Hey guys I idle my car about once a month for 5 minutes to pump up all the tires (my tire inflator draws enough juice the car needs to be on to feed it) and every other month for 10-15 minutes to get rid of bubbles in the coolant from topping off the coolant level (yea I probably got a leak somewhere I’ll get it checked out sooner or later, also I brought up the whole bubble removal thing in a thread long ago). I’m guessing this is completely negligible with regard to incomplete combustion working its bad voodoo magic against my car. Correct? Does idling do less damage to the car if the engine is at operating temp, or is idling at stop lights and construction lights just as bad? Thanks!
Also if anybody’s looking for a bada$$ tire inflator this guy has served me very well. Only downside being it draws a lot of juice and my cars need to be on to power it.
5 minutes each month will do no harm, as long as you do this just before or after driving the vehicle.
Don’t you think the bubbles will rise to the top as you drive? I add coolant, then close the hood. The reservoir will add coolant to the radiator if needed as the engine cools.
For those that didn’t look it up on the link provided… lol The DEWALT 20V MAX Cordless Air Inflator can run on any 1 of 3 power sources for maximum versatility: 20V maximum battery, 12V DC or 110-Volt AC.
Your question has an incomplete background, even in your thread about burning the water out of the oil, you never (that I saw) said how much you drive a day/week/month or year… So if you are driving 20 miles one way to work and most of that is at speed, then no, 5-10 minute idles are just fine, but if you work around the corner and warm it up in the driveway and then drive 1 mile to work and also let it idle all the time, then yes the idling is not burning the water off the oil…
Idling does not hurt an engine, as long as you are also driving the vehicle long enough to keep the water out of the oil…
I bought one of these several years ago. I use house power and it works well. It was about 50 bucks when I bought it I thought about a pancake compressor, but the cost was more than double the price of this unit
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Has anybody considered that it IS possible that the OP does not have a house AC voltage source close enough (garage etc) to operate anything requiring a 110 volt AC source to power it??
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I have been using a 5HP 60 gal tank air compressor for 30 years or so, but in no way does that help the OP out, especially if the OP has no way to run it… lol
Hmmm not sure about the 110 outlet, I park in a garage for a 101 unit building, will have to see if there’s an outlet nearby. Excellent idea though that would be handy dandy.
Also when I idle the car I typically don’t drive it right away afterwards. I try to drive long distances once a month or so to burn out the water from the oil.
Buying the battery occurred to me but IMHO batteries suck you have to charge them and they have a limited lifespan. Might be worth it though if the idling is not negligible.
Also I already have my tire inflator so I’d rather not invest in a pancake tire inflator.
Idling after it’s warmed up is not going to hurt anything. When my son was little, I used to sit in the driveway with the engine idling if he fell asleep on the way home. If I turned off the engine, he would wake up immediately. So I sat there most of the time for up to an hour or so. Fuel injected engines use very little gas idling. Most condensation happens with a cold engine. So starting it cold, idling for 5 minutes and shutting it off will produce the most condensate, especially in the exhaust system. Not all cars are created equal and some worse than others. My new to me truck seems to have a propensity to generate a lot of condensate when cold compared to many of my other vehicles…
Check into getting an oil analysis from Blackstone Labs. Basic test is $40 and would tell you how your oil is doing as far as water and other contamination. Your idling is no different than idling to defrost the glass or warm the interior. Our mechanics have used a in-between oil change interval based on what the oil looks like but we’ve been following their advice since 93.
Yeah, back in college when I showed the mechanic my Dad used for years at that time the milkshake on my first '81 Buick oil cap, the mechanic said, “Looks like you’ll be shopping for another car soon, son!”
I was at that time young n dumb and might have overfilled the crankcase ‘topping off’, as my father witnessed me doing on a weekly basis.
5 minutes of idling each month will do no harm. Change the engine oil once a year.
Do you idle the engine inside a parking garage to fill your tires? Other residents might object to excessive idling and the polluted air while walking to and from their vehicles.
