Idling?

[canoetrpr]

Might be a bit of a silly question but I'm trying to figure out how much I should let my tractor idle before it simply gets to be a waste of fuel with no benefit.

Tomorrow is my day to spread manure and I will have both my Kubota M7040 going (doing the loading job) and my MF 255 (doing the spreading). It does not take very long to spread the load but longer to load it. Since the 254 is not turbo I'm guessing it is just safe to turn it off when I am loading.

How long would my spreading run have to be before it made sense to turn off the M?

 

[Don87]

It was previously discussed and the general consensus was anything over about 5 minutes was considered unnecessary idling.


Myself, it depends on the job............I ain't restarting my tractor every six minutes. Sounds like you may be in the same type situation..........just depends.

 

[whistlepig]

If it is going to idle 15 minutes or more I'll turn it off. In the winter I don't turn it off at all. I don't want to take the chance that it won't start and have to fix it outside in the winter.

 

[TripleR]

What Don said.

 

[Mike_VT]

5 min, that is when I shut mine off.

 

[grsthegreat]

I spread my manure on a horse powered spreader, so the tractor would have to idle maybe 10-12 minutes between loads. The wife is the one filling the spreader, and i told her to let it idle a few minutes after i get filled, then shut it off till i return. Sometimes she goes out and spreads a bucket full on her garden area while im spreading, then its a non issue.

I dont see the benefit of idling for 10 - 15 minutes myself. wont hurt the tractor, but waste fuel

 

[brokenot]

Follow the manufacturers recommendations. Wasting fuel is only a minor concern in my opinion...especially in cooler operating conditions. What can be far more serious than some wasted fuel expense, is wear or damage that can occur from not *working* the machine as it was intended to be worked because the engine temperature never reaches what it was designed to operate at. If this is only an occasional type of usage, it's of no real concern. But if it's something that you do often, then there's lots of information on the subject of "wet stacking" out there that's worth reading.

 

[whistlepig]

Follow the manufacturers recommendations. Wasting fuel is only a minor concern in my opinion...especially in cooler operating conditions. What can be far more serious than some wasted fuel expense, is wear or damage that can occur from not *working* the machine as it was intended to be worked because the engine temperature never reaches what it was designed to operate at. If this is only an occasional type of usage, it's of no real concern. But if it's something that you do often, then there's lots of information on the subject of "wet stacking" out there that's worth reading.

This is good advice. I am not worried about fuel consumption or the hours it puts on a tractor by prolonged idling. It is the condensation in the crankcase and the "wet stacking" that concerns me more.

 

[grsthegreat]

Follow the manufacturers recommendations. Wasting fuel is only a minor concern in my opinion...especially in cooler operating conditions. What can be far more serious than some wasted fuel expense, is wear or damage that can occur from not *working* the machine as it was intended to be worked because the engine temperature never reaches what it was designed to operate at. If this is only an occasional type of usage, it's of no real concern. But if it's something that you do often, then there's lots of information on the subject of "wet stacking" out there that's worth reading.

i have heard about this for many years, but i see Semi's sitting by a truck stop idling for 6 - 8 hours while the operator sleeps. this runs heat/a/c whatever. they dont seem to worry about this??

 

[whistlepig]

I am by no means an expert on diesels but I have owned them long enough to know that the engine oil gets a lot dirtier a lot quicker when they are idled a lot.