How to perform portable generator maintenance! Keep your gen-set runnin’ for the next emergency!

[@thomasreed5980]

My son and wife came home with "a large generator" the day before Tropical Storm Harvey, Aug'2017 hit Houston. It was (is) Briggs & Stratton Storm Responder 6250/8000watt. I got it on a couch and we fled our home the day the storm hit. We had over 4ft of water when waters peaked, and it fell in the water, while still in the box. After the storm waters receded, I put it in storage for about 3y. Then, took it out after the freeze of 2021 and had it serviced by a small engine repair shop. Then it sat in my garage until the next freeze. It started! I used extension cords to run my fridge, a couple of fans and a couple of lights with the 120's, and later added my neighbors fridge and fans with the other 120's. No problem. Power came back that afternoon, so not a long test. I then decided to have a transfer switch installed to our box (about 800-900? USD) and not have to run extension chords. Good decision because the morning while Hurricane Beryl was pounding rain, I went out, got it running and got our house running on this genee, except for and AC, oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher. It was like a miracle to go into the house, soaking wet, and see all the lights on, microwave on, fridge on, etc! Went back out to check the load; it was about 15-20%. Later that day, I added my neighbors fridge and fans and load went up to maybe 30%. I remember hearing the generator 'groan', checked the load -- it had gone up to about 65%; turns out our neighbor ran a coffee maker for a couple of minutes and came by to show me what he got with a 120v extension! Early Tuesday evening, it was getting toasty inside, and the power from the genee stopped, even though, I could hear it running. Turns out, I had not turned off the breakers for the AC's after all, and the genee breaker tripped! At first, I didn't know what had happened. I thought my luck had finally run out, and the genee was trash. I reset the breaker and started to go through the house checking outlets, and finally looked at the thermostat upstairs and saw it said "cool". Not good for a 6250/8500w genee. Turned off both AC's, and genee ran without issue. We were fortunate to get line power back on later Tuesday evening. My neighbor called to confirm city power was on and I said that our generator was running the house, including the LED outdoor lights. He told me that the city power was back on, so I went through a generator shut down, and sure enough city power was on, and so were the AC's!!! What can I tell you about this generator? This is a BEAST of a generator. Maybe I was lucky, but the only thing I would do different is have a bigger genee that could run at least one central AC during summer heat. I've been looking carefully at the MicroSoft Start kit, but have not been able to confirm that it is compatible with the Trane's, or that it would make a difference. All in all, this genee was very efficient on gas, given the roughly 36hr of running time. It was loud, but who cares when you are in the midst of a major power outage? After things calmed down, I replaced the air filter, spark plug, and oil, and it started on the first pull. I set a reminder to start it, and on Sunday afternoon, 9/8/2024, it started on the second pull. Ran it about 20min after warming up with a vacuum cleaner, no problems! I set my reminder to start it every month, ordering some spare parts (5 spark plugs, 3 air filters), and heading to O'Rielly to buy several quarts of oil), and hopefully, it will, again, deliver when needed. I'm still looking for a good tri-fuel genee that can deliver enough watts to run central air.

[@gottagift]

now go back and clean the spark arrestor. Thanks for sharing. I like seeing the half inch npt drain plug for the oil and now considering upgrading with a ball valve.

[@TexasPatriotOffRoadAndOutdoors]

@@gottagift that would make it quicker!

[@TexasPatriotOffRoadAndOutdoors]

@@gottagift Thanks for watching!

[@philliphall5198]

Change oil every 24/38 hours is best Oil is so cheap and it only takes 5 minutes to do while you’re fueling it Keep 7/8 quarts of oil and tools plus drain pan and container for old oil 😮 I keep new carb, fuel hose and filter plus a tank on and off valve 😊😊😊

[@philliphall5198]

Fill it tell it runs out on most generators 😊

[@philn1601]

You can use fuel stablelizer to keep gas fresh for a while.

[@philliphall5198]

True but I drain and put in my pick up and fill with fresh no corn gas from Allsup store 😊😊😊

[@OscarLopez-jm9qw]

I do a couple of extra things in addition to what you did. #1 - I open the oil plug and then open the oil drain p!ug. #2 - I add anti seize to new spark plug and die electric grease to spark plug boot. I burn unleaaded 10% ethanol gas with seafoam added to the gas tank. 1/3 cup. When I turn the gen off I shut the fuel valve and starve the carb. Leave no fuel in the line past the shutoff valve. I change oil, every 50 hours. I did it twice during 7 day power outage. I ran my gen 24/7. Put 160 hours on it. Good video.

[@TexasPatriotOffRoadAndOutdoors]

@@OscarLopez-jm9qw That would definitely help drain oil faster. Your right, anti-seize is excellent insurance to prevent a stuck plug and die electric grease can help with the ole’ spark and water prevention! Thank you for comments and thanks for watching!

[@MadHatter-po6vr]

Good idea replacing the spark plug. For now on every oil change on my genset is getting a new spark plug

[@MRTLEW01]

that sounds mighty Dumm you gonna change spark plugs that often???🥴🥴🥴

[@thebeachguy6697]

Best thing I ever did was getting a whole home generator. 50 amp outlet, interlock on the breaker panel and 12000 watt gas generator. Invaluable

[@philliphall5198]

I’m praying more Texans will wake up and realize that we can’t depend upon the power grid and we must be prepared 24/7 😢 It’s just the way it is now 😂

[@Ojb_1959]

Always use non ethanol if possible. Small engines hate corn.🌽

[@TexasPatriotOffRoadAndOutdoors]

@@Ojb_1959 Yea, it really takes a toll on the fuel lines etc!