a full load of salt/sand, plowing the road, freezing cold took its toll on many of them. The mechanic once told me in the 10-15 life of the trucks, everyone will see a new engine and maybe more before the are replaced.

All the oil came from low bidders. I seen drums from Mobil, Citgo, Marathon in the shop. Oil was oil, only thing the cared about was saving the budget and put off anything till tomorrow.

 

[DiEseLjunKy]

Just cause you see trucks idling all night long doesn't mean it won't hurt them. Idling is bad for diesels period. I'm surprised that you guys on an oil forum would make such a blanket statement that it's fine you should know better around here. It breaks down oil additives, increases suspended soot, and rasies acidity levels in the oil decreasing intervals. Big truck engines typically burn anywhere from .08 to 1.2 gallons per hour of idling some fleets factor in the wear damage of 1 hour idling as the rough equivalent of 500 miles rolling. So you can factor in that excessive wear with the 3$ a gallon fuel you waste every hour. Now in extreme weather conditions idling is necessary. I do it myself all the time to stay cool or warm. But that doesn't make it ok for the engine.

 

[hheynow]

Nobody has mentioned wet-stacking which can be prevented if the EGTs are kept over 275*F and the idle is between 900-1200 RPMs. I have a chip which has a high idle setting of 1100 RPMs.

 

[dnewton3]

Idling isn't hard on an engine; it's hard on the oil. Then if the oil degrades, that in turn would have some effect on the engine. If you idle a lot, UOA's will help keep an eye on the oil quality, and therefore the engine health.

If you want to eliminate engine wear, just don't ever start the engine; problem solved! The reality is that if you need to idle, then idle. Just keep an eye on the oil quality, and the engine (no matter what size or type) should last a long, long time.

 

[Master ACiD]

Quote:

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Just cause you see trucks idling all night long doesn't mean it won't hurt them. Idling is bad for diesels period. I'm surprised that you guys on an oil forum would make such a blanket statement that it's fine you should know better around here. It breaks down oil additives, increases suspended soot, and rasies acidity levels in the oil decreasing intervals. Big truck engines typically burn anywhere from .08 to 1.2 gallons per hour of idling some fleets factor in the wear damage of 1 hour idling as the rough equivalent of 500 miles rolling. So you can factor in that excessive wear with the 3$ a gallon fuel you waste every hour. Now in extreme weather conditions idling is necessary. I do it myself all the time to stay cool or warm. But that doesn't make it ok for the engine.

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youre tellin me that an hour of idling is equal to 500 miles of rolling? at what speed is this being taken, 500 miles per hour? hahhahaha. 500 mile per hour semi's are equal to an hour of idling.
what you said is pretty far out there.

;ets assume at the legal speed limit of 70, it would take over 7 hours to go 500 miles. assuming this more realistic approach, how is an hour of idling (which is super low load and low stress on the bearings and rings) equal to over 7 hours of running at 70?
keep in mind at idle, diesel can be over 150:1 afr.

 

[BMWR1150GS]

I don't know about how hard it is on the engine but it sure does generate plenty of emmisions. There is a move afoot to provide truckstops with electric plug ins to provide 110VAC for on board a/c and other accessories. Then, the engine could be shut off instead of allowed to run at idle. Not only would this improve engine service life but it would save 100,000s of gallons of diesel fuel in the US daily.