So, you went out and got your home or business a generator to keep things running when outages happen. Great idea! They are incredibly useful and helpful whenever the power goes out. Now, ideally, you won’t ever need to use your generator in an emergency, but if you should, it is there. So, what are you supposed to do with it in between times of needing to turn it on? The answer is, run it.
What to Do with Your Generator Between Uses to Keep It in Good Shape
Your generator’s main component is an engine. That engine runs and creates power. If the engine of anything just sits, it starts to get stuck. The pieces require movement to keep them properly lubricated and to keep them from sticking. If you do not move the internal parts of the engine around regularly, chances are, when you go to use your generator, it will struggle if it starts at all.
Instead of taking a chance that your generator is going to give you trouble, what you should do is start it up regularly. Most manufacturers specify that you should start it once every three months and let it run for somewhere around twenty minutes. While this is sufficient, we recommend slightly more often. If you want to keep your generator running, keep the engine lubricated, and keep the gas from going stale, then try and figure out something to do with your generator every month or two. If you come up with a great activity that lets you use the generator naturally, then it is far more likely to run like you want it to when you need it.
What Does Your Generator Get Out of Starting it Regularly?
When you start up your generator regularly, it gets a lot of benefits. First, as mentioned, the parts of the engine get to move around. This keeps everything properly lubricated and allows the components of the engine to avoid sticking together. Second, it uses up some of the gas. This is a big, important point. Gas does “go bad”, if you will. If you leave it in your generator too long, it is going to do more harm than good to run it. The gas needs to get used, then replaced, on a regular basis. By turning on your generator and running it on a regular basis, you use up the old gas and avoid this costly mistake.
Also, when your generator is started on a regular basis, the oil is able to take any imperfections out of the engine more readily. This means when you change the oil in your generator, you are getting those tiny particles out of the engine instead of letting them sit. If they were to sit in your engine, when you ran your generator, it could pose problems that could cause your generator to stop. Getting them out of the generator when you are not facing an emergency is far preferred over having to fiddle with it during a power outage.
If you want more help figuring out how to maintain your generator, or learning how to effectively use it to keep it working as long as possible, give us a call. We specialize in both residential and commercial generators, and can help you with all phases of generator ownership. We can help you pick out the right size generator for your needs, install the generator you pick out, and come out regularly to help maintain the unit. Call us today to find out more!
To celebrate our continued growth within the Generator Industry we are glad to offer our clients the best preventative maintenance program available. Our preventative maintenance program’s purpose is to maintain longevity of your system, minimizing downtime.
We offer diagnostic and complete inspection of:
- Fuel/oil and water components
- Load bank testing
- Fuel and fluid analysis
- Fuel polishing
- Docking station – sales and installation