Idle time vs wear and tear on starter

[3Ts]

Same here, not below 1500 rpm unless idle prior to a shutdown.

You have a mix of people posting replies here. Those with and without DPF. There’s a difference.

And also those with a turbo and those without one. That makes a difference as well.

I have an old tractor without DEF and without Turbo, I'll let it idle at the low end at whatever the minimum mechanical stop allows.
I have another tractor without DEF but with a Turbo, it's supposed to need a warm up and cool down time and a 1200 rpm for the turbo, so I follow those guidelines. I.e. 1200 rpm is the idle speed except for the 2 minutes of warm up and cool down. I run the engine while changing implements, except when attaching the pto shaft or connecting/disconnecting the hydraulics.

 

[Industrial Toys]

To me, the age of the machine matters a bit. If it's new, I wouldn't want to rack up hours idling. If it's old, I don't feel it matters as much.

Sometimes it is a matter of noise, smoke or safety.

It's what I like about Diesels over Gasoline engines. When warm, you can barely operate that starter switch quickly enough and it is running again.

 

[alexsbuddy]

I idle mine at 1200-1500 rpm when at rest and normally do not shut it off unless I won't be using it for 15 or more minutes. 850+ hours and runs like a champ and it has not impacted the regen cycle. In my opinion, constantly shutting off and restarting an engine, gas or diesel, is harder on the engine than simply allowing it to idle. I priced out a new starter for my XG3037 just out of curiosity and about fell over with a stroke. Check for yourself....guarantee you will be surprised and bewildered!

 

[CobyRupert]

Many many factors in the “which is better” calculation..
....not just wear on starter, but factor in the wear that additional thermal expansion/contraction stop-start cycles has on....gaskets, seals, hoses, thermostats, bolts, bearings....everything really....
....compared to the wear of it continuously running.
The calculation gets tricky.

IMHO, I think that not only should most vehicles and tractors have odometers, and hour meters, but a cycle ( or start-stop) counter too.