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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?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by FF Nick on
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Generally a good practice, I try to do the same with the fire engine. It takes a lot of juice to get that diesel cranking. They're designed to run and do it well, all you need is air and fuel. I leave them running when I'm out of the station for a few reasons.
1.) While in the station the truck usually stays plugged into some battery charger/conditioner. If one of your batteries is bad or a tad on the weak side, it may not start back up if your out on a grocery run or sitting somewhere. Normal inspections usually eliminate this, but there's always that one time.
2.) Fuel consumption is very minimal at best when idling, if you have an auto high idle of course it's bound to be a little higher. (My favorite one is when people come up and say "I love how my tax dollars are being eat up by that truck sitting there just burning fuel." To which I offer them $3 dollars, which is about the price per gal of diesel, and tell them "That truck sitting there idling hasn't even burned this amount in fuel.")
3.) Half the start up process is done, all you do is hop in, buckle up and take off.
There's a few other reasons but these are the main ones, of course different areas warrant different situations. For instance, when I go home for chow, I'll usually turn the truck off seeing as I live in an apartment complex just for common courtesy.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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At the hospital the ambo is shut down, there really is no reason to keep it running and even have fumes possibly affect people close to the doors etc. (I don't know the layout of such hospital as described, but if close to a bay, no reason to keep it running) If an engine goes along to the hospital, they tend to be left of the street and running.
I have heard the issue with starting and stopping as well and as with anything can lead to wear and tear. The majority of the ER's we go to here have enclosed ambulance bays, so obviously the rig is shut down.
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Permalink Reply by Reg Mathis on
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I was taught many years ago that for the health and well-being of a diesel engine, that if the temp is 32 degrees or below, you should let the engine idle for 5 minutes before shutting it down. If the temp is colder than zero degrees, the time is extended to 10 minutes...
Reg
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I saw another thread on the same topic, dual post perhaps.
Here it would be FETC
http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/diesel-engines-shut-o...
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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Blair,
Can you lock your ambulance completely while it is left running at idle? Because people have been stealing ambulances not far from us... Not to mention the hospital will not allow them to remain running under the canopy. For once I would love to see a hospital engineer a vent hood for the canopy, that would suck up the exhaust and vent it up and through the roof.
We can't leave them running therefore, we shut them off and leave them under the canopy which is close to the door and in the view of the hospital security cameras, but all of our meds and IV stuff are in internal heated compartments. The temp in the cab is not a concern because your turnaround time should be short enough that the heat hasn't fully dissapated and the engine temperature is still up thus having heat for the crew on the next run isn't an issue.
But, we also do not stay at the hospital for EMS reporting, we use FH CAD reporting, and just make up and get dems so our turn-around time averages less than 10-15 minutes once siging off at the ER. We then fax the patient care report once we are back at the station.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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You bring up some good reasons why and when to keep the rig running but please consider the following when making future decisions...
What's In Diesel Exhaust?: Diesel exhaust contains aliphatic hydrocarbons, organic vapors and mists and all sorts of other nasty things that contribute to lung cancer and other health issues for those exposed... Simply put, you want to minimize any exposure to the exhaust remembering that it is the chronic exposure that you are most concerned with. These products of combustion are inhaled, ingested, or absorbed into your body and get stored in your fat reserves.
Pumping Gas, Cancer and Women: This is why women in my opinion have no business pumping gas if they can help it. If they do, then standing uphill, upwind, upgrade points need to be followed. A note here is that Diesel fumes also have the carcinogens in them, but are not as volatile (combustible vs. flammable liquid). It also should be noted that children should be no where near a gas pump because they are not just children but small biological units with multiple dividing cells that have more to loose if they are dosed than an adult who is done growing... Finally, having folks inside the car is not the best thing if the windows are left open because vapors collect inside the vehicle, causing a more significant exposure potential because it is a confined space...
This is Not Sexism: I am by no means a sexist but instead a realist who has spent a lot of years working with environmental health buddies and some oncologists who all have noted the increased levels of cancer(s) in women the past 40 years. Women's bodies have a higher percentage of fat. This is why we see cancers involving the brain, breasts and reproductive organs in women increasing every year. For me, and my wife of 30 years and three daughters, I try to be the one who fills the tanks up for them...
I'm a giver... and I am suggesting here that if it's a male / female crew, have the guy get the fuel...
I share this for firefighters because I truly do care! :D
CBz
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Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth on
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I could care less if the ambulance was stolen its the meds inside that WOULD get my arse run off.
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Just for the record, and for the most part, diesel engines in rigs should be left running when possible to prevent battery drain issues which of course leads to the starting issues which leads to a phone call to John Sherrer asking him to come bail us out. Of course he will ask, did you leave the engine idling or did you turn it off? If there is one thing I learned a long time ago, don't piss off your fire mechanic! or the guy who knows what's going on under the hood.
CBz
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Permalink Reply by Randy Bawks on
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This is a follow up to John's post. Dont quote me on this but I believe Ford states that 300 hours of idle time is equal to 3,000 miles.
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you got me thinking about whether to run diesel engines or not... it appears that our brothers and sisters down under have already dealt with this issue...
TCSS,
CBz
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