Engine idling...
 

is it ok to keep the engine running/idling for 20 minutes or so? We have a baby that my wife nurses, and whenever we are on the road and the baby gets hungry, I stop at a gas station or rest area so she can take him out of the car seat and nurse him. I always keep the engine running/idling so we can have AC. Will this do damage to engine?

Thanks!

Nope. It will not damage your engine. It will, however, consume a lot of gas.

Thank you for the quick reply. I dont want to waste gas or damage the engine by idling, but I also dont want to sacrifice the comfort of my family. Anyways, what about the "sludge" build up in the engine or the excessive tear in the engine components that some people relate with idling. is there any truth to that?

With the engine at operating temperature, and normal oil changes, no issues whatsoever.

about how much gas does it actually waste at idle? Probably depends on the engine, but anyone know approx.?

I have read everywhere that if it's more than a minute, then you should turn off the engine (just in general, not a recommendation for this thread particularly).