Idling...how many miles does it equal?

[SteveD2]

I go camping alot...not really just to be outdoors, but to use my boat. I have alot of electric toys I bring with me.

I'm thinking of hooking up a second deep cycle battery under the hood of my truck to power these toys. I'll need a way to charge it. I'm either going to build a generator, or just hook it up to my truck's charging system. This would be quieter and not p*ss off the other campers.

Anyway, for some reason I just don't like letting my truck idle for more than about 10 minutes. It just bothers me. I'd have to let it idle about an hour every day I camp to charge the battery. I'd probably rig it up to stay at around 1000 RPMs. (my ECU has a built in switch for this, used in police packages)

Two questions:
Aproximately how many miles do you think cold starting and idling for an hour would equal? Also, how much gas do you think my 200hp, 4 liter engine uses idling for an hour?

 

[Russ]

I heard somewhere that 1 hour of idling is equal to 3 hours of driving. I don't know about the actual mileage equivalent.

 

[Palut]

I heard somewhere (I can't remember at all) that idling is equivalent to driving 30 mph. I have no idea if that's true or not though. I think that it's harder on the engine than that. Maybe not much, but some.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by ZmOz:

Two questions:
Aproximately how many miles do you think cold starting and idling for an hour would equal? Also, how much gas do you think my 200hp, 4 liter engine uses idling for an hour?

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Real roughly 1 gallon per hour. If your truck has OBDII you might be able to read fuel flow from that with a reader.

 

[cweed]

i dont know, i hear from people idling is oh so bad for your car, but i just cant convince myself that it is. I know a police officer who idles his car for hours, literally! and the car runs like a champ! i personally idle my car a lot too, and i just dont see why it is SO bad for the car....

 

[The_Jeff]

you can get an isolator switch so when the truck is off everything runs off the deep cycle battery. The standard one is left fully charged for starting. Once you're on the road it gently adds the deep cycle for charging. They run in varying degrees of automation/price.

This assumes you camp in a different spot each night and get lots of miles in between.

If you're a same-spot camper this doesn't apply though. I would bet you'd use more like 1/4-1/2 gallon of gas per hour, idling. As long as the oil gets heated up all the way I see no problem. Give the acellerator a blip once or twice to open up the PCV system and suck some crud away (PCV is inactive at idle).

Check out honda's inverter generators, pricey but very nice. They run a lot slower with light load and have straight 12v outputs for battery charging.

 

[cweed]

which comes out to idle eqalling driving at 25 mph.... 5000/200 =25 miles / 1 hour

 

[crashz]

Since you'll probably be using the boat during the day and not near the truck, how about charging the deep cycle battery with a solar panel? It may not regenerate all of the power used at night, but it certainly would help. And would not involve running the engine.

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

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Originally posted by crashz:
Since you'll probably be using the boat during the day and not near the truck, how about charging the deep cycle battery with a solar panel? It may not regenerate all of the power used at night, but it certainly would help. And would not involve running the engine.

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Actually, I will have a 50 watt panel soon, but that won't be anywhere near enough to keep it charged.

 

[cweed]

use the panel and idle the rest of it out.... if without the panel you would need to idle an hour, then with it how much would you need to idle? 45 mins? 30 mins? i would not worry the slightest bit about idling that long....

 

[Jimbo]

For oil change intervals, Ford equates 200 hours of idling with 5000 miles of average driving. Source: Ford Truck Service Manual, 1994.

 

[OffOrWFO]

What size boat do you have? I assume you use the boat during the day, so throw a second battery on it and charge it up while your fishing/water skiing. Warn makes a quick connect for battery/winches that plug in instantly. Or... just buy a generator to charge your batteries for a short time during the day. Generators are great to have around in case of a power outage anyway. You only need a small one.

Where's that money tree at when you need it? Also I don't think idling is that hard on engines as long as it maintains normal operating temps. Some can overheat at idle pretty quick. If your truck is quieter than a generator then you need to change the exhaust system!!

 

[cweed]

hehe, i like that comment.... if i decided to idle my car at a camp ground, everyone would start coughing and sticking ear plugs in their ears. Then the next morning i'd see graffiti and eggs all over my car....

 

[SteveD2]

My boat is an outboard, and the alternator only puts out 9 amps. It barely keeps the starting battery charged. If I get a generator, it will be a cheap one, and of course quite loud. I do plan on putting a flowmaster on my truck soon, but at idle it still should be quieter than a cheap generator.

 

[TallPaul]

When a vehicle sits idling there is not much airflow through the radiator or engine compartment. I idled my E350 motorhome for an hour once on a 95 degree day (no generator) and the temp gauge was at the top of the safe zone. Idled wifes Aerostar on an 80 degree day for an hour with air on (had hood opened after lesson with the motorhome) and when I drove off the transmission had a loud groaning noise for the first half mile. Surely the transmission gets overly hot too. If you are going to do a lot of idling, you may want to go with Redline motor oil and transmission fluid. I understand Redline can take the heat.