DD at rest

Greeting from not so warm Orange Beach AL.

How often should I start my engines, run up to temp in neutral, or do they need a load? We are taking a break from traveling and haven't run them in two weeks. I will fire up the genny today as I plan to change its oil.

Unless its going to be months and months of sitting , simply starting and ideling a while only destroys the oil sooner from blowby.

Take her out once a month for an hour , with at least 1/2 hour at good load so the engine gets warmed up is best.

DD has instructions in DA Book for out of service over 30 days.

IF you have a inline like the 6-71 purchase a new set of air box gaskets .

Should long term storage be needed spraying fogging oil in the air boxes , crank a turn and repeating will solve the cylinder rusting problems , IF you also seal (as air tight as you can) the intake and exhaust.

DD recommends a special oil to operate the engine fuel system for 5 min before securing the engine.

Thanks FF, I was concerned about just idling. I would usually idle up to 1500rpm, still wouldn't reach proper temp. I hope I will get a chance to run tomorrow as it will be calm and in the 60's.
Merry x-mas

I was concerned about just idling. I would usually idle up to 1500rpm,

RPM doesnt matter , LOAD matters , so go for a run or leave it shut down.