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Heavy equipments that run with diesel like generators, oil rigs, mining equipment, farming equipment and hydraulic system burn diesel by standing idle often. Exhaust that rise from diesel engines emit Nitrogen dioxide and Particulate matter in higher proportion as compared to gasoline counterparts. A survey report on environmental pollution shows that most of the air pollutants come from diesel engine. The US Environmental and Protection Agency has put forward new quality and emission standards to solve this problem, emission that took from existing heavy equipment will continue to pollute the air.

You should not idle your machines because due to the continuous burning of diesel lead to lowering the resale value, increases the wear of your engine, lessens the warranty coverage and amplifies non-productive hours. Excess idling of the machines can also results in forming the soot faster which in turn require more frequent service and change over.

What are the facts related with heavy equipment idling?

• Equipment which is allowed to stand idle can cause more damages than the machine which is running.
• Manufacturers that deal with diesel engine equipments generally recommend three minutes of idling before starting it.
• “Gelling” of fuels is also a big problem that mostly takes place in cold days.
• One hour of idling of full loaded 20kw generator 1.9 gallons of diesel fuel per hour.
• It is advisable to let the engine run, as the process is not more cost effective. Unlikely, if the engine is made to start and stop frequently, then it consumes more electricity.

• An engine cause more damage when it stand still or idle.

 What are the reasons to stop idling heavy equipment?

• To lessen air pollution: – If you keep your engine shut down for atleast one hour, you will prevent approximately ten pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the air.

• To cut off the emission of the particulate:- The particulate materials from the diesel engines are hazardous to health causing cancer, lungs diseases, asthma and other respiratory problems. You can stop this emission of the particulate matter by letting the engine run.

• To save money and fuel:- You can save upto 1/5 to 6/10 gallon of fuel per hour by not allowing the engine to remain idle.

• Letting the heavy equipment engine idle definitely will draw a lot of power from your battery.

New engines of today don’t require any more idling time to suit itself according to the operating temperature. Once the engine is kicked on, it can retain the heat for about 25 minutes after the engine is switched off anyway. A study by Transport of London has proved that idling overall increases the wear of the machine to 100 times even in case of new engines because it points to the fact that the engine is working for a longer time than required causing incomplete combustion and emanating noxious fumes.

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