MONEY SAVING GENERATOR CARE TIPS
Everyone likes to save money. Hale’s Electrical Service, your Central VA leading Generac generator dealer wants to be your savings partner! Our 15 years of experience has seen economic changes and ways we can all save ourselves money in a few easy steps:
Top off your propane tank while prices are low. Call your supplier and ask if you can “pre-buy” a specified amount while prices are low. Do not wait until prices go up or a major storm is predicted. Act Now and Save!
Know your weekly exercise day and time. Listening for your generator weekly may prevent costly after hours or emergency repair bills. Do not just make sure it runs, get to know the “tune” it plays and note any changes. Contact our office to report changes in the sound or time your generator has. A change in sound could mean it is time for your routine valve adjustment, which left unchecked, could result in a costly engine repair or replacement.
Remove debris from your air intake and exhaust areas, as well as inside your generator. Debris such as; mulch, leaves, snow or grass can block the flow of air needed for maximum efficiency for your generator, making it work harder to get air and burning costly fuel to get the proper RPM’s. Open your generator front once a month and clear out any debris or leaves that have entered the cabinet and check the bottom of your generator (especially 2008 or earlier models) for oil drips as this could become a problem. Monthly clearing of debris, checking your oil and monitoring oil drips adds up in fuel and repair savings!
Turn it OFF! You should always leave your generator in the automatic mode to ensure proper weekly exercise and battery charge. However, during major storms and extended outages you can turn your generator to the off mode and turn it back to automatic when you are ready to return it to backup power. This is usually done during cooler evening hours while you are sleeping. CAUTION– while this is a fuel saving option, for the safe operation and costly repairs later; turn off your breaker in your Generac generator at shutdown and upon restart. Turn on your Generac generator then once the engine is fully engaged and operational, return the breaker to the on position again for backup power. This method will prevent harmful damage that can be done by repeatedly starting the engine cold with a full electrical load. Generac’s OHVI air-cooled and the larger liquid-cooled generators are solidly designed for cold start, however repetitive cold starts (daily) over an extended outage of several days adds unnecessary wear on your starter and engine. For a demonstration or a reminder sticker, call us or contact us. We will provide a reminder/procedure sticker and our trained technician can demonstrate this at your next service or at start-up of your new Generac home standby generator from Hale’s Electrical Service.
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