Diesel generator sets – used for either prime or backup (emergency) power – must be regularly maintained to ensure they provide quality power throughout their service life.

arger companies who own many generators, or those who rely on gensets extensively for prime power, may require an in-house engineer to maintain their gensets.

Smaller companies, or users who own a generator to provide backup power in the event of an outage, may establish maintenance contracts with generator dealers and/or electrical contractors to maintain their gensets.

In either instance, the life-cycle of power generators is well established and documented making routine maintenance fairly straight-forward.

Best generator maintenance practice is following the maintenance schedule provided by the manufacturer of the generator.

The long outstanding use of generators over time has provided the necessary knowledge to predict when certain components will fail or be in need of service.

A fairly reliable maintenance schedule can usually be acquired from the manufacturer and can be employed by a local generator dealer or other electrical contractors/engineers with experience in power generation.

Adhering to this schedule will ensure maximum service time for the generator and proper operation when it is called upon to provide power. Large generator manufacturers have established maintenance plans and will not only service their own generators, but many of the other industries major brand names as well.

For individual households, such power outages are often just an inconvenience. For hospitals and other health-care facilities, however, they can be life-threatening. For businesses like data centers, these outages can be extremely costly.