So last night as an example, I was spooning large masses of floating cattail roots out of my pond (weighty stuff at times with wet roots and attached clay). For light stuff I was using idle, for heavy work I stepped the throttle up. It seems to me that when performing light duty work around the farm (like pulling little trees) that operating the machine at idle is fine if it is not pulling the engine down... However, my friend who has way more heavy equipment than I, said these integrated, hydraulic machines are made to run at the economy or high-output settings, and to run them slower is hard on [certain] components... Is there 'harm' on something when operating the machine at idle??? Thanks for your thoughts! Mark
Personally I would keep the engine speed at maybe one third throttle when doing any work. The engine will be happier in the long run. Diesels work on heat and will usually run too cold to run clean when idling, even under a load. Just my opinion.
I wouldn't run a hoe at idle either
I wouldnt run any diesel at idle. Its not good for them
If I'm just fiddling around, I usually keep it at half throttle or so.
Not good, glazes the bore and it'll start to smoke
You should never load an engine (gas/diesel/anything) at idle. The governor will keep the engine from stalling, but it will inject excess fuel while the engine is running too slow to draw adequate air for the load. As a result, the engine will run dirtily, soot will build up inside, and other bad things will happen to the engine. Modern (computer-controlled) excavators will generally not let you run at idle and will automatically rev up to around 30% throttle when the hydraulics are activated. For grading, I run at 40% to 60% throttle. For digging, I run between 70% and 100% depending on how tough the material is.
The engine will not care, the slipper pads in the hydraulic pump will, boot it up to 1/3 throttle or more. MHO, Lee