what throttle setting

[FOURTEEN]

Use whatever throttle setting is appropriate for the job at hand! Mowing, heavy lifting, or earthmoving will require full throttle. Slow or delicate actions can best be performed at low throttle. Many jobs can be handled at an intermediate setting. Most people instinctively know that running their car down the Interstate in second gear will increase engine wear and gasoline consumption! If you have ever sanded a piece of wood, you know that increased pressure and more strokes will both wear away more wood. Similarly, high engine speeds will result in increased pressure on bearings, and in more engine strokes, both of which will shorten engine life! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Shutdown, at the end of the day, is best done from idle. Shutting down at a high engine speed results in raw unburned gasoline being drawn through the engine where it washes oil off the cylinder walls and dilutes the crankcase oil! At startup the pistons will rub against the unlubricated cylinder walls until fresh oil is circulated! Many experts contend that most engine wear occurs at cold startup! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif


Manufacturers make money by selling new products, not by preserving sold products! Ideally a manufacturer wants his product to last until it is out of warranty, and the buyer is satisfied enough with it to buy a replacement! If the product is too good and lasts too long, he will not get those replacement sales. If the product is too poor, he will suffer from high warranty claims and few replacement sales because of dissatisfied customers. Therefore, most manufacturers’ recommendations are skewed toward his best achieving these goals! For example, he may recommend using a good oil which may make his product last, but against using a synthetic oil which may allow the product to last too long! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

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[cqaigy]

I use FOURTEEN's theory of operation. I start at low throttle, use enough throttle so as to not lug the engine, and idle down before i shut down.

I think some of the "modern" lawn mowers and such are setup more for eaze of operation and not so much longevity of product.

 

[BobRip]

If an engine has been run hard and is shutdown from full speed the temperature will rise much higher after shutdown. If you let it idle for a minute or more, this residual heat is reduced and temperature does not rise as much. If you turn the key back on after shutdown and the electric fan runs, I thinks this will help reduce peak temperature. Don't forget to turn the key off after a minute or two. The fan pulls about five amps.

Bob Rip

 

[MossRoad]

On shut down, I crank it back down to a little over idle for about 30 seconds, then shut it off. If I don't, it will diesel for a few seconds.

As for the hydraulic fan, I've left the unit off for 15 minutes, come back, turned the key and the fan will kick on immediately. I don't think 1 or 2 minutes will make any real difference in the hydraulic fluid temp. 10-15 minutes might, but 1-2 won't. Of course, the only way to really tell is to use a scientific method like the one I have devised. I hold my baare hand over the fan output and feel the air temp on my skin! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Seriously, you can feel if the air is hot or just warm. On really hot days, I'll plan it so that I finish mowing at the far end of the property. After I shut down the mower, I'll throttle back to about 2/3 and feel the air temp coming off the cooler. I then travel back to the garage, grab the hoe and go back to the woods. By the time I get there, I can feel that the air temp is significantly cooler. I'll shut it down and clean out the underside of the deck with the hoe. Then back to the garage I go.

They sell temperature gauges for hydraulics, so that is really the only way to tell.

 

[FOURTEEN]

"" turn the key back on after shutdown and the electric fan runs ""


Because the hydraulic oil does not circulate with the engine off, only the tiny amount of oil in the oil cooler will be cooled!
I see no disadvantage in having the engine still hot after shutdown.
It may be more important to have a fully charged battery ready for the next startup.

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[jol1269]

well on my scag they had you after using it run it at idle for 5 minutes prior to shutting it off so i use this on the power trac as well i also lift the lid while this is taking place to help let out the heat

 

[toy]

Sometimes when I have been working my pt425 pretty hard and it is hot, I pull it in the garrage and lift the hood and run an ossilating pedistal fan on it to help cool it down. That way I am not draining my battery and I am not being charged with the hour meter either.

 

[J_J]

I must be the only one with a gas engine with a radiator, unless the large diesels have one. I let mine idle for a few minutes, but I still have to choke it off if it starts to diesel.

 

[MossRoad]

J_J,
Isn't yours a Ford engine, as I recall?

 

[BobRip]

Moss, I am not trying to cool the hydraulic fluid, but the engine. If you pull air out of the top then some of this will flow around the engine, I hope. It might be good to actually test it.