[Slacky]

What sort of a numpty would you have to be to leave a running works vehicle unattended on the highway?

[Walter Mitty]

What sort of a numpty would you have to be to leave a running works vehicle unattended on the highway?

Numpty alert:  I was only doing that today .  It's not a habit but it looks like my leisure battery is giving up the ghost.  It's been giving me a warning for several days now but I thought it was just airlocks.  Because I had plenty of drive-betweens the problem was partly hidden.  Today's work was more compact.  So I had the engine running while I sat in the van for a break today, and for the short time I was cleaning the fronts.  I switched it off and removed the key before going around the backs though.  It gave me enough juice to get finished.  Battery now on charge and will buy a replacement tomorrow in case the charging doesn't give me what I want.

[dazmond]

if a battery is below par then the cold weather will find it out.......

[dd]

If your batteries are well charged before you go to work you should not need to charge them during your lunch break. Remember Daz "You only work part time" anyway.

[Walter Mitty]

If your batteries are well charged before you go to work you should not need to charge them during your lunch break. Remember Daz "You only work part time" anyway.

Remember, everyone's circumstances are different.  Carrying a battery up steps to a flat when I have to park at least 200 yards from home isn't ideal.  If my circumstances were different, I would put it on top-up charge most nights even though I have a split charge relay fitted.

[Slacky]

Thats the thing on here, we become obsessed about improving our own individual setups and forget others situations are different to ours....

[dazmond]

If your batteries are well charged before you go to work you should not need to charge them during your lunch break. Remember Daz "You only work part time" anyway.

i use a diesel heater on full blast 6 or 7 hours a day,these are heavy on the batteries,i also have an electric reel so a little top up at lunchtime doesnt do the batteries any harm....

remember the less you discharge your batteries day to day the longer they will last......

i also charge them up overnight  every night too.....

[dd]

Not sure it is really a battery issue with Daz though, because he used to idle his engine during lunchbreak before his hot system and electric reel.

I think if everyone treated the environment more sympathetically than there own personal comfort, the world would be a better place. I find it annoying when people selfishly disregard the world we live in.

Rant over.

[dazmond]

Not sure it is really a battery issue with Daz though, because he used to idle his engine during lunchbreak before his hot system and electric reel.

I think if everyone treated the environment more sympathetically than there own personal comfort, the world would be a better place. I find it annoying when people selfishly disregard the world we live in.

Rant over.

so do you sit in a cold van in this weather at lunchtime with the engine off?....didnt think so.....

on a hot summers day the air con is a godsend at lunchtime for a 30 min cool off!

[dd]

Yes Daz I do you Big Pansy.

Thing is it is cold outside so I wear warm clothing, so sitting in a cold van is not a problem.

[AuRavelling79]

In answer to 8 weekly ...

Leaving an engine idling is an offence

"Stationary idling is an offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988," says Jeanette Miller, managing director of Geoffrey Miller Solicitors.

The Act enforces rule 123 of the Highway Code, which states: "You must not leave a vehicle’s engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road."


"Doing this can incur a £20 fixed-penalty fine under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) Regulations 2002. This goes up to £40 if unpaid within a given time frame.

But this is only imposed if the driver fails to turn off their engine when asked to do so by a marshal.

Of course, it doesn't mean you've got to cut your engine at every red light. You’re allowed to leave your engine running if you're stationary in traffic, diagnosing faults or defrosting your windshield."

[dazmond]

Yes Daz I do you Big Pansy.

Thing is it is cold outside so I wear warm clothing, so sitting in a cold van is not a problem.

what van do you drive?if its an older one then its probably more polluting than mine(mines a euro 6 engine)also i do very little mileage so less polluting than someone who drives 40 miles a day just to get to and from work......

if they brought out a decent electric van at a reasonable price with the right payload id buy one but it doesnt exist at the moment....

[Johnny B]

I drive an older van (2005 Berlingo) with 200,000 + kms on the clock. When it went for its last CVRT test (Irish MOT for commercial vehicles) the emissions were almost zero.

John

[dd]

Yes Daz I do you Big Pansy.

Thing is it is cold outside so I wear warm clothing, so sitting in a cold van is not a problem.

what van do you drive?if its an older one then its probably more polluting than mine(mines a euro 6 engine)also i do very little mileage so less polluting than someone who drives 40 miles a day just to get to and from work......

if they brought out a decent electric van at a reasonable price with the right payload id buy one but it doesnt exist at the moment....

I have no wish to insult you or give you a hard time Daz but...

you started a topic merely to complain about a law that is designed to protect the environment (what seems to me a perfectly reasonable law).

[P @ F]

I agree , thats why i didnt idle for six straight hours today , my diesel heater was full pelt all day , and it only used 400 ml of diesel per hour .
I started with about 30 degree water and finished with about 45 degree , I also got home with my single 85 amp battery fully charged , not bad considering its used to power the pump and start the van 

[Spruce]

I agree , thats why i didnt idle for six straight hours today , my diesel heater was full pelt all day , and it only used 400 ml of diesel per hour .
I started with about 30 degree water and finished with about 45 degree , I also got home with my single 85 amp battery fully charged , not bad considering its used to power the pump and start the van 

I'm really struggling to believe you. 

We need photos!

[P @ F]

Honest Spruce

[Walter Mitty]

Yes Daz I do you Big Pansy.

Thing is it is cold outside so I wear warm clothing, so sitting in a cold van is not a problem.

what van do you drive?if its an older one then its probably more polluting than mine(mines a euro 6 engine)also i do very little mileage so less polluting than someone who drives 40 miles a day just to get to and from work......

if they brought out a decent electric van at a reasonable price with the right payload id buy one but it doesnt exist at the moment....

I have no wish to insult you or give you a hard time Daz but...

you started a topic merely to complain about a law that is designed to protect the environment (what seems to me a perfectly reasonable law).

Yes, it is a reasonable law, which also contains the word 'unnecessarily'.  As far as the battery charging goes, it's pollution at the van or pollution at the power station, because it will use electricity to charge at home.  I would agree though that pollution at the power station can be more easily channelled.