Below are four simple steps to follow to keep your generator running at its best.
1) After hurricane season, get your generator serviced. This a fairly easy process, and you can do it yourself. It involves changing the oil, air filter and spark plug. Youtube has several easy-to-follow tutorials on how to do this. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, a small engine repair company can perform this easily.
2) Try not to store your generator with fuel in it, but if you do, add a fuel stabilizer. The stabilizer helps break down chemicals in ethanol-based gasoline that can be harmful to engine components when it sits over time. Using non-ethanol fuel is best for small engines such as generators that sit for several months at a time.
3) Make sure you clear the fuel line. Do this by running your generator and then turning off the fuel valve instead of just using shutting the engine off normally. This burns all the fuel in the lines and engine, causing the engine to shut off after the fuel is burned.
4) Finally, crank your generator about every three months, letting it run for about 20-30 minutes. The best thing to keep an engine running is to run it.
Taking these easy steps now will keep your generator running at peak performance for years to come, especially when you need it the most.