What's wrong with idling?

[Tikvah]

I just did a topic about fuel usage, but on another forum there were a number of comments about problems created by idling.
What's the damage I'm going to do by idling my 6V92 overnight, keeping the oil pressure above 25?

Thoughts?

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

A lot of truckers used to leave their 6V92 engines running all night at truck stops and rest areas before APU's became popular and they never seemed to have any problems.   The old Ice Road truckers never shut their trucks down if left outside.  But then again, they may be paying a price that is worth it to them to prevent them from freezing up. But I am very interested to hear what others have to say about this. 

[Tikvah]

When I drove tour buses we would always leave them run at night.  We would drop off all the old ladies and the park the bus at the motel.  The buses often wouldn't start cold and they were hard to warm up the interior, so it was policy to leave them run.  I don't remember if we used high idle or not... probably did.

But now I hear it's bad for the engine, etc. 

Dave

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Running any engine is bad for it. :-) I have seen army engines that have been in crates for 50 years start right up the first time.  Every running hour is one less hour you have before it needs to be rebuilt. However as in your case with needing to keep the bus warm for the passengers and to prevent the engine from starting hard in the morning or not starting at all, the trade off is worth it. But would I leave my bus idling while parked for a month in storage in southern California?  Probably not.  Everything in life is a trade off.

[eagle19952]

lol...i'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about the Arctic...many were started in October and shutoff in April...

[Branderson]

I would much rather run my generator all night than my bus.  I"m not sure the reason for running it all night unless a person doesn't have a generator and it's freezing out.

[lostagain]

We used to run them on fast idle all night if it was in the -30s. They all had radiator shutters so they didn't run too cold.

Now a days, most buses and trucks have coolant heaters (Webasto), or APU, or in our conversions generators. Like Branderson said, running the generator with the block heaters on would be much  better.

JC

[lostagain]

Idling doesn't keep the engine hot enough and you get carbon deposits and other problems related to cold running.

I know some heavy equipment operators up North who would let the engines idle at full rpm, like 2200, to keep them warm enough.
And like eagle says, it is all winter. It is like you put on the long johns on Labor day and take them off May 24th weekend. By then they stand up by themselves...

JC

[HB of CJ]

My little claim to somewhat fame was driving a turbo charged Jake equipped high altitude 4104 from Yosemite Valley up over Tioga Pass to Reno.  Yosemite Park and Curry Company.  Parked the night, then reversed course.

Occasional relief driver.  Years were 1970 and 1971.  Summers.  The Pass was fun going up and down.  Slow.  The 4104 had an oil and coolant heater.  The Motel had a dedicated 220 plug in.  I was just 21.  Long ago, far away. 

[Utahclaimjumper]

   Don't try it in California.>>>D

[luvrbus]

All states have the 5 to 10 minute idle law, all states wave the fines and law if it is a emergency seems like freezing your @$# off would be a emergency     

[PP]

So correct me if I'm wrong here, but with climate warming and greenhouse gasses we don't need to worry about wet-stacking anymore?

[buswarrior]

Running an engine uses fuel and makes wear.

Nobody cared back when fuel was cheap, and we didn't think much about the air.

That's all lovely until the cold weather comes along.

If you have no way to pre-heat the engine, it isn't going to start in the morning...

If you are able, leave the heat and the alternator for the engine and the batteries. Turn off the blowers/lights so everything goes back into the systems.

Idle it if you must, take the heat out of it if you must. There will be a smoke show on take off in the morning.

Busnut got to do what a busnut got to do.

And then get yourself better equipped for next year?

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[Fredward]

I've done a lot of engine idling in my life on four strokes. But when I got the MC5 with the half worn out 8V71 I discovered that idling had some unwanted outcomes. Not sure about how it affected the oil ?? but for sure the normally dry slobber tubes started to drool and the exhaust got more acrid. So I learned to use the block heater (either with the generator or plugging in) and start it up and drive it.

Depending on how worn out your 6V92 is I think extended idling is not helpful to the engine. And for sure if you're going to idle it I would run it on high idle.

Fred

[TomC]

Not good to idle a 2 stroke Detroit all night. On fast idle around 1,000rpm-better. But you'll burn nearly 2 gallons an hour at 1,000rpm.