A backup generator only matters on the handful of days a year it's needed — which is exactly why so many of them fail when the time comes. Installation decides whether the system is safe and adequate; maintenance decides whether it starts. Both are worth getting right up here, where a winter outage can last more than a few hours.
Sizing: what has to stay on
Start by listing what genuinely needs power — furnace blower, well pump, refrigeration, a few circuits of light, and whatever medical or work equipment you depend on. Motor loads drive the number, because a well pump or furnace blower draws several times its running current for the first moment of start. A generator sized only for running watts will stall on that surge.
The transfer switch is not optional
Every permanent installation needs a transfer switch — automatic for a standby unit, or a manual interlock kit for a portable. It exists to make sure generator power can never back-feed onto utility lines, which is what protects the linemen working to restore your power. Back-feeding through a dryer outlet with a homemade cord kills people. There is no version of this that is acceptable.
What a standby installation involves
- A level pad or slab, sited for exhaust clearance and snow depth.
- Fuel supply — a propane tank and regulator sized for the unit's draw.
- The transfer switch and either a whole-panel or essential-loads configuration.
- Grounding, bonding, and permitted, inspected connections.
Our generator installation and maintenance work covers the full sequence, including the utility and permitting side.
Maintenance is what makes it start
The failures we see are boring: dead starting battery, stale fuel, a clogged filter, rodents in the enclosure, or an exercise cycle nobody noticed had stopped running. A reasonable routine is a weekly or biweekly automatic exercise, an annual service with oil, filters, and plugs, a battery replacement every three years or so, and a look inside the enclosure each fall before winter.
If you're running a portable
Portables are a legitimate choice on a budget. Run them outdoors only, well away from windows and never in a garage — carbon monoxide from a generator kills more people than the outage ever would. Connect through an interlock, keep fuel treated and rotated, and start it a few times a year so you find problems in daylight.
When to bring in a professional
Whether you're installing a new standby unit or you have one that hasn't been serviced in a while, the time to find out it won't start is not during a February storm.
Call (928) 563-6237 for sizing, installation, or a maintenance visit before winter.