Six tips to keep your excavator away from the hazards of idling

The fuel consumption of an excavator at idle speed exceeds your imagination

All the operators in the construction machinery industry know that the idling of equipment during the construction process is inevitable. Many times, in order to save time in the operation process, the operators will start the machine and wait for work. This is idling.

Idle speed refers to the state when the engine is idling, that is, when the excavator is not in operation and the engine is running without load.

In daily construction, for many customers, the idle time of their equipment accounts for 40 to 50% of the total operating time. The oil burned by the engine during idle time does not create any value and is simply wasted. To put it in other words: it is "burning money".

Take a device that operates for 2,000 hours a year as an example. If the idle speed reaches 40%, and it consumes about 3.7 liters of fuel per hour of idling, this device will incur an additional fuel cost of approximately 20,000 yuan a year. From this perspective, isn't it a considerable expense?

Excessive idling time leads to low efficiency and high cost

Long-term idling not only consumes a lot of fuel but also has a considerable impact on the excavator equipment and engineering operations:

➤ Increase fuel costs and reduce operational efficiency;

Reduce the lifespan of components such as the engine of the equipment;

➤ Incur additional maintenance costs, such as replacing filter elements, etc.

➤ Increase maintenance time and delay project progress;

➤ Increase engine wear and tear, affecting the value of second-hand machines;

Incomplete combustion of fuel increases exhaust emissions and affects the environment.

Six tips to reduce equipment idling

As an equipment manager, in order to reduce the costs caused by idling and improve construction efficiency, you need to pay attention to idling, check the idling condition of your fleet, and try to minimize the idling time. Here are six tips for reducing idle speed for all engine owners:

Reduce the idle time before shutdown. New engines do not need to idle, while some older models require idling for about 2 minutes.

When loading and unloading, if the equipment waits for more than 5 minutes, you can choose to stop the machine and shut it off.

Before starting work every day, the equipment should be preheated for 3 to 5 minutes. The time should not be too long.

If the engine is equipped with an idle automatic control system, please enable this function to reduce the engine speed when there is no load or a light load.

When the operator is resting and not working, the machine should be turned off.

Effectively manage construction vehicles and reduce idling through reasonable driving routes and construction time.