Tractor idling

[HAR]

While my Kubota manual does not specifically mention idle, it does mention warm up, after start. In very cold weather, I do let it idle for a few minutes before I bump the throttle up a bit, to let the fluids begin to warm and flow, before applying loads.

While nothing is said about cool down, I feel it prudent to let the engine cool some before shutting down, especially after having run it full bore for a while under heavy load. I do this by throttling back to just above idle under minimal or no load, letting the engine cool for 1-3 minutes.

EDIT: I should note, during the 1-3 min cool down, I take that time to use an air gun to clear/clean all debris from engine/radiator screens.

 

[deserteagle71]

Or like our member above with the big Massey Ferguson. His big tractor is way over the HP cutoff but it uses recirculation exhaust through a diesel exhaust catalyst... that is a whole different system than burning the soot off through regeneration. No telling how it idles.

I was about to buy a new one of those (uses a catalyst instead of a DPF). Reading the owner's manual, I remember it said that idling must be kept at a minimum because otherwise the catalyst would not get hot enough to do it's job. So whether your tractor using a catalyst system or a DPF, you still need to keep the rpms up to keep the exhaust hot.

 

[Mart5130]

Normally I would say let it idle but with a regen system you are loading up the muffler with unburnt particles that will need to be burned off sooner or later by a regen cycle. So anymore than 5 min I would turn her off.

Agree with this

 

[Too many Kubotas]

In this day and age, many new vehicles shut themselves off as soon as the vehicle comes to a stop.

Not that I like that feature, but what do the let-it-idle crowd do in those cases? Emit primal screams?

 

[LouNY]

In this day and age, many new vehicles shut themselves off as soon as the vehicle comes to a stop.

Not that I like that feature, but what do the let-it-idle crowd do in those cases? Emit primal screams?

Hit the damn button to over ride that squirrelly system.

 

[colken]

Normally I would say let it idle but with a regen system you are loading up the muffler with unburnt particles that will need to be burned off sooner or later by a regen cycle. So anymore than 5 min I would turn her off.

My New Holland dealer told me the same thing. The new engines are different from the old ones that way.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

I was about to buy a new one of those (uses a catalyst instead of a DPF). Reading the owner's manual, I remember it said that idling must be kept at a minimum because otherwise the catalyst would not get hot enough to do it's job. So whether your tractor using a catalyst system or a DPF, you still need to keep the rpms up to keep the exhaust hot.

Except with a DOC there is no connection to the ECM. You can remove the DOC and the tractor wont care.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I think new vs. old basically boils down to turbo vs. naturally aspirated, and to a lesser extent the new pollution stuff vs. none.
I never much let my older tractor, the New Holland TC26DA idle except to warm up in cold weather. My 2021 New Holland Workmaster 40 calls for minimum 1 minute warm up and 2 minute shut down at idle. I believe this is for the turbo.
If your machine is warmed up and naturally aspirated, I think you can turn it off. The turbos want that idle before and after working. The other side of the coin is that particularly the newer machines with the anti-pollution stuff on them don't like to idle for long periods and it will cause more frequent regen.

 

[snowman4evr]

I'll turn it off if it's going to be idling for more than a few minutes or I'm working with another person and need to communicate. It's a quiet tractor but you're still raising your voice to be heard. I'll turn it off if I smell exhaust fumes as I don't like diesel exhaust. Sometimes I'll turn it off just to have quiet.

I think that the idea of letting diesels idle because they're hard to start comes from the old days of gas pony engines instead of electric starters and big truck engines that were hard to fire up. Modern CUT diesels start easily.

Most of the wear on a diesel comes from starting, hence the reason of letting it idle. When we go on a long trip with the diesel truck picking up equipment, we never shut it off till we get back home. With regen system though not a good idea to idle long. My case doesn't have regen, this is one of the reasons I went with case.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Most of the wear on a diesel comes from starting, hence the reason of letting it idle. When we go on a long trip with the diesel truck picking up equipment, we never shut it off till we get back home. With regen system though not a good idea to idle long. My case doesn't have regen, this is one of the reasons I went with case.

I dont know a whole bunch about tractor turbochargers. I do know that VGT (another emission feature) failures are common with high idling The veins become clogged with soot and gunk and become stuck. I have no idea which tractors are using VGT style turbochargers.

 

[Omega Woods]

Less than 5 min while I change attachments, open the gate, talk to my son as he's driving by, I let it idle. More than a few minutes, shut it off.

 

[deserteagle71]

Except with a DOC there is no connection to the ECM. You can remove the DOC and the tractor wont care.

I don't pretend to know how every brand handles it...but the New Holland I was looking at was DOC and it most definitely was connected to the ECM. If you weren't running the tractor hard enough to keep the catalyst hot it would set off an alarm to tell you to raise your rpm.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Highly doubt that was the DOC connected to anything. Im betting you could remove the DOC and and It would still throw that code. Im sure its RPM related. But I have been wrong 1000's of times and very well could be here. I know the doc on my tractor is sensor free. I could remove it right now and the only thing that would happen is my tractor would run better.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Most of the wear on a diesel comes from starting, hence the reason of letting it idle.

That's an interesting concept I've never heard of before. In what way does it differ from a gas engine?

 

[Than]

isnt letting it idle after use a turbo thing?

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Yep pretty much a turbo thing, Never shut your tractor off directly after a regen. Turbos are know to get super heated during the regen cycle.

 

[Hayloft]

Hi all,
I was wondering what is the norm for letting my Kioti 3 cylinder diesel idle between using and then doing some hand work, say for 5 to 10 minutes. Would you shut it down or let it idle? Thanks as always for the expert advice!View attachment 807535

Hey there,
Sorry, I don't have the same model tractor as you do but some things are similar with all diesel tractors...like some others have mentioned, I believe it's better to let it idle in cold weather when the engine is up to operating temp. Long as it's not too long...maybe up to 10 min or so. In hot weather I will still let my tractor run a short while at idle as long as cooling system is working good. Engine temp spikes soon as you turn it off and the cooling shuts down so I'd rather keep those temp spikes to a minimum and keep the cooling system running at idle---long as it's not too long. Be careful to check the cooling gage often when mowing as you could have clogged the radiator screen with grass debris and ole Nellie will overheat. Also starters wear more when overheated.
Now I'm not a fan of Regen on a residential tractor and if you have it on your tractor it can cause you some grief if you idle a lot and build up soot. But you'll have to figure out your own Regen system since they are not all the same. I say idle your tractor as long as you are comfortable with, all this discussion considered. All the best.

 

[kohog]

Hi all,
I was wondering what is the norm for letting my Kioti 3 cylinder diesel idle between using and then doing some hand work, say for 5 to 10 minutes. Would you shut it down or let it idle? Thanks as always for the expert advice!View attachment 807535

 

[Bentrim]

Lessons learned--Not by me but by customers. Working for a dealer gives you a chance to see the differences in manufacturers and customers.
1. MM diesels Cracked heads One farmer learned the hard way not to shut the tractor off quickly after a loaded pull. He was out plowing, the wife brought lunch, without even lifting the plow or pushing in the clutch, he shut it off to enjoy the quiet and his lunch. A week later he had an issue with water pushing out the radiator. Replaced both heads as they were cracked from heat soak. MM used one head for two cylinders. Lesson learned
2. Local farmer brings combine in for service. Notice when he shut it down did so wide open. Asked him to move it. Noticed it6 started and immediately roared to wide open. Asked if throttle worked he replied "Yes". I asked him if he treated himself like the combine. He asked why. I then asked him if he went to bed while working full bore, and if he woke up and immediately started working hard. He got the hint. But he later did destroy an engine while leaving it "warmup".
3. Turbocharged Oliver had a decal on dash. Idle engine 5 minutes before shut down.

 

[gregjo1948]

Hi all,
I was wondering what is the norm for letting my Kioti 3 cylinder diesel idle between using and then doing some hand work, say for 5 to 10 minutes. Would you shut it down or let it idle? Thanks as always for the expert advice!View attachment 807535