An updated methodology to analyse the idling of agricultural tractors

Idling is a status of tractors in which the engine is not subjected to any substantial load and the vehicle is stationary. Idling is detrimental for the environment and health of people and it is a frequent status for agricultural tractors. Indeed, agricultural tractors may idle from 10 to 43% of their entire operating time. Only in some conditions idling is necessary (e.g. implement hitching), otherwise it is a condition which wastes fuel. The aim of this paper is to report on an updated methodology to analyse the idling practice of agricultural tractors. Idling was monitored through a dash-cam and a CAN-Bus data logger installed on a tractor with a maximum engine power of 191 kW. The tractor ran on idle for 17% of its entire operating time with the most frequent stops occurring for the adjustment of the implement when the soil engaging tools become clogged by crop residuals. Moreover, during 67% of the idling duration, no tractor subsystem was used, so most of the idling was not caused by a real need. This idling was responsible for a waste of 1.6% of the fuel used. Considering that in Italy 8.3% of the tractors belong to the same class (in terms of mass) of that used in this study, 43 million of litres of fuel are supposed to be wasted per year. The results of this study could be used for developing anti-idling devices on agricultural tractors.