Tips to Maintain Your Generator

Generator maintenance isn’t as challenging as it may sound to many. However, you’ll need to make sure that you’re regular with its maintenance schedule.

To keep your portable generator in good working condition and ensure that your home and other operations are powered even when the local energy grid fails, you’ll want to follow the maintenance tips we’ve highlighted here. Keep reading to learn more, then visit Escondido Cycle Center to look at our collection of portable generators for sale. We’re in Escondido, CA, where we happily welcome our friends from San Diego and Oceanside.

Oil and Filters

Your generator features an engine, which means that you’ll need to check its oil and filter and change them regularly. If you’ve recently purchased a generator, you’ll want to change its oil after just 30 hours of use. After that, you can change it after every 100 hours of use or at the beginning of every season, whichever comes first. As a good practice, stock up on filters and oil in preparation for the season.

Run Your Generator Regularly

Don’t wait for a storm to disrupt the power supply in your area. Instead, run your generator every couple of months to keep its internal components in working order. When you regularly run your machine, you’ll help distribute oil and lubricants and prevent any buildup that can cause maintenance issues in the future.

After you’ve turned it on, let it run for about half an hour, which will give it enough time to charge its battery for the electric starter.

Fuel Storage

To keep the fuel in your generator effective and reliable, you’ll want to store your machine correctly. If you intend not to use your generator for more than a month, you’ll want to drain the fuel to prevent gum deposits from developing in essential fuel systems, such as the carburetor, fuel hose, and fuel tank. To do this correctly, follow the steps below:

• Add a gasoline stabilizer to the fuel tank and run the generator for about ten minutes.
• Allow the engine to cool down, then remove all the gasoline from the tank.
• Restart the machine and let it run until it stops from lack of fuel.

Ensure Proper Wattage

When you’re looking at generators for sale, you’ll want to consider the rated or continuous watts listed for them. This rating is the maximum power a machine can put out on an extended basis. The other capacity rating listed on generators refers to the amount of energy they can produce for a few seconds when an electric motor starts up. You will want to avoid using this number to determine how much you’ll be able to hook up to it.

We hope you can use these tips to maintain your generator like a pro. If you have any questions or you’re still in the market for a new generator, visit Escondido Cycle Center. Our experts can address your concerns and suggest models for your budget. We’re in Escondido, CA, and proudly serve those from San Diego and Oceanside.