Maintenance Tips for Your Generator

The summer storm season might be behind us but the threat of early-season snow and winter’s icy storms are just around the corner. If you have a standby generator, now is the time to make sure it is ready for use.

A generator is a significant investment. If you’re reading this, you probably have one sitting outside your house right now. Like a car, your generator needs routine service. And like a car, a poorly maintained generator is likely to fail at the worst time.

You are counting on your generator to power your appliances and so many other electrical components in your home. A generator failure will be devastating. A little prevention will go a long way in ensuring the comfort and safety of your household.

• Proper air flow is very important to keeping the engine cool. With the leaves beginning to fall, be sure to keep your generator’s end louvers and rear vent free from obstructions.

• Be sure to maintain your generator’s proper oil viscosity and level, especially during an extended outage. Every manufacturer has different maintenance intervals and oil grade requirements; for added security, keep an extra quart of oil on hand for topping off the engine during long outages.

• The engine-starting battery is under constant charge so that it’s strong enough to start your generator when you need it most, but that constant charging shortens the life of the battery, so it should be changed every 2-3 years for increased generator dependability.

• Generac generators have a convenience light on the ride side breaker panel door to alert you of the status of the generator – ‘green’ means the unit is ready to run, ‘yellow’ means the unit will run but is in need of service, and ‘red’ means the unit failed to start and is unable to run when needed. Any color other than green is a signal to call Karalis Generators to schedule a service appointment.

• A cold weather kit will help ensure that your generator starts in even the harshest conditions.

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