5 Home Backup Generator Safety and Maintenance Tips
Purchasing a backup generator for your home can be a great way to get through unexpected power outages and unpredictable storms. However, for homeowners who aren’t careful with their new purchase, it can also pose a threat to safety and security. If you’re looking into purchasing a whole house generator from H.O. Feild Electric co. it helps to know the basics about the type of machine you’ll be purchasing, in addition to basic generator maintenance and safety tips. Before purchasing your home backup generator, consider the following tips.
1. Keep Your Generator Protected
Your backup generator is a powerful machine that can make a huge difference to your home when the power goes out for long periods of time. It’s also a very dangerous machine if it’s not protected from the outside world and kept warm and dry through the seasons. For standby generators, having a protected place to store your machine, like an enclosure or garage, is extremely important for safety. If your generator gets wet or is exposed to weather, it could result in a lot of damage to the machine and some dangerous results for your household.
2. Install Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Many backup generators run on gas, which leaves a home open to the possibility of carbon monoxide poison. However, this threat is easily protected against by installing a simple carbon monoxide alarm detector if you haven’t already. When your alarm goes off, you’ll be able to disable your generator and get to safety promptly. If you’re worried about other safety concerns, think about installing an emergency app on your phone that will instantly connect you to outside help in the case of a problem.
3. Purchase a Warranty
Like any machine, a backup generator is subject to malfunctions and damage over time. If you want to get the best out of your investment, thinking about buying a warranty to protect you against any issues from your machine in the future. In the event of a malfunction, you don’t want to be caught without a generator during a power outage. Having a warranty will make your purchase that much more secure.
4. Do Test Runs Every Few Months
Your generator may get a ton of use the first year you purchase it. It may also spend a ton of time gathering dust in the garage or basement. No matter how much or how little you end up using your backup generator, you’ll have to run consistent maintenance checks every few months to keep ahead of problems. If you haven’t used your generator for a while, be sure to run it on and let it run every three months or so. While you’re doing this, check the fuel levels and a run a few other tests to make sure everything is ready to go for when you need to use the machine later on.
5. Store Fuel Safely
When you’re storing large quantities of oil or gas in your home, there’s always the potential for disaster if you’re not storing your sensitive materials properly. Make sure you have plenty of fuel in the tank at all times and store the rest in approved cans or storage containers that are safely sealed at all times.
