Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

Date: 11/20/13
Generator: Generac 10KW standby using Natural Gas

Checked the Gen yesterday and noticed the yellow LED warning light was on, I looked at the LCD display panel and it had a message saying "inspect battery".
So I inspected the battery and it looked fine, reset the maintenance reminder and we should be good to go.

How old is the battery ? You may have done this already, but it is possible the control panel is load testing the battery automatically. Either switching in a dedicated test load, or just watching for voltage droop under normal starting conditions.

I don't know those panels specifically, but I'd be surprised if they weren't designed to automatically test, and give you an early heads-up on battery decline.

Rgds, D.

 

[V1Rotate]

How old is the battery ? You may have done this already, but it is possible the control panel is load testing the battery automatically. Either switching in a dedicated test load, or just watching for voltage droop under normal starting conditions.

I don't know those panels specifically, but I'd be surprised if they weren't designed to automatically test, and give you an early heads-up on battery decline.

Rgds, D.

The generator and battery are only one year old so I assume that the maintenance reminder is triggered by calender time. Other maintenance items such as oil changes would be triggered by the number of hours that it runs, (I assume)
The Gen runs once a week automaticly but it has not been needed for any extended outages yet so it only has about 20 hours on the meter. I changed the oil with synthetic when it had 8 hours on it but I have not changed it since.

 

[3930dave]

The generator and battery are only one year old so I assume that the maintenance reminder is triggered by calender time. Other maintenance items such as oil changes would be triggered by the number of hours that it runs, (I assume)
The Gen runs once a week automaticly but it has not been needed for any extended outages yet so it only has about 20 hours on the meter. I changed the oil with synthetic when it had 8 hours on it but I have not changed it since.

Perhaps it was just an "annual reminder" message, as you describe.

The automatic load-test strategy I described is a common technique for critical systems. Ex. - even a basic battery powered smoke detector does this type of load testing on its' battery.

Not sure what your Winter low temps are, but the starter/battery are obviously going to like the synthetic oil. :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.

 

[Toddao]

Last week Wednesday , at 4.10 am my wife wakes me up to tell me the powers out and I need to start the generator so she can shower for work,
I have a generac 6.5kw , I keep the carb dry, and synthetic oil, it started on the second pull, ran for 40 minutes and then the power came back on.
I will run it maybe 2-3 times a year with a load or when the power is out, the thing is 14 years old I did replace the gas shut off valve a few years ago, also try to use 100% gas or treated gas with the alcohol eaters , have a transfer switch wired to the main box

 

[Diamondpilot]

Last Sunday we lost power. Came back on Tuesday around 7 pm. Changed oil after.

Troy Bilt 8550 watt with a 200 amp whole house transfer switch.

Chris

 

[V1Rotate]

Perhaps it was just an "annual reminder" message, as you describe.

The automatic load-test strategy I described is a common technique for critical systems. Ex. - even a basic battery powered smoke detector does this type of load testing on its' battery.

Not sure what your Winter low temps are, but the starter/battery are obviously going to like the synthetic oil. :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.

I live in Connecticut so the temps can get pretty low.
I have the weekly exercise feature set so that the unit will start at 2:30 pm on Mondays. That is usually the warmest part of the day so there be less wear on the engine during startup.

 

[3930dave]

Last Sunday we lost power. Came back on Tuesday around 7 pm. Changed oil after.

Troy Bilt 8550 watt with a 200 amp whole house transfer switch.

Chris

You only have to go through one of those events, to consider the gear paid for !

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Last week Wednesday , at 4.10 am my wife wakes me up to tell me the powers out and I need to start the generator so she can shower for work,
I have a generac 6.5kw , I keep the carb dry, and synthetic oil, it started on the second pull, ran for 40 minutes and then the power came back on.
I will run it maybe 2-3 times a year with a load or when the power is out, the thing is 14 years old I did replace the gas shut off valve a few years ago, also try to use 100% gas or treated gas with the alcohol eaters , have a transfer switch wired to the main box

That Generac has served you well, and you obviously have a maintenance plan that is keeping it in fine shape.

I started this thread for a few reasons. Imagine somebody moving from the city (worst case a condo) and buying a generator, and thinking "Ahhh.... now I'm prepared for anything".....

Especially for somebody not mechanically inclined, it's very difficult to imagine the headaches Egas has created for small engines.

What makes this maintenance task even more complicated is the regional differences in gasoline. I used to store my generator with the carb dry - even running with stabilized fuel, that became a problem for me. You see glimpses of this issue in this thread, and elsewhere - I think that regional differences in fuel formulation play a big factor in something as basic as whether you will be successful storing the carb dry.

Keep those gennys purring, stay warm this Winter :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

I live in Connecticut so the temps can get pretty low.
I have the weekly exercise feature set so that the unit will start at 2:30 pm on Mondays. That is usually the warmest part of the day so there be less wear on the engine during startup.

Auto-exercise = a great feature. I think I need one of those settings on Me !

Rgds, D.

 

[300UGUY]

Power finally came back on this afternoon about 2.