According to the farmers almanac, we should prepare for a wet and cold winter for 2019-2020. "With colder-than-normal temperatures in the Northeast and above-normal precipitation expected, our outlook forewarns of not only a good amount of snow, but also a wintry mix of rain and sleet—especially along the coast", the almanac said.
With heavy snow, comes downed lines and with downed lines comes a potential for your generator to kick on. Like any investment, a stand-by home generator requires maintenance to be certain that it will be ready to serve its purpose when the time comes. Regularly scheduled maintenance on these home power solutions is very important, but regularly scheduled maintenance performed properly will give you the peace of mind that you sought in the original purchase of your generator.
Proper preventative maintenance should include:
Visual inspection
Check intake and exhaust for obstructions
Check fault codes
Check battery
Check oil level/condition
Check coolant level and condition (where applicable)
Replace air filter
Replace spark plug
Valve lash adjustment if required
Manual start
Verify voltage and frequency output
Adjust fuel regulator
Adjust engine speed
Change oil using synthetic oil and replace oil filter
Transfer to generator power with a simulated power outage
Transfer back to utility power
Re-level generator (when necessary)
Paint gas pipe to prevent rusting
Document
While this list seems extensive, every part is just as important as the next to ensuring that your generator will run correctly in the event of an outage. A service technician should always provide you with a list of the work performed – not just an invoice.
Use this list in the future to ask the company providing you with preventative maintenance what their visit includes, and make sure that the job they do is worth the price tag. Improper maintenance can lead to failures at the worst possible moments, so be an informed consumer and ensure that your generator will be ready to go when you need it most!
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