Tractor idiling running woodsplitter

[tractorcrazy]

WI'll running a woodsplitter at idle (800) rpm for a couple hours hurt my engine on a newholland t4020

 

[dodge man]

I don’t know that it will hurt it but it might. It looks old enough no DPF? On a warmer day it’s probably ok but on a cold day wet stacking might be an issue. Wet stacking is where the engine isn’t hot enough to burn the fuel and the cylinder walls start to get washed down with unburned fuel.

I often think people think they are “saving” an engine by running it at low rpm. They are designed to run at a certain rpm without hurting it. Rev it up a little, 1500 rpm is still pretty low.

 

[90cummins]

Absolutely!!!
That’s the worst thing you could to any diesel.
Lookup wet stacking.
Diesels that are idling or operating at a very low power levels for prolonged times do not make enough heat for proper combustion allowing moisture to form and the rings and cylinder to glaze amongst other things.
Operating a log splitter with the tractor hydraulics is NOT an acceptable application.
If you are just transporting it to the wood pile shut the tractor down while you split.
90cummins

 

[Tx Jim]

I was taught diesel engines shouldn't be operated for extended times(over 15-20 minutes) at idle speed. RPM's should be increased to 1200-1300 rpms for extended idling periods.

 

[Alan W.]

When I drove a truck it would idle all the time I was sleeping or waiting to be loaded or unloaded. The reefer motor idled down even, and during the winter it stayed at idle. Never had a problem.
Some motors will wet stack but it is rare. Go ahead and try it, more than likely it will work fine. But I do suggest making sure it is up to operating temperature first.

 

[ptsg]

People over here tend to spend loads of hours splitting wood with the tractor barely above idle, without any issues.

 

[Oaktree]

I've never had a splitter that ran of the tractor's hydraulics, but wouldn't you want the idle speed well above 800 just for the pressure?

 

[oldnslo]

I've never had a splitter that ran of the tractor's hydraulics, but wouldn't you want the idle speed well above 800 just for the pressure?

If system is operating correctly RPM will have very little effect on pressure it does vary the flow though which is cylinder speed.

 

[WranglerX]

I've never had a splitter that ran of the tractor's hydraulics, but wouldn't you want the idle speed well above 800 just for the pressure?

Doubt RPM will have much effect on pressure, but it will have effect on hydraulic flow, that relates to speed of operation....

 

[rScotty]

WI'll running a woodsplitter at idle (800) rpm for a couple hours hurt my engine on a newholland t4020

I doubt it will hurt it in the short term. Yours is from the same era and a little larger than our 59 hp Kubota M59 - but close in type - and ours is happy doing basic backhoe work building stone walls all afternoon running right around 1200 RPM. I call that a "fast idle" amd it is 50% faster than what you are doing, but still considered low RPM. Been doing that on and off for days at a time as needed for a decade now.

We run at that speed because I feel the motor needs enough RPM so that it runs "easily" .... so I want it above idle....and yet it has to be slow enough that the hoe and thumb have the fine control needed for stacking big rocks to make sturdy creek walls.

Sometimes after working an hour or more at what I call a "fast idle" I'll find an excuise to rev it up and let it roar for a couple of minutes..... or take the tractor down the road half a mile and back at higher throttle to get more rocks because that seems right to me. It's probably anthrpormorphism to think that an engine likes to stretch every once in a while - but I know that I do, so we do it together.

It works for us. The tractor still has less than 1500 hours so it still runs like new.

BTW, our motor does seem to turn the oil black faster when running at fast idle. To combat that, I use a premium synthetic oil and OEM engine filter. Both get changed regularly .... every year or so.

Good luck
rScotty