You invested in a generator so that you know you’ll never lose power, even during a power outage. But you run your generator so infrequently that you may wonder if it will really work the way it is supposed to when a power outage does happen.
The good news is, there are some steps you can take to test your generator and make sure it is ready for a power outage. If you do have any concerns about how your generator is operating, you can call our team for generator repair in High Springs. Keep reading to learn more about how to ensure your generator is ready for a power outage.
Expert Maintenance
One way to make sure that your generator is ready for a power outage is to invest in annual maintenance. Your generator sits unused for a large portion of the year and annual maintenance is a great way to take care of your investment. Our team can come out and check your generator inside and out to make sure everything is connected as it should be.
We can also clean out any dust and dirt that gets inside of your system and complete our own tests to make sure that your generator is in the best possible condition. If we have any concerns or need to make repairs, we can talk to you about your options.
Complete an At-Home Test
There are also ways that you can test your generator independently. It can feel intimidating at first, so if you want us to walk you through a test one time, we would be happy to do so. Then, you can complete tests again in the future whenever you want to.
The first step in testing your generator is to flip your main line breaker from on to off. This cuts off power to your entire home and signals to your generator that there is a power outage. You should hear your generator kick on to power your home without an interruption of service.
You should hear your generator motor turn on and begin operating. You should also hear the transfer switch click to indicate that power is switching over from your mainline to your generator. Keep in mind that you may hear your generator run for several seconds before you hear the click. This is completely normal.
The delay happens because your generator needs to begin producing power of its own from the fuel line before it can switch on to power everything in your home. During this test, you should let your generator run for about 10 minutes. While it’s running you can walk through your home and turn on appliances, lights and other electronics to make sure that everything is working the way it should. If you have any concerns, note them when you give our team a call for your annual maintenance check.
Once your test is complete, you can switch your mainline breaker back to on and you should hear your generator switch click again to transfer power back to that mean line. Your generator will then power down and return back to standby mode. We recommend that you complete this check once per month on your generator to make sure that it is ready for a power outage at any time.
Contact Affinity Gas Services today to schedule an appointment with our professionals. We’re “The Gas Efficiency Experts.”