Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Racer4]

Sorry, not trying to steer conversation away from generators, but this may be the same type engine?

The engine in my Vermeer stump cutter may be the same model 35 hp Briggs Vanguard.

These are Briggs & Stratton design, manufactured by Daihatsu (a subsidiary of Toyota) in Japan.

They get pretty hard workout in this service and I stick to 40 - 50 hour oil change.

This one has 870 hours on and so far never needed oil addition, however it gives slight puff of blue smoke when restarted while still hot after hard working!
To me that indicates it may be time to check & change the valve stem seals soon.


View attachment 4432713

Very similar, if not the same. Hard to tell

 

[3930dave]

i just went through this, a problem of my own making. I have a Honda eu6500, I've had it for quite some time. Maybe 2008, 2009?

It's located in my side yard storage area, I'm there year 'round, so I typically run it once a month or so for 20-30 minutes.

I had the generator pulled away from the house when I was building stone walls. Generator ran out of gas and since it was the end of the day I put it away but I forgot to turn the key OFF. I made a gas run a few days later and filled up the generator, tried to fire it off, that's when I saw the key and discovered the dead battery. Generator sat for quite a while with a tank of gas and a dead battery.

Battery (original) wouldn't hold a charge after I killed it through neglect, so I got a new battery and that's when I discovered the contaminated fuel. About the worst I've ever seen.

Drained the tank, pulled the tank off the generator frame, put a chain in the tank and agitated it to clean out all the crud. Pulled the fuel lines and the carburetor and did an unltrasonic cleaning.

Been running like a champ ever since. With maintenance runs!

A Triple Tap, from Murphy !

Nice recovery, and hopefully He will leave you be for a while

Rgds, D.

 

[JRH02]

No Shortage of Don't Care........ Roger That.

Rgds, D.

I studied logic and the definitions of the variations. But I can't remember them any more than the stuff for statistics. I hate the academic study of either but I seem to know an offense or abuse of either. But that's OK. I always win.

Signed: an old QA engineer
"Show me where it is written"

 

[grsthegreat]

Proper maintenance works wonders. Now into first solid day of widespread power outages here, about 75,000 homes out of power. I only had 2 calls from my clients. One had an oil pressure sensor fail and the second had a wire fall off their transfer coil so switch didn’t transfer. Easy peasy day.

When I first started service work, I’d get continuous calls for failures….i mean continuous.

 

[daugen]

Proper maintenance works wonders. Now into first solid day of widespread power outages here, about 75,000 homes out of power. I only had 2 calls from my clients. One had an oil pressure sensor fail and the second had a wire fall off their transfer coil so switch didn’t transfer. Easy peasy day.

When I first started service work, I’d get continuous calls for failures….i mean continuous.

GRS, assuming one did not have a marvelous repair person like you nearby...
what spares should a generac 16-22kw gen owner have on hand, if any?
Besides filters. Oil pressure sensor? What else routinely fails on those machines?

there are so many portables hard to find common issues there
but my Westinghouse has now had two separate switch failures on the panel.
likely due to poor installation/weatherproofing.
So I have one of those round pushbutton switches as a spare.
it always felt wonky to me, not a decisive feel to it.

my curiosity lead me to Google AI
here's what they said
every three years on the battery, even with a battery minder?

Thinking
Searching



Generac standby generators most frequently fail due to
battery issues, fuel delivery problems, and sensor-triggered shutdowns.

1. Battery Failure (The #1 Cause)

The vast majority of Generac "no-start" situations are caused by a weak, dead, or poorly maintained battery.

• Lifespan: Batteries should be replaced every 2–3 years as a preventative measure.
• Common Symptoms: Repetitive clicking noises when attempting to start or error codes such as 1300 (Low Battery) or 2760 (Battery Problem).
• Causes: Corrosion on terminals, loose cable connections, or a failed onboard battery charger.

2. Fuel System Issues

Fuel-related failures can prevent the unit from starting or cause it to stall under load.

• Fuel Pressure: Natural gas or propane models require precise pressure; if pressure is too high or low, the solenoid may not open or the engine will starve.
• Stale Fuel & Clogs: For units that sit idle, old fuel can gum up the carburetor or clog fuel filters and lines.
• Stepper Motor: A common mechanical failure in the fuel system is a faulty stepper motor, which controls the throttle.

3. Sensor-Triggered Shutdowns

Generac units are designed to shut down automatically to protect the engine if certain conditions are met.

• Low Oil Pressure (Error 1902): The generator will refuse to start or shut down immediately if it detects low oil levels.
• Low Coolant Levels: In liquid-cooled models, low levels will trip a sensor and force a "no start" state to prevent overheating.
• Auxiliary Shutdown (Error 2800): This often occurs if an emergency stop switch is accidentally triggered or left open after maintenance.

4. Alternator & Electrical Components

• Voltage Regulator: A failing regulator can cause the generator to produce erratic power, flickering lights, or complete undervoltage (Error 1200).
• Slip Rings and Brushes: There have been reports and lawsuits regarding premature wear on carbon brushes and slip rings, which leads to a loss of power output.
• Transfer Switch (ATS): The Automatic Transfer Switch can fail to signal the generator to start when utility power is lost.

 

[grsthegreat]

GRS, assuming one did not have a marvelous repair person like you nearby...
what spares should a generac 16-22kw gen owner have on hand, if any?
Besides filters. Oil pressure sensor? What else routinely fails on those machines?

there are so many portables hard to find common issues there
but my Westinghouse has now had two separate switch failures on the panel.
likely due to poor installation/weatherproofing.
So I have one of those round pushbutton switches as a spare.
it always felt wonky to me, not a decisive feel to it.

my curiosity lead me to Google AI
here's what they said
every three years on the battery, even with a battery minder?

Thinking
Searching



Generac standby generators most frequently fail due to
battery issues, fuel delivery problems, and sensor-triggered shutdowns.

1. Battery Failure (The #1 Cause)

The vast majority of Generac "no-start" situations are caused by a weak, dead, or poorly maintained battery.

• Lifespan: Batteries should be replaced every 2–3 years as a preventative measure.
• Common Symptoms: Repetitive clicking noises when attempting to start or error codes such as 1300 (Low Battery) or 2760 (Battery Problem).
• Causes: Corrosion on terminals, loose cable connections, or a failed onboard battery charger.

2. Fuel System Issues

Fuel-related failures can prevent the unit from starting or cause it to stall under load.

• Fuel Pressure: Natural gas or propane models require precise pressure; if pressure is too high or low, the solenoid may not open or the engine will starve.
• Stale Fuel & Clogs: For units that sit idle, old fuel can gum up the carburetor or clog fuel filters and lines.
• Stepper Motor: A common mechanical failure in the fuel system is a faulty stepper motor, which controls the throttle.

3. Sensor-Triggered Shutdowns

Generac units are designed to shut down automatically to protect the engine if certain conditions are met.

• Low Oil Pressure (Error 1902): The generator will refuse to start or shut down immediately if it detects low oil levels.
• Low Coolant Levels: In liquid-cooled models, low levels will trip a sensor and force a "no start" state to prevent overheating.
• Auxiliary Shutdown (Error 2800): This often occurs if an emergency stop switch is accidentally triggered or left open after maintenance.

4. Alternator & Electrical Components

• Voltage Regulator: A failing regulator can cause the generator to produce erratic power, flickering lights, or complete undervoltage (Error 1200).
• Slip Rings and Brushes: There have been reports and lawsuits regarding premature wear on carbon brushes and slip rings, which leads to a loss of power output.
• Transfer Switch (ATS): The Automatic Transfer Switch can fail to signal the generator to start when utility power is lost.

That’s a pretty accurate list there. As to spare parts, honestly very hard to say. There are so many different things that could fail between the generator and the switch. I carry hundreds of small parts on my service rig. But I agree batteries are the thing that I find mostly. And when a battery fails, it might have tested great a few months previously. I’ve had the same brand battery last for 10 years or 2 years. No idea why.

 

[3930dave]

That’s a pretty accurate list there. As to spare parts, honestly very hard to say. There are so many different things that could fail between the generator and the switch. I carry hundreds of small parts on my service rig. But I agree batteries are the thing that I find mostly. And when a battery fails, it might have tested great a few months previously. I’ve had the same brand battery last for 10 years or 2 years. No idea why

When we've knocked the Gen Battery question around here a while back, the # I retained was 5 years... interesting that the GoogleMonster knocks it down even further.....

Crazy that you are seeing that 10-2 variation grs; that could be some of what drives Google's low #....

When a retired Eng buddy of mine (Northern Canada) built his retirement home, he did the research on Generac's specs @ the time, and realized that he needed/wanted a higher pressure regulator for Natgas (than standard residential) for the gen to deliver max output @ typical worst case Winter temperatures.

So, he got the gas company to install the higher pressure regulator for the gen, and being who he is, bought a 2nd high pressure regulator to have on the shelf, as it wasn't something the gas company stocked locally. At first the gas co wanted to install 2 meters (never dealt with this in Residential before), but IIRC, it ended up being 1 meter, with 2 regulators in the end.

So, of course, Murph will leave him alone, and that original regulator will probably run fine right up until he no longer has a need for the house !

Esp. since it is grs-reviewed, if you haven't already daugen, you might want to post that Google list over in the AI Being Helpful thread that scootr started..... many people (who don't hang out here) might find that 3 year # informative/startling....

Rgds, D.

 

[Patrick Herd]

So interesting thing with batteries: our Nissan Leaf (notorious for their bad 12V battery management algorithm) is on its original 12V battery that is now 9 years old. It's been 6V flat (first lockdown at the start of covid) and has only had me remember to put a tender on it once or twice since 2020. And it's still going strong?!

 

[JRH02]

So interesting thing with batteries: our Nissan Leaf (notorious for their bad 12V battery management algorithm) is on its original 12V battery that is now 9 years old. It's been 6V flat (first lockdown at the start of covid) and has only had me remember to put a tender on it once or twice since 2020. And it's still going strong?!

Let me get this straight: your hybrid tells you to put it on a 'tender'? So you have to 'tend' the battery to start the engine so it can charge it's internal EMF battery?

And you at some time let the 12vdc battery get to 6vdc and it's still running since Covid? "And it's still going strong?!"

 

[3930dave]

So interesting thing with batteries: our Nissan Leaf (notorious for their bad 12V battery management algorithm) is on its original 12V battery that is now 9 years old. It's been 6V flat (first lockdown at the start of covid) and has only had me remember to put a tender on it once or twice since 2020. And it's still going strong?!

I know you understand Variance , but put more generally , like people, some batteries are more resilient than others.....

A good 15 years or so back, my MIL had flown back to Canada, with the understanding that after visiting with us, we'd drive her Home (different distant city). My FIL (still in FL) had plugged an old-school maintainer into the cig lighter on her newer Honda Civic in their garage - worked fine on her old car, but near as I could determine on the new one, that approach did Not charge the battery, but at the same time, managed to put the OE radio into a non-sleep high-drain mode.

That OE Honda battery was very beat down, but after charging it directly, seemed to come back up. Time crunch to return home here, took the newish Civic for a test-drive before the charger terminated charging; started and ran fine. Explained situation to MIL, and bought her a jump pack to keep in the car in case it was needed. Never an issue, that OE Honda battery ran fine for many years after that event. Prepare for Murph, that scoundrel often never Shows Up....

These days, I see it often @ Work..... Group 31 AGM batteries do NOT like to be run flat...... many old-school FLA batteries often tolerate/recover from that type of abuse better....

Rdgs, D.