Break In Period

[DK35vince]

Break-in methods aren't nearly as delicate as we would be led to believe, the problem is that there are customers that actually think they should let the engine idle in the driveway for hours to "break it in gently", and on the other end are the full-throttle guys that think it should be driven like it was stolen as soon as they turn the key

Somewhere in the middle of these 2 extremes for the first day or two should be all that they need.

 

[dex3361]

I think that the point of varying the RPM and load is seating in the rings and making sure that the piston makes the longest possible stroke that you don't end up with the little old lady syndrome where you buy a vehicle that has never been fully run through its paces and the cylinder has a ridge at the top and when you rev it past the accustomed low RPMs it reaches a little longer (minutely) stroke up the cylinder where the ridge has formed and cracks or breaks the top ring. This as well as seating in all the other parts. That said I go along with using the tractor and not repeating the RPMs and don't max it out to full RPMs right off of the bat as well as dont hold the same RPMs for an extended period of time (like run a pto genset with fixed rpm for a long time).

 

[sw03]

Funny I worked on Army trucks (MRAP etc) and when the dyno was done, they went to Iraq, Afgan etc with no breakin in the manual...and worked just fine.

Even my own auto just get used for what they are..No issues to date.

 

[dex3361]

Funny I worked on Army trucks (MRAP etc) and when the dyno was done, they went to Iraq, Afgan etc with no breakin in the manual...and worked just fine.

Even my own auto just get used for what they are..No issues to date.

Yea but thats government money that buys that equipment so it doesn't count like real money ask any politician.

 

[sw03]

Yea but that government money that buys that equipment so it doesn't count like real money ask any politician.

LOL...They are CAT engines...I know what I see/saw.

Heck when I rode in one, they are slower then a BX!

 

[dex3361]

LOL...They are CAT engines...I know what I see/saw.

Heck when I rode in one, they are slower then a BX!

I hope they are as reliable as the BX. I think we fret to much about how we treat our new tractors. I have a neighbor who changes his oil in his tractor every 10 years whether it needs it or not. We worry about running over a couple of hours on the scheduled oil change.

 

[Chilly807]

Funny I worked on Army trucks (MRAP etc) and when the dyno was done, they went to Iraq, Afgan etc with no breakin in the manual...and worked just fine.

Even my own auto just get used for what they are..No issues to date.

The dyno part is the critical event, it's the same thing we do at work. We use the generator, or the ship itself in the case of the prop engines to act as the dyno. It gives the engine the opportunity for the rings to seat properly under controlled conditions of rpm and cylinder pressures and temperatures. Once they've done that, normal use won't hurt anything after that.

Chilly

 

[dex3361]

I don't have a dyno available so I loaded my new little diesel generator with electric heaters and varied the # in service to keep the KW's at a different level not constant changing just every 15 minutes I would make a change. I will let you know in 20 or 25 years if it makes a difference in how well it performs. If I hadn't bought a new genset the power would be off a couple times a month but since I am prepare it wont go of but a couple times a year(Murphy's Law Article:2, Subsection:B,Note:3).

 

[Chilly807]

I don't have a dyno available so I loaded my new little diesel generator with electric heaters and varied the # in service to keep the KW's at a different level not constant changing just every 15 minutes I would make a change. I will let you know in 20 or 25 years if it makes a difference in how well it performs. If I hadn't bought a new genset the power would be off a couple times a month but since I am prepare it wont go of but a couple times a year(Murphy's Law Article:2, Subsection:B,Note:3).

I've noticed the same thing. In the old house, with no gennie panel, and early on no generator at all, the power was off regularly. New house, wired in panel and Honda generator languishing in the garage, we've not lost power for more than an hour or two in over a year! Wife says, " If that's what it takes to keep the lights on, so be it.."

I'm knocking on wood after this post, rest assured of that !

Chilly

 

[gwdixon]

Wife says, " If that's what it takes to keep the lights on, so be it.."

Chilly

Very clever wife. Sounds like a keeper.