Long idle times

[jenkinsph]

If you have a good battery and only need the lights for less than an hour I would use the battery instead of idling the engine.

 

[Billrog]

When it's real cold I usually raise the bucket up and down slowly a few times to get the hydraulic oil moving and warmed up a bit before driving slow for a ways ( my theory) to take some strain off the pump pushing thick H oil threw the system. With the backhoe the replace the hydraulic filter light comes on when real cold so I lift the rear wheels and put it in gear for 5 or 10 mins. before heading to work.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
Do long idle times hurt anything? It's probably 15 minutes or so at a time, as a guess. Maybe it's less. Then, up to 2k rpm to move to the wood pile, and stack the wood.

Only the environment.

A separate question: How long should i be warming the tractor up on idle on colder days (say 20 to 30 degrees), before raising the RPMs to run the tractor?

First question - does the tractor actually "warm up" much? I'd raise the RPM's fairly quickly.
I like to fire it up, do a walk around then "high idle" out of the barn in low gear.

 

[RoyJackson]

I leave mine idling at 1500 RPM. Low idle RPM can result in wet stacking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_stacking).
When it's colder (20's or below), I leave it idling when I'm clearing snow (sometimes I have to hit areas too close to the house with a shovel).
So, if I was in the OP's situation, I'd leave it running, but at 1500 RPM.

 

[check]

Of course it depends upon what your manual says is "idle speed". My Kubota BX25 rattles like crazy when I first start it up in the cold, but if you rev it up even a little bit to, say, 1300 RPM or so, it smooths right out. And in fact, the manual says that you should warm it up at about half throttle, which is probably 1500 or so on my tractor. However, I warm it up at about 1300, and then I am good to go. If I were to let it run while I was using the lights like you need to, I would probably keep it at a minimum of about 1300, which I do not consider idling.

 

[bdog]

I would not worry a bit about 15 min. Increase your rpms to 1200 if it makes you feel better.

My peterbilt has over 25,000 hours on the clock. Many of that is from it idling all night keeping the driver warm or cool while he sleeps. I work out of my duramax in the oilfield and it runs all day while I am in it. Usually idles at least five hours a day. Is it the best thing for them? Probably not but it isn't going to kill them especially at the intervals you are talking about.

 

[skyhook]

Let er run as long as you need (in your case) just listen to the engine and if it purrs, I don't see a problem, IMO. I believe your engine will thank you for it as opposed to start's and stop's. Especially in colder weather.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I really don't worry about damage to a diesel from idling. If I get off mine to do a 2 minute chore that turns into 15 or 30 minutes, I don't worry about leaving the engine idling. My Kubota B26 idles at 900 RPM but I bump it to 1200 or so a few seconds after the engine starts. I then raise the FEL and gently move out of the shed within 1 minute of cranking. I don't load the engine or transmission when doing this and a little movement helps to warm things up. Since I only have mild winters (20F would be artic front weather and stay by the fire time) I don't need several minutes of warm up prior to going to work. I do keep the RPM down below 1500 for several minutes when I first start moving toward the work area. By the time I am ready to do some work, it has been 3-5 minutes (or more) and the engine and tranny are warm enough to work. I avoid lugging the engine at any time whether it is warmed or not.

On my Kubota RTV, warm up is ever how long it takes to get it in gear and then it is off to the point of interest that I need it to go.

 

[AxleHub]

It would seem that the answers to idle issues and startup/warmup efforts is going to seesaw and constantly vary from poster to poster wildly because of several issues:

1. Geographic location. "Cold" temps is defined by users in Canada much differently than Wisconsin which is different than Georgia.

2. Size of tractor and size of engine. More metal and more bulk.

3. Location and conditiond where tractor is stored.

4. Tier 3 vs. Tier 4 engine AND also size of engine in tier 4 determines canister or not canister . . fluid or not fluid etc. etc..

I haven't seen any commentary here relating to different needs or conditions based on tier 4 variables.