scottmn1

I have been reading on here and have found many posts on idling. I understand that when idling you should raise the engine RPM to around 1,000 RPM to keep temps up to prevent cylinder wash down. My truck is equipped with an exhaust brake in addition to a fast idle locking cable to hold my RPM's wherever I want it. My wife and I travel usually with our little dog and usually need to keep the truck cool in the summer and warm in the winter when we stop to eat or whatever for her. My question is, when letting the truck idle for say an hour or so in the summer heat with a/c on, would it be best to raise idle to 1,000 rpms, or engage the ebrake to keep the temps up? Also, same scenario only in the cold weather with the heat on? Would it be best to raise RPM's AND engage the e brake in the cold weather? Any opinions?

apwatson50

I would think that raising the idle during the summer would help the AC work better, and prevent wash down. Also during the winter engaging the E-brake would help keep the engine warmer, as well as raising the idle.

On a side note, how do you activate your E-brake?

scottmn1

My ebrake is activated with a compressed air solenoid.......I was just wondering if either raising RPM's alone or engaging the ebrake alone sucessfully would prevent cylinder washdown by keeping the temps up. In other words I would think that in the hot summer, raising rpms alone would work to keep internal engine temps up to prevent cylinder washdown and also keep more air flowing through the condensor to make the a/c more efficient. And then in the winter, engaging the e brake only would keep the temps up inside the engine, but keeping the engine at idle would eliminate the extra airflow that would be trying cool everything down. Is that theory correct, or am I overthinking everything??? Anybody?

jogl

Scottmn1:

That makes sense to me.

JP.

dpuckett

Makes sense to me. In winter, if you dont have the microswitch to deactivate it above idle, you can run the e-brake and idle to about 1100rpm. Same for summer to prevent cylinder washdown. The e-brake puts enough of a load on the engine to make it work just enough that things stay in a more loaded state, and not so idle, pardon the pun.

Nice looking rig you got- I've seen it around town. Definitely one of a kind.

Daniel

wannadiesel

I'd idle around 1100 in the summer - more so the A/C works better than anything else. You aren't likely to get washdown with 150 degree air coming into the engine.

In the winter, the E-brake alone ought to be enough to maintain heat. For warm-up 1k with the brake ought to do nicely.

scottmn1

Thanks Dave......My thoughts exactly.

In the winter I do exactly that for warmup. That sucker warms up and blows warm air in about 3 minutes at 1,000-1,100 rpm with the e-brake on.

I used my e-brake for serious down hill braking for the first time this past weekend going to Branson Mo for a truck show. Its amazing how much more secure of feeling it is to be able to decelerate going down a long hill and never touching the brake pedal. I installed the e-brake back in the winter, but never really used the truck anywhere but on flat roads until this weekend.

DPuckett, I see you are also from Cape Girardeau. I thought I remember seeing your sig in the past say something about you being from somewhere not too far from me, but I didn't realize you were in the same town.

Thanks guys

dpuckett

Yup- I got the green flatbed club cab dually with the sea salt spray paint job- looks like it got peeled by the spray of the sea. Tinted rear winders, and a striaght pipe.

girlfriend works at a local shop on the north end of town.

DP

Big Nate

How serious is the cylinder washdown? I live in Phoenix Arizona.

LOGAN

if idling when its really hot in the summer with or without the A/C it probably wouldn't hurt to open the hood up all the way or prop it open some, lets ALOT of heat out of the engine bay and will keep temps down 30 degrees or more. anytime im idling for a while, especially in the field, i will have my hood open.

BearKiller

What brand is your exhaust-brake ??

Is it compatible with standard transmissions ??

I had forgotten about it, until I read about your's; but, my Cummins fanatic friend recently told me that he had an outlet for air-operated exhaust-brakes that would fit my truck/engine.

He didn't mention price or any other particulars, just that I needed one and they were air-actuated.

Thanks.

wannadiesel

You'll never have a problem with it in Phoenix. It's an extreme cold weather problem.

pred

What is cylinder washdown?

LOGAN

get alot of unburnt fuel in the cylinder and causes hydrolock.

wannadiesel

When the cylinder temps get so low that unburnt fuel washes the oil off the cylinder walls. If it's not putting out white smoke, it's not cold enough for washdown.