Summer time idling with a/c on?

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I have an 80 lb golden retriever that I take with me a lot in the summer heat 90F+, when I need to run into a business I lock him in the car (Camry in sig.) with the a/c on which surprisingly keeps the car nice and cool, I do this probably 3 days a week for up to 20 minutes at a time, am I causing any damage and should I cut my OCI down 500-1,000 miles or so?
 
Poor puppy
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Send it to me
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Idling does count against your TBN, but your probably already changing soon enough being a conscious car forum member... What is your current OCI and which vehicle and what oil do you use?

I did some heavy idling in my Buick last winter and going 6,000 miles on Pennzoil Platinum took the TBN down to 1.5 from blackstone. I was idling it every cold night up to 60+ minutes 5 days a week at least.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Idling does count against your TBN, but your probably already changing soon enough being a conscious car forum member... What is your current OCI and which vehicle and what oil do you use?

I did some heavy idling in my Buick last winter and going 6,000 miles on Pennzoil Platinum took the TBN down to 1.5 from blackstone. I was idling it every cold night up to 60+ minutes 5 days a week at least.


Extended running with an engine not up to temp might be what brings the TBN down the most, which you'd have had every night and then in the mornings and again after work. just a thought... How was the fuel dilution doing? Did you sample when the temperatures had gone up again? That might have evaporated some of the fuel in the oil, but the TBN would never recover obviously.
 
I'm curious about idling effect on oil also, what's a good estimate an hour of idle equals about 100 miles? Specifically for say delivery cars pizza/restaurant in small cities.
 
33 miles/hour. Thats from a Ford test.

I wouldn't worry about an hour per week. Especially warmed up idling like you would expect when running the A/C.
 
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
33 miles/hour. Thats from a Ford test.

I wouldn't worry about an hour per week. Especially warmed up idling like you would expect when running the A/C.


What if idling 3-5 hrs a day 3-5 days a week? The same 33mi equals 1hr?
 
Originally Posted By: BobsArmory
Around here, doing that would get a visit from the police a broken window and a missing dog.

illegal in south carolina.
it also is bad on compressor head pressure.
 
Idling with the AC running. Common where I live. Go to just about any store and lots of guys sitting in their vehicles waiting on the wife with vehicle idling running AC. I am usually in that group for up to 30 minutes at a time. Not going to hurt a thing. Now if I left my truck idling without anyone in it, dog or otherwise, and a cop came buy I would get a ticket. I know that because I had to pay one of those tickets.
 
Once had an Aerostar 3.0 that I would sit and idle with the AC on for 30+ minutes at a time. Every time I did that, when I took off the thing was very loud under hood, like a giant fan or something was spinning away at high speed. I started propping the hood open about 6 inches wiht a stick when I sat idling with the AC on, and then it would be normal quiet on take off. Too much heat in the engine compartment.
 
I find the idling one hour equates to 33 miles or 100 miles, etc a bit of a stretch to believe. I don't measure fuel consumption per hour type of things on small vehicles, but I do on my commercial semi trucks. The typical heavy diesel uses about 1 gallon per hour in idling. That would equate to roughly 7 miles of normal fuel consumption running down the road. Yet, the idling motor has substantially less pressure being applied to rod bearings and other components, and essentially no turbo usage, so even with the lower oil pressure of idling, there is not a serious decrease in lubrication going on.

Compare that to the stress and potential wear to the same engine under full load, running, say, 20 lb of boost from the turbo, Exhaust temps of around 800F post turbo, using that same gallon of fuel in 7 miles.

I have seen many, many commercial engines with 25-35% idle time on them comfortably go beyond 1 million miles. Now, the idling is a major waste of fuel and should be minimized, but some idea that idling equates to some goofy 33-100 miles of driving idea is hardly believable.
 
Not even commenting on the possible effect on your oil ( which is negligible)and the potential for a LEO to cite you....

( which might be a stretch if you are taking measures to protect the dog from the temperature assuming your jurisdiction doesn't have a detailed law where you simply cannot leave one in a car with or without the engine running unattended. I get real worried in this day and age about an officers "judgment")

I would immediately discontinue the practice simply because the dog being a dog could accidently bump a gear shift and maybe sit on the gas. ( and forget about the lock buttons and all that because just like a gun, the safety is no substitute for proper handling and everything mechanical can fail)

If something like that happens and the vehicle hurts or kills someone then you are looking at a large lawsuit or possibly involuntary manslaughter with aggravating circumstances such as reckless endangerment.

I love my dogs and ride with them all the time but I wouldn't take that risk ever.
 
I have a cautionary tale (Or tail, if you prefer) to tell about leaving dogs in the car with the AC running.

We were working on plans for a house we were designing, 1200 miles from home. Of course our 4 footed companions were with us (3 JRTs). There was a tour of a number of houses 50 miles away, in Santa Fe. So, I brought 2 sets of keys to the 4runner, and left the SUV running, AC on, in 95 degree heat, doors locked. We were gone maybe 30 minutes. When we came back, all 4 windows were completely down, and 3 happy dogs were panting out the open windows, with the AC trying its best to cool greater New Mexico.

I had hit the window lockout, but the dogs managed to (In sequence) unlock the windows, and roll them all down.

No harm was done, but the possible consequences (Lost dogs being my main concern) have kept me from ever doin it again.
 
Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
I have a cautionary tale (Or tail, if you prefer) to tell about leaving dogs in the car with the AC running.

We were working on plans for a house we were designing, 1200 miles from home. Of course our 4 footed companions were with us (3 JRTs). There was a tour of a number of houses 50 miles away, in Santa Fe. So, I brought 2 sets of keys to the 4runner, and left the SUV running, AC on, in 95 degree heat, doors locked. We were gone maybe 30 minutes. When we came back, all 4 windows were completely down, and 3 happy dogs were panting out the open windows, with the AC trying its best to cool greater New Mexico.

I had hit the window lockout, but the dogs managed to (In sequence) unlock the windows, and roll them all down.

No harm was done, but the possible consequences (Lost dogs being my main concern) have kept me from ever doin it again.
Wow, I never would have thought of that. I'd pull the fuse for the power windows next time.
 
If the A/C fails completely it doesn't take more than 5 minutes in high heat for that car interior to start roasting. Bottom line is
LEAVE the dogs at home.
 
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