[Finrdz]

I know this is goin to sound crazy...

How long can our cars stay on at idle from a full tank of gas. The only thing that would be used are car chargers for phones and maybe a laptop.

Any one know from experience, maybe even how long it lasted on just a quarter tank

 

[primer2tone]

Planning on bumming it for a while or preparing yourself for the apocalypse? Lol, I think the bigger factors are, is the a/c going to be on all the time? I honestly couldn't tell you how many hours per gallon you'd get but I know my Mack truck burns 1 gallon of diesel per hour at 1,100 rpms. I would guess you'd get 5 or 6 times the hourage in a mustang. A V6 maybe 7 or 8 hours per gallon? Just a guess.

 

[KARgt13]

I mean, you can charge your phone for a while with the car off with no harm done. The most I've done that is like half an hour.

As for how long you can idle, probably forever. Why you would want to, I don't know. I don't think it's a good idea to really do that for long periods of time.

 

[rebeltx]

I have to ask... Did you lock yourself out with the car running?

I think you could idle for as long as your radiator can keep the engine from overheating. Newer cars are pretty good at this so you may never get to a point where it would be an issue. The other factor would be gas, I would think your car would idle for a loooooooooong time on a full tank.

 

[Finrdz]

I am prepping. I am going to have the ac off I am going to have the phones charging as needed. I just want something to go off of. A few hours hear and there I am hoping it will last a few days

 

[bucko]

I am prepping. I am going to have the ac off I am going to have the phones charging as needed. I just want something to go off of. A few hours hear and there I am hoping it will last a few days

Why?? Charge the phone in your house or other building. Why idle a vehicle (other than the big boy trucks) for hours???

The diesels do it, but those engines are designed for it. Our autos are not. I don't think it's good for a gas engine powered vehicle to idle for that long a period. Not only that, but the polutants you'd be putting in the air should discourage you from doing it. In Germany, it's against the law to idle an engine longer than a minute; you have to turn them off and re-start them. My wife's new BMW 325 has the auto shutoff/restart feature; it shuts off after 30 seconds of idle, then re-starts as soon as you remove your foot from the pedal. Yes, it can be disabled, but it goes to show that the pollutants during idle are now being addressed by the auto manufacturers.