Idle or shut off?

[AlbertC]

I have a new holland 3930 and I have a 12 ft utility trailer that I pull around picking up limbs and trees that I am cutting down to put on the burn pile.

Depending on the type of brush I am picking up it can take as much as 20 minutes to load in one spot and 20 minutes to unload on the burn pile. I usually leave my tractor idling but have wondered if this is ok or should I just cut the tractor off. If I work all morning this could amount to several hours of idling while I am loading and unloading.

Which is better for the engine idling or shutting the tractor off?

Thanks

 

[4570Man]

I don't think idling hurts anything as long as there is no DPF. I would shut it off for 20 minutes. At the very least you are adding up hours on the machine and wasting fuel.

 

[TripleR]

There are several older threads similar to this and don't think there was a clear consensus, I do pretty much as 4570Man.

 

[davesl708]

A diesel idling is cooling the cylinders down and can cause fuel to condensate on the walls and flow to the oil. Takes a lot of idling to do this. Twenty minutes will not cause this. Most engine wear occurs during startup. Also, starters for diesels are not cheap. If you want the best, idle up to around 1000rpm. This will prevent the condensation but burn more fuel.

 

[ovrszd]

Back in the "day" if you drove past a truck stop in the middle of the night during Winter every truck there was idling. If the wind wasn't blowing there would be a huge black cloud of diesel smoke hanging in the air.

I think this is a personal decision with little or no measurable difference in longevity. With that said, I don't leave my tractor idling for 20 minutes. 5 minutes or less is probably my cutoff.

 

[nybirdman]

I would shut mine down for 20 minutes;I have seen farm tractors running water pumps set at idle for weeks on end.

 

[buickanddeere]

How long is the driving time between piles ?

 

[5030]

In the summer when I'm farming, my units run all day working or not (gotta keep that ac running). In the winter the utility tractor runs without shutdown (gotta keep the cab warm).

 

[bdog]

Back in the "day" if you drove past a truck stop in the middle of the night during Winter every truck there was idling. If the wind wasn't blowing there would be a huge black cloud of diesel smoke hanging in the air. .

I don't notice the smoke so much but the vast majority of trucks (those without APU's) still idle all night. I am not a full time truck driver but whenever I take my truck on a trip where I have to sleep in it I let it idle all night. I idle it up to around 1000 rpm. Got to have my heat and AC as well as power to the batteries for the inverter. A couple weeks back I was on the road for four days and never shut the truck off the whole time I was gone.

 

[brown40]

If it takes more than a couple minutes, just shut it down. Wet-stacking is a risk, but moreso: why waste the fuel and metal banging away at idle when you're going to be a bit? I don't think its the worst thing you could do, but what do you gain for leaving it running?