Has it happened to you?................

Bob Bancroft

Well-known Member
Location
Aurora NY
I have this nagging fear....

Typically I'll have more than one machine/vehicle in the field. And I'll being idling one to either warm up, or cool down, a few minutes, while I'm starting or stopping the other one, before I leave. My fear is that someday I'll be distracted and leave something running. There could potentially be enough fuel in something to keep it idling for days! I suppose it depends on the engine, and/or situation, but what's the likely outcome? Certain destruction? An engine so coked/choked up it needs to be dismantled? Nothing bad- engine just runs until out of fuel?
 
Once I left a bulldozer sitting on a job for awhile and when I brought it back to the shop the battery was a little low so I left it idle while I loaded another machine. Yup, took the other machine to a job spent the rest of the day and went home not back to the shop..... about 3:00 AM woke up and realized I never shut it off. Got dressed drove to the shop and there it sat idling away. Good thing it had fuel so it didn't run out.
 
One fall morning bout 3 am I pulled my truck in the barn and started the semi and set back in truck till semi aired up. I left truck running and when I got back that night bout 8 it was still running. The old ford did not use much fuel and I checked the oil and it looked fine so no fuel got in the pan.
 
I have neighbors who do that all the time. They turn off all their brains and leave their mouth running.
 
Drove a 59 Chev pickup (235 six) out to the field to help with the wheat harvest and left it idle all day; a very slow idle on a very hot day.Still running at the end of the day, but did use more oil afterwards. With that low oil pressure and heat, I think it took the tension out of the rings. Dog in cab was sure glad to get out....

Ben
 
I also have that nagging fear.
Woke up the other day and the nagging started. When I left the house her mouth was still running. When I got home that evening it had never shut off. Whiskey helps.
 
My neighbor used to say something like "if something happens to it then it wasn't fit to run anyway"
So bottom line is if it is in good shape no harm no foul. And if it blows up then it wasn't in good enough shape to run.
You just have to become a little OCD and go around and double check everything is shut off. My wife and kids are making me OCD I have to go around after them and shut off all the lights and shut the doors etc.
 
I don't think it would hurt anything truckers do a lot of idling many times all night or more. so my guess is the worse thing is running out of fuel... but if it happens to lose oil pressure for some reason that's a whole different ball
game.
 
I work part time in a weld shop.

While back I asked the boss where the parts were I needed that he picked up over the week end.

He said in Ford dually diesel. I asked where he parked it.

He said Oh crap I left it running Sat morning when I moved it out back.

This was Tuesday morning. Out of fuel and dead battery when I got to it.

Had a 3/8 tank full when parked.

Gary
 
I did that. I left the White running on the chopper while I hooked the wagon to another tractor to go home. I probably wasn't gone more than 45 minutes or so,but it was still running when I got back. I left a loader tractor running out by the bunker silo while I fixed a wagon and went in for supper a few years ago too.
 
If your full of fuel and have good oil then nothing bad will happen. In the supper cold times our semis may run days at a time and never be shut off.
 
There is an outfit not too far from here that does railroad wreck cleanup. In the winter you will see their crew headed out on a call, all the equipment is running chained down on the truck. Biggest problem would be loss of oil pressure, there are ways to protect from that.
 
Several years ago when I put up a Cleary pole building, there was no electricity to the site. The Cleary crew had a Ford F350 truck with an inverter installed to run their power tools. To keep the power up, they simply left the truck idling all day while they worked.

Apparently this is their standard practice with no negative results.
 
Way back when I was doing a lot of custom combining I had a combine trailer for moving around between jobs. One day on the way to a job a wheel bearing went out on the trailer so I pulled into a Dairy Queen lot to park. I called my dad to come pick me up and get what I needed to fix it. While I was buying the parts it started raining so we went home figuring to wait out the rain. 2 days later the manager of the restaurant called to ask if I knew the truck was still running. It was mid summer and hot but didn't notice any damage. It was a ford truck with a gas motor.
 
btdt ... fella I workt with told me this ,,. he came thru town and decided not to get gas because he wanted to go camping asap ,, got home and wife was loading the station wagon , and tying stuff off with their 2 small children,, as he went past around to the back of garage he saw his son fall off the porch , he grabbed the e brake on his new 64 chevy work truck and ran back to comfort and help his family ,,. in a few minutes all as good to go ,, so off to the campground ,.. for a great weekend ,, ff-forward Monday morning , he walks out with his coffee to start his truck and heres it running ,, there it was with the door open ,brake pulled , straight 6 purring away, it had barely used a 8th of tank ,, and he made it back to town ,,.
 
I've seen allot of trucks idle for ten hours while the driver takes his 10 hours off. Back in the seventies we would let our trucks idle for several days if need be in the cold weather. It wasn't my decision but they figured it was more trouble to get them started when cold.
Once in a while the old Detroit Diesels would load up with fuel and the engine would run away on you when you hit the accelerator peddle. You had to be careful but other than that it never seem to be a problem.
Not a problem with the newer trucks they had later on. I use to leave out Sunday night and the trucks would always start even on the coldest days. They would only plug them in if they set over a two day period which didn't happen often.
 
When I was deployed on the USS GW, we had a pilot come downstairs to maintenance after landing on the nights last recovery. As I was talking with him, one of the deck crew came up to him told him his jet was still running up on the flight deck. He'd had a scary landing and was so nervous he climbed out without shutting it down. After all the other jets got quiet, one of the deck crew noticed there was one still turning unnoticed.
 
At the County where I worked for 20 years, they left a few running by accident, one time over Christmas they had started the dirt crew that morning of the 24th a Wednesday if I remember right, it was -15 so they decide to take that day off and get a extra day with Family, Monday morning two of the rear engines on the 627e's were still running,, never hurt them, another time some one was at a remote pit and got their outfit stuck trying to cross a small creek, they came and took a 5 yard IH loader we had to get it out, they crushed the back of their car pushing it out as there was tail light ,lenses and parts all over the ground/creek, they also got the loader stuck in the creek and left it idling in gear,, seemed ok but they traded it off just in case
cnt
 
wasn't it that show Ice Road Truckers that said since it was so cold on the ice road, they did not shut the trucks off all winter?
 
Years ago it was very common to leave diesels idle a lot, now they don't recommend it.In N MN where I grew up the loggers will leave equipment idle all night if they don't have a working heater on it. The problem then is the hydraulic oil in the outer boom will be so cold it won't move. My BIL used to keep cutting all night in really cold weather (-30F) otherwise you won't get going in the morning. I heard when building the Alaskan highway, (done in the winter) the only time the equipment was shut down was to change oil.
 
Up in Fairbanks when it gets real cold everybody leaves their engines running 24/7.
Sometimes for a week at a time.
Like -50* cold.
The whole Tanana valley gets a bad smoggy haze from all the engines running.
 
Chopping corn one time. Running late for chores. Hooked up the wagon and headed home. Left the 1955 idling all night. Used maybe 2 gallons of fuel. Didn't have to wait for the motor to warm up to start chopping, at least.
 
Ultradog, I spent a couple winters in Fairbanks, and not everyone lets their vehicle run. The city of Fairbanks itself has ordinances against idling for more than X minutes (can't remember exactly how long, and like any other regulation, is subject to change at whim).

Nearly everyone who lives there has block heaters, oil pan heaters, and battery heaters, and not only does nearly every house have outside outlets to keep your vehicle plugged in between October and April, but even the parking meters downtown have outlets - you pay for the electric to plug in your car as well as the parking space. Parking lots for office workers have outlets on posts for employees to plug in. It's just the way things work up there.

As for inadvertently leaving an engine running, I've done it a couple times, but not for more than about half an hour before the rubber band of dropped thought snaps back to the here and now.
 
I did it about 2 weeks ago. Was going to put the 1650 back in the shed after doing chores. Started it and went to feed animals and collect eggs. Brought eggs in house and washed them and got sidetracked putting kids to bed. Woke up at 3am thinking I forgot something. Sure enough, went out to find the tractor off with key on, dead battery and out of gas. Good thing it wasn't diesel.
 
Been thinking, and if the question had included leaving WATER running and getting sidetracked with another chore or two, it'd be far more times than fingers and toes than on a football team.
 
Two good old boys from home realized their car was idling in front of a small airport when they were in a plane after takeoff.
 
About 3 months ago a fellow pulled his car into the basement garage; got out close garage door and went up stairs. Daughter found him dead the next morning in bed.
 
I have never left an engine to idle but I always have the nagging fear that I left the gate open for the cows... I have done it. Usually after feeding bales, put the tractor away and get distracted and never close the gate.
 
A friend of mine is a volunteer firefighter. He went out on a fire call, and left his Chevy Caprice wagon idling beside the fire house. When he got back four hours later, the engine had seized. It wasn't in great shape to start with. I've heard that the new diesels with DEF shouldn't be allowed to idle excessively, but no explanation of why.
 
Years ago farmer below us got rained out one day planting corn, it was on a Friday morning,, they hurried up and got the seed corn covered and took off for home with the fertilize truck..that Sunday afternoon a guy called the farmer and asked if they were coming back over to finish planting that field,, the farmer said ooh no it would not be dry enough till the middle of the week,,,the guy then said maybe some one should come back over and shut the old 4020 off that was hooked to the planter,, they took off and forgot about it,,it idled there for near 3 days,,,didn't hurt anything,,it was just waiting to go again...
 
I got home after work once, took some stuff to the garage intending to come back to the truck but went inside. Still running when I went out the next morning. Just put $40 of gas in and used 2/3 of it overnight.
 
One time several years ago my X brother in law came to work and left his F-150 running in the parking lot. One of my friends told me about it, so I helped him by locking the doors so no one would steal it. hee hee!
 
I left My GMC ranch beater( 6.2 diesel)truck in the field once while doing a fencing job,.i figured on picking it up that night but got distracted and left it for an other day.
When i went with my wife to get it the next night i found it was still idling away( fuel gauge was showing empty). I drove it home and it died right in front of the diesel bulk tank.
I filled it up and bled it but it would not start....the starter was hanging at the batt cable underneath the truck i found the starter mounting bolts had worked loose and they were still laying right where i had left the truck in the field.
 
I came out one morning and found I had left the main gate by the barn open! Cows were all sitting down just short of the gate, happily chewing away. I guess they knew they were not supposed to be out.
 
Dixie and I was going to take the old ugly truck on a weekend trip to pick up a tractor one Friday night. We were going to leave and drive for three hours and stay in a motel. It was cold so I had the truck running and went in to get the bags. Dixie had some reason she was wanting to go early in the next morning. I set down and waited for her to make up her mind for sure. It took about and hour for her to say she was not going that late. I went out the next morning and old ugly was nice and warm sitting there idling.
 
When I had my mail route I delivered to one of the grain elevators. They had a railroad siding right by the driveway. One winter day I went there and there was a diesel locomotive sitting on the siding all by itself with the motor idling. When I came the next day it was still sitting in the same spot idling away.

When I was a kid my Dad left a tractor running out in the field. We happened to go back out maybe a half hour or 45 minutes later and discovered it.
 
I left an old pick up running all night long on a set of jumper cables in the back lot last winter,,I went to the house and forgot about her. In the old days it seemed that we were picking corn all darn winter and the pick ups were setting around idling with the heater on most of the time.. I had a friend that worked on a seismic crew in Alaska back in the 70-80's he said they left all the diesels running all winter long,,said they couldn't get them started again in the cold,,of course they had "Cold" like I don't want to know about up there...
 
We use to carry an extra key and lock the old truck with the engine running when we stopped for a Beer once and a while,, if we didn't lock them some of those ornery friends of mine would move the truck....I guess I moved a couple myself....
 
Last year while out of town in cold winter, deep snow. Got back to the place to park the work truck, get in my truck and go somewhere, so started mine, cleaned the snow off, went into the room to get something. Got distracted by something, then forgot about the truck, started watching TV, went to bed. About 2 or 3 AM, someone started hammering on the door. Was the cops. Someone called them because my truck was running and they thought maybe I died or something, I guess. They didn't knock on the door or anything, just called 9-1-1 and the cops showed up. I answered the door in my boxers, "What the ???". Male and female cop asking if I knew anything about that running truck out in the parking lot. "Nope, don't know anything about any running truck, but I have a white one out there". They looked at me, "That's the one running". That woke me up. Running about 8 or so hours, third or half a tank of gas. No one stole it though.

Mark
 
Dad was stationed up there for a few years while in the Army. He said you could sleep ok in a small tent at -50 F, IF you had two sleeping bags. They did search and rescue, he said no heaters in the tents.

Ross
 
Starting those diesel locomotives is quite a project, and they often leave them running for days at a time.
 
Also a lot of time they DO NOT have antifreeze in them. Soften water and treatment but no anti. One reason is the cost, another is if it gets into the oil, and the other is because of the enviro wackos. If there is a leak, spill ,or someone messing with it they don't need to clean up. Crazy but that is why. They can be a real pain in the patoot to start in really cold weather too. What some of the newest ones have on them now is a sort of pony engine. A small standby diesel engine that keeps the batteries charged and the water in the system warm. Only use a fraction of the fuel needed before.
 
Last one to leave work on night after plowing snow for 18 hours, my '96 Powerstroke set outside in the parking lot, no where to plug it in. It was -20F when I started it. She rattled and hammered for a bit before smoothing out, and I let it "warm up" for 15 minutes before I left. I think the 300,000 miles of wear helped from hurting anything. I was just glad it started so I wouldn't have to waste time trying to get it running, I had to be back in 5 hours.

Ross
 
Came home from work one day and heard a noise from the shed. It sounded like an engine running. Turned out to be my MF 35 that was puttering. My sheep had got out of their enclosure in the shed and started the tractor. Don’t know how long it had been running and the sheep wouldn’t tell me.
 
They still have a filter in the exhaust, even with def and or burnoff, sooner rather than later it WILL plug it up. We leave our trucks at work idle when we run in to use the bathroom normally. They bought a new Peterbilt last fall, salesman went from the repair shop into sales and was VERY knowledgeable about the particulars of that truck. He said to shut it off when running in, even if just for a few minutes. He showed us that the truck records that idle time based on percentage of hours above idle, and if over a certain percent it definitely voids exhaust/emissions warranty, and I believe engine warranty as well. He told us after warranty to do as we like, but that emissions system costs around $20,000.

Ross
 
The closest town (3500 people) has a novelty railroad with an ancient locomotive. They have three Pullman cars and do a dinner train on Friday and Saturday night. They just take it down the tracks to the next town and back it back home. A couple of years ago they decided to leave it running all winter as it was such a deal to get started. They didn't try that again. The thing leaked so much oil that they had to put a 55 gallon drum of oil in it every week. The depot is by the Co-op. It was fun to observe all winter.

When I was a kid we had a Farmall H we used to grind feed and run the grain cart during harvest. I never once remember it starting itself. We would pull it and it would fire right up. It had a starter button but I don't recall ever seeing a battery on it. Anyway, during harvest we would pull it before going to the field. It would idle at the edge of the field all day waiting in case we needed it to haul a load to the bins. I loved that tractor. I felt like a dirt track racer on it - road gear was FAST to a kid. One day it started "boiling over" when you ran it hard so we parked it. It sat in the back corner of the shed for a few years and then went to the scrap man. Now I know it was just a head gasket. Poor old thing. The scrap man also got our 5 window Chevy pickup. It was just an old green truck then. Not a scratch on it. We were dumb.
 
I heard once that railroad diesel locomotives only shut off to overhaul them. They were set up to change oil while they were running. Evidently too hard to start and that is when the most engine wear occurred.
 
A friend of mine that lives in Alaska told me that on cold winter days no one shuts their cars off when they go to town. Everyone carries 2 sets of keys, and one can go to a big store like Home Depot or Walmart, and there will be a whole parking lot full of cars running with no one in them. !!
 
The wife had a blonde moment a while back, went out to eat with her girlfriend, went to leave the restaurant and couldn't find her keys, went outside and found them in the ignition with engine running and doors locked. Luckily she also forgot to put up the windows.
 
(quoted from post at 19:57:33 11/24/15) A friend of mine that lives in Alaska told me that on cold winter days no one shuts their cars off when they go to town. Everyone carries 2 sets of keys, and one can go to a big store like Home Depot or Walmart, and there will be a whole parking lot full of cars running with no one in them. !!
n cold winter days I always leave mine running when i'm in town .
 
I seem to remember a story on this website, or perhaps another (NewAgT...) about someone unloading bins and leaving the tractor on the auger run for the whole weekend.

When I was working downtown Mpls, an actuarial student got back to the park and ride after work and could not find his keys, they were still in his beat up Crown Vic, and it was still running.


 

I had a GEO metro as a commuter car. A friend of ours died and I went to his funeral, it was a record cold day, -15F. The car had a one liter engine, and it never got warm enough to defrost the windows all the way, even after leaving it running during the service.
 
Work 12 hour shift. Co-worker drives 06 Ford ex-cab, we all walked out together and found his truck idling. Three miles to gas station, he didn't make it, had no idea how much gas he had when he came to work.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I've heard that it applies to anything with DEF, right down to Duramaxes and Power Strokes, etc.
 
My Dad left his pickup running for 2 days once. The only damage was an almost empty gas tank. He had just filled it up before he left it running.
 
Dad usually had a number of dump trucks. I usually left when the last one came in. One Friday I had to leave before a GMC with a 318 Detroit got in. The driver was told not to shut it off during the day cause the batteries were weak. Sure enough Monday morning there it was sitting there running.
Ron
 

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