Here it is 40 hours on the meter so idling or running wide out doesn't matter. I tell them hey if you're charging me based on meter time I'm going to start that thing and start hogging or you can give me a little buffer and I'll let her warm up a bit I also mention the starter, I will turn this machine off and on if I think I am going to sit for more than a 60 seconds. Some places will give me extra time especially in the winter since it needs to warm up to operate. All depends on where we rent from
My friend since age 13 took over his parents vacation place, greatly enlarged it. He lived a few hours away, but spent a lot of time at his second home. He loved to rent equipment, often a mini ex, or a skid loader.
One rainy night he called; "I bent the shiney thing on the front. Can you straighten it?"
I went up. He had indeed bent the bucket cylinder's rod in a 90 degree arc. The dipper stick had a black wedge painted on it, or I first thought it did. Then, closer inspection, it was broken. Only the top face was bent, three other sides were broken.
"What in God's name were you trying to do?"
"I was breaking up ledge."
Next morning he called again: "I chained it up so it wouldn't do any more damage."
"How will it do more damage?" I asked.
"I'm using it to push rocks out of the lawn."
An hour later he called to ask where to get hydraulic hoses made. When I wanted to know why he needed hoses, he explained "A boulder fell over the top of the blade, knocked off a hose."
If you do rent, I Urge you to pay for the insurance.
