Image credit: Mid Florida Diesel
Diesel generators call for specialized maintenance. You just can’t run them and expect some magical mechanical thing to step up to the plate and start fixing this and that. There’s a lot of physics behind these machines and following through with professional application means the generators will continue to work efficiently across the board.
Diesel generators come in a variety of shapes and sizes as well as perform a myriad of tasks. Each generator, depending on its workload can require a number of specialized parts and precision maintenance.
It goes without saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and when it comes to diesel generators that is practically an axiom. Once a neglected issue gains foothold, your generator can begin a cascade of problems that will take quite a bit of care and costs to correct. Make sure your employees and co-workers know what to do if it’s part of their job to work with the generators. Schedule inspections and suggestions from professional services to make sure things are easy to handle. The manufacturer should have a service person of team out inspecting and addressing issues anyway, but it also helps to ask them if they could go that extra meter to show you, within the law, how to prevent problems.
Don’t even think you’re a diesel generator pro if you’ve never taken a course nor been certified. Materials and procedures have changed over time especially due to the EPA’s constantly changing standards. The latest Tier 4 requirements are lofty but if you’re going to operate a diesel generator, you’ve got to follow the laws which are geared for safety not performance. Sometimes a government mandated system attachment can look like a royal pain, but normally they have standards that aid in overall operation. Of note, once again, the EPA’s Tier 4 regulation. Manufacturers have been on their toes to make good on the EPA’s guidelines and the new Tier 4 mandate has a lot of the manufacturing industry all twisted about. It’s due to several factors like Nox emissions and more.
Being compliant means lower efficiency claim the manufacturers and maintenance people.
Well, that’s progress for you, new rules, new systems. Considering the overall use of these generators and the stress and strain they undergo, it doesn’t take a wizard to figure out that they’ll need more than the average amount of maintenance to keep them rolling.
The teams that maintenance these generators have to have top notch certification. There’s no, “My Uncle Moe can fix your diesel generator!” anywhere near the picture regarding repair and maintenance of diesel generators.
When it’s time to do some diesel generator maintenance you’ll see the expert doing a series of tests. These include load bank testing, battery cleaning and inspection, connections inspections, validation of control panel indicators as well as readings, and finally, changing of air filters and fuel. These may seem like light maintenance, but be assured these routine tests are heavy duty and the bulwark of fine and professional diesel generator maintenance.
That all being said, if you’ve a diesel generator that you depend on, you’ll gain the best benefit for by keeping a regularly scheduled maintenance check up to avoid and repair any less than optimum situations.