Generac Generator Maintenance in Brookhaven, GA: Getting a 22kW Standby Generator Ready for a New Homeowner

A standby generator spends most of its life doing absolutely nothing.

That’s why maintenance is easy to put off. The generator sits outside, runs its exercise cycle, and waits. Then a storm knocks out power and suddenly the only question that matters is whether it starts.

We recently serviced a 22kW Generac Guardian standby generator at a home in Brookhaven, Georgia, and there was a little more behind this job than a routine maintenance call.

The house was being sold. Closing was only a few days away.

The seller had maintained the generator himself for years and, from what we found, had done a good job of it. But the buyer understandably wanted a professional company to service the generator before taking ownership of the home.

So Fuse Crew Electrical got the call.

A Generac Generator That Had Been Well Maintained

One thing we noticed pretty quickly was that this wasn't a neglected generator.

That's worth mentioning because we see a difference between equipment that has been maintained and equipment that has simply been sitting outside for years. In this case, the homeowner had stayed on top of it.

Our job wasn't to go looking for something wrong. It was to perform the maintenance, inspect what we could see, replace the normal service components and leave the generator ready for its next owner.

The generator was a 22kW Generac Guardian automatic standby generator with approximately 99 operating hours showing on the controller.

What We Replaced During the Generator Service

We didn't just open the enclosure, look around and call it maintenance.

We drained the existing engine oil and replaced it with fresh oil. We removed the old oil filter and installed a new one. The engine received a new air filter and new spark plugs as well.

The service included:

• Engine oil replacement

• New oil filter

• New air filter

• New spark plugs

• Battery testing

• Inspection of accessible generator components

• Maintenance/service reset

• Operational check of the generator controls

The photographs from the job tell part of the story. We documented the old oil coming out, the filters being serviced, work inside the generator and the controller status after everything was completed.

Once we finished, the generator was returned to AUTO mode and the controller displayed READY TO RUN.

That last step matters. A standby generator isn't supposed to be left in manual mode after somebody finishes working on it. Its job is to sit there waiting for the house to need it.

Why Standby Generator Maintenance Matters

There is an odd thing about owning a whole-home generator: you can go a long time without knowing whether you've neglected it.

A light that quits working tells you immediately. A failed receptacle gets your attention. A generator can sit quietly outside the house while oil ages, filters get dirty, spark plugs wear and a battery gets weaker.

You may not discover any of that until the utility power goes out.

That's why we look at generator maintenance differently from generator repair.

Maintenance is what you do before you have a problem.

For this Brookhaven homeowner, the timing was especially important. The generator was staying with the house. Servicing it before closing gave the incoming homeowner a clean starting point instead of leaving them wondering when the oil, filters or plugs were last changed.

Don't Forget the Battery

The battery is one of the easiest parts of a standby generator to overlook.

People see a permanently installed generator connected to natural gas and think primarily about the engine and fuel supply. But the generator still needs a healthy starting battery.

That's why we tested the existing battery as part of this service rather than automatically replacing it. It tested appropriately during our visit, so there was no reason to sell the homeowner a battery he didn't need.

That's a small thing, but it's how we prefer to approach service calls. Replace what needs replacing. Test what can be tested. Don't turn routine maintenance into a parts sale.

Buying a House With a Generac Generator?

This job brought up a question we think more homebuyers should ask.

If you're buying a house with an existing standby generator, when was it last serviced?

Don't assume the answer is obvious just because the generator looks clean or starts during an inspection.

Find out whether there are maintenance records. Check the operating hours. Ask when the oil and filters were last changed. Have the battery checked. And make sure you understand how the generator and automatic controls work before the first outage.

In this case, the previous homeowner knew the equipment and had taken care of it. The professional service before closing simply gave the next homeowner a documented point from which to continue.

That's a pretty good way to hand off a piece of equipment that's going to stay with a house for years.

Generac Generator Maintenance in Brookhaven and Metro Atlanta

Fuse Crew Electrical services residential electrical systems throughout Brookhaven and the Atlanta metro area.

If you have a Generac or other residential standby generator that hasn't been serviced recently, we can inspect the system, perform routine maintenance and help identify anything that deserves further attention.

The best time to find out your standby generator needs maintenance isn't when the neighborhood goes dark.

Fuse Crew Electrical
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