My Firefighter Nation
Diesel engines, shut off or leave running?
When parking the ambulance at the hospital, most people back up in the ambulance bay and shut the unit off. I tend to like to park not in the ambulance canopy, but in the nearby parking spaces and keep the unit running.
Two small reasons are to not have to shut off all the light and utilities involved in pt. care while preparing to exit the vehicle, and also to keep the compartment warm during the winter months. The big reason, however, is that I"ve been told by many people that it's better for the health of a diesel engine to let them idle, rather than alot of starting and stopping.
I am by no means a mechanic, can anyone clarify if what I'm doing is of any use or not?
Two small reasons are to not have to shut off all the light and utilities involved in pt. care while preparing to exit the vehicle, and also to keep the compartment warm during the winter months. The big reason, however, is that I"ve been told by many people that it's better for the health of a diesel engine to let them idle, rather than alot of starting and stopping.
I am by no means a mechanic, can anyone clarify if what I'm doing is of any use or not?
Loyd Dittfurth
Jan 18, 2010
Joe Stoltz
Reason given was that exhaust fumes have been showing up inside the ED and of course that is not good. So when we back up to the entrance, we shut the engine off as well as the master battery switch, after the patient is taken out of the back.
The driver usually, but not always takes the keys in while the bus is left unattended.
The trouble with this is that habits are hard to break. I always take my keys out of my car whenever I park it, so I have on occasion taken the ambulance keys home in my pocket. Thankfully I've discovered this before anyone else found out about it.
Jan 18, 2010
Loyd Dittfurth
Jan 18, 2010