Fuel consumption ?

[Bunton Guy]

Some of the scapers here leave there trucks runnin all day (diesel)
Hey I would love to do that in the winter to keep that heat going. How much does a powerstroke engine use per hour just idleing ?

[paul]

Do you really want to do that, the cooling of the fuel entering the combustion chamber washes the oil off the cylinder walls and lowers the engine temps. I the summer on really hot days we run our trucks all day with the air on just in case someone might get heat stroke, have never had any frost bite cases so I'll pass on that one.

Just so you know our F-550 averages 8 mpg and our F-450 does 10 mpg

[Scotlawncare]

I have heard it is not wise to let the truck idle for long periods of time which can cause eventual engine damage. If you have the AIC (aux Idle controller) you can set it to rev higher to counter the effects of low idle for extended period of time. check out ford-diesel.com for more info on on this subject.

[Bunton Guy]

I get 16 mpg pulling and 19-22 not pulling...my point was wether summer or winter is there a certain amount of fuel it will burn. I know deisel probebly burns slower than gas rite ? so I was wondering if I left it running all day in summer of winter would I notice a difference like does it burn 1 gallon of fuel in 8 hours ? or just ounces ...im speaking of idleing not while driving ?

[John DiMartino]

Idling is not the greatest thing for a deisel,but if its up to operating temp,and can hold at least 170 degrees,it wont hurt it any.The problem is when the engine is cold,it wont warm up,and operating it cold washes down the cylinder walls,with out a load on it,it wont warm up.So get it good and hot by driving it,and then if it holds temp while running,you should be fine,if the temp drops below 170 of so,might as well shut it down,you can use a winter front,or block the radiator with cardboard,if you do either,make sure the trans cooler air flow isnt restricted,or you'll fry the auto quickly.

[GLS]

Do any customers ever get tired of the smell of diesel if it stays runnin all day??

[hev]

If you keep the RPMs above 1100 on the powerstroke, the fuel will not wash the oil off the cylinder walls, so idling all day at that speed will do no harm to the engine.

[Bunton Guy]

Yeah mine idles above 1100 rpm. No my customers dont get anoyed with the diesel fuel smell...90% of them work and the other percent which is commercial dont care because they deal with trucks all day. I just wanted to see if I let it run all day if it will burn gallons or ounces...

[hev]

I think I had read somewhere that at 1100 RPM, the fuel consumption is along the lines of .7 L per hour?

[plymouthvaliant73]

Not that I haven't done it, but it is illegal to leave the engine running unattended on a public way. Some ham head neighbor might want to make trouble for you.