Continued maintenance of your standby generator is essential. Your home or business’s generator is your first line of defense against power outages, and by performing proper maintenance of your generator you are ensuring that you are prepared to face the unexpected. Power outages can come about for many reasons and at any time. These outages can range from inconvenient to devastating given the circumstances. If you have already made the smart decision to protect your home and business by installing a standby generator, then you already know how beneficial they are. 

Benefits of a standby generator include:

Reliability

A standby generator can run successfully for days or weeks on a whole-house propane tank, or indefinitely if you have natural gas.

Convenience

Most standby generators turn on automatically when there’s a power outage. 

Power output

Standby generators have a power output of between 8,000 to 20,000 watts (compared to only 3,000 to 8,500 watts by a portable generator). 

Comfort and safety

Tumultuous weather can unexpectedly knock out your power for hours or even days at a time. By owning a standby generator you are ensuring the safety and security of your home or business in the event of inclement weather.

To continue experiencing all of the benefits that your standby generator has to offer, you must perform consistent maintenance on your generator. Maintenance should be performed semi-annually so that you can alway rest assured that it remains in good working order. To perform such maintenance, please refer to the instructions that came with your specific make and model of generator. 

However, if you wish to supplement your knowledge of generator maintenance you can refer to this short guide below:

Inspect your generator frequently

You should give your generator a quick check up every month or so. During these checkups, you should check on the coolant thermal-protection level, inspect any other considerations referenced in your owner’s manual and ensure that you have a sufficient amount of fuel. You should also run the generator for a bit so that you can keep an eye on fluid leaks, warning lights and the automatic startup system (if it is a feature present in your generator model). 

Keep the oil and oil filter changed

Your generator’s oil and oil filter should be changed every 50 to 200 hours of use. Even when it is not in use though, you should keep an eye on oil levels during your check ups. 

Keep the battery charged

It is a good idea to check your generator’s battery every so often so that you can confirm that it is making a good connection. You want to make sure that the battery is holding a charge. Inspect both the AC and DC electrical systems and connections as well. 

If you have any further questions regarding generators and how they should be maintained, or if you would like to schedule a free consultation, contact Northside Power today!