PacB Group // Knowing When to Service Your Generator Could be Crucial

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Knowing When to Service Your Generator Could be Crucial

While there is not a lot that can go wrong with an alternator, just like those in our family cars, the engines that drive them will need a bit of attention, from time to time, if we want them to continue operating with their usual efficiency. In the case of a car, the owner’s manual supplies details of recommended maintenance procedures and the intervals at which they should be performed. Similar instructions regarding when to service your generator should also have been provided by its manufacturer.

It is important to distinguish between the overall capability of an engine and its recommended use. For example, diesel engines are noted for their exceptional durability and are typically able to run at 1 800 rpm for anything from 12 000 to 30 000 hours between major services. However, identifying just where, within this range, the limit of your machine may fall is crucial, and so is understanding that such limits can only be maintained when undertaking to perform any recommended preventative maintenance tasks in between.

Given that they are much less durable, knowing when to service your petrol-driven generator could be even more important, as the last thing you need when the lights go out is a malfunctioning backup supply. In most cases, basic maintenance is relatively straightforward and is confined to tasks, such as replacing air, oil, and fuel filters and checking lubricant levels, none of which requires much specialised knowledge or skill. Nevertheless, it is making sure to perform these simple tasks on time, every time, that will guarantee you will always have access to power whenever you may need it.

Your home may rely on solar power in emergencies. However, knowing when to service your generator remains just as important. Given that the solar panels themselves have no moving parts, this may come as a surprise. In practice, because it is their ability to absorb sunlight that is responsible for producing electricity, when dust, leaves, and other detritus are allowed to accumulate on their surface, their efficiency can be significantly compromised.

Checking for signs that they may need cleaning should be all that is needed to tell you when to service the panels of your solar generator and a quick wash down with a garden hose should be all that is necessary. However, the rooftop panels are not the only components of a typical solar installation.

Firstly, there will be an inverter to convert the direct current produced by the rooftop panels into the alternating form required to power the various electrical appliances in your home, while a transfer switch and some storage batteries might also form part of your installation. Maintaining these items requires technical knowledge, and so, the supplier or an independent contractor will determine when it is necessary to service these components of your solar generator. As for the panels, barring accidental damage, a quality product should continue to perform effectively for 25 years or more without any need for mechanical or electrical maintenance.

As Eskom renews and continues its programme of punitive but necessary load shedding, South Africans are becoming more dependent upon the technology with which to produce their own electricity for use in their homes and businesses. Even before the current energy crisis, industries across the nation were already obtaining some, if not all, of their power from on-site sources, such as diesel generators. In their case, the question of when to service a generator will usually be decided by a maintenance contract between themselves and the company that originally supplied the gensets.

PacB Group specialises in the field of power solutions for all situations. In addition to the supply of world-class gensets, we also offer maintenance contracts that will ensure it is us and not you who will be responsible for knowing exactly when it is time to service your generator.