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I had a friend of mine lose power in her house during the winter a few years ago. No fireplace either, so it was extremely cold. The whole city was covered in ice, it was impossible for most people to get out, so she went into her garage (which is detached, not sealed so no worries of carbon monoxide poisoning) and turned on her car and slept in her car all night with the heater on.
Now under different circumstances this might have harmed the car, but when it's 20 degrees outside, the car wasn't going to overheat just sitting there, plus running the heater. Went through about half a tank of gas, or 7-8 gallons.
Still a big gamble. Excess idling *could* damage the cats and *might* make them flow less, which might back up into the cabin.
I have a program that hooks into the ECU, which tells me that the car averages 0.5 gallons an hour at idle. With a 15.9 gallon tank, that's means I can idle for about 32 hours with a full tank.
Normally if I have to wait longer than a few minutes, then I turn the engine off. If it's 1 or 2 minutes, I'll leave it idling. It's not a lot of gas actually.
My question is beyond the special circumstances posted here (ie no power in house) why are people idling for hours at a time?
I had to do it for 2.5 hours today while waiting for my wife to finish work. In our situation there was no where for me to go and wait. This happens to me once in a while when it's really hot or really cold.
I had to do it for 2.5 hours today while waiting for my wife to finish work. In our situation there was no where for me to go and wait. This happens to me once in a while when it's really hot or really cold.
In those situations I go for a walk/jog or drive to a climate controlled place (mall) and just hang out.
You might get some fuel dilution if you idle excessively but that's about it. Like someone else said, a properly working cooling system can handle the temperature aspect.
ok changing topics a little - let's stop talking about fuel consumption, any abnormal deterioration to engine?
It doesn't wear on the engine any more then driving it that same length of time. I've heard it does stress the con rod bearings a bit because they don't wear as evenly at idle, but I don't know.
The biggest effect, I believe, is what I said in it wearing out the catalytic convertors faster. Look in your car's manual and it might tell you how long is too long and why the manufacturer suggests you don't do it.
ok changing topics a little - let's stop talking about fuel consumption, any abnormal deterioration to engine?
wear on the belts & components on the car. If the car isn't operating in optimal temperature....there is wear & tear.....sort if like sitting in traffic all the time vs highway mileage
ok changing topics a little - let's stop talking about fuel consumption, any abnormal deterioration to engine?
Not in typical situations. Our law enforcement fleet has seen a significant number (~20%) of our Dodge Charger v8 sedans need a rebuild near 100k miles after years of going from idle to wide open. Dodge has admitted there is a problem with the engine design that does not maintain enough oil in the lifters at idle and over the life of the vehicle they wear, eventually giving out. Again, this I not typical duty cycle for these vehicles but pursuit mode in a Charger police unit.
Idle time would need to be substantial and recurring at a regular frequency to be problematic.
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