does my car waste alot of diesal when im parked to keep the car warm?

Question

when im parked does my car waste alot of diesal when standing just to keep myself warm

Answer 1

YES

Answer 2

A diesel idles at a very low RPM. However, it obviously uses fuel during this time. The question becomes how long are you leaving it to idle. You say you are leaving it to idle to keep it warm so I'm going to assume that you will be away from it for some period of time. If this period of time is short, less than 3 minutes, then the fuel used will be minimul. Longer than that though, for any reason is a waste of fuel. Unless you expect the car to freeze up (this would take at least 3 hours in VERY cold weather) then idleing is a complete waste. Most diesels will 'warm up' the coolent that is then used to warm the interior of the vehicle in around 5 minutes or less. Being 'cool' for 5 minutes will more than compensate for the additional time you will spend standing outside the vehicle refueling.

The idea of idleing a diesel as being inexpensive comes from the fact that Big Rigs tend to sit and idle. There reasons for doing so is much different than for a car or light truck. Truckers idle their rigs to keep up the electrical systems in the cabs, to maintain heat and/or cooling for the 'second driver' that may be in the sleeper, to provide the needed power/air/hydraulics needed for the load or some do so because their air systems may have a small leak and their starters are air powers and if the air goes down.. they can't start the truck.

Keep the 3 minute idle time as a rule of thumb and I think you'll find yourself spending less time (and $) at the pump.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Answer 3

first of all the individual with the comment about gas mileage going down to 21 while you are idling is a complete moron. if you actually do the math of miles per gallon while idling you will find that it comes out to 0 becuase you are not going anywhere.
second, a diesel does not use as much fuel while idling then when it is being driven simply becuase it only needs to generate enough power to turn a crank shaft, injector pump and alternator.maybe ac and power steering , but if you are running the car to keep it warm than i doubt the ac is on. diesels in general require a lot less fuel to idle than a gasoline engine but that does not mean that it takes none. i will agree with the gentleman who had the other rediculously verbose answer. it should not be a big deal if you are only idling for5 min or so, other than that it is a pointless waste.

Answer 4

idling a diesel for long periods of time is actually one of the most harmful things you can do to an engine. carbon will build up in the combustion chambers and injector nozzles, and also the fuel will not burn completely and will dilute the oil on the cylinder walls. truckers idle mainly to heat/cool the cab, but you can walk outside at a truck stop at 7PM with the sun down, and the outside temp at 69 degrees and at least half of the trucks will be idling. there is no reason for that, just sheer wastefulness. trucks have four to six batteries on board and it takes a while to discharge them.

Answer 5

Of course it does, just sitting there keeping warm is 0 mpg is it not?

Answer 6

Its more than its switched off but better than staying in cold.

Answer 7

contrary to popular belief, idling your car burns more fuel than running it. say you get 26mpg when you're running. if you idle that could go down to 21mpg. it's not as if you're going to burn the whole tank but it will burn more.

Answer 8

its at a lower RPM so its wasting less diesel than when your driving.

Answer 9

no the heat comes from the battery when the engine is off

Answer 10

negligible