A part of life when living in the Top End is preparing for the wet season, and now is the time to be Cyclone ready.
Last cyclone season brought with it the usual power outages caused by seasonal storms and powerful lightning strikes. The real wake-up call was from the havoc caused by Cyclone Marcus which made landfall in Darwin on 17 March earlier this year. At the time the Combined Electrical team were keep extremely busy assisting households to restore services where power connections were decimated by falling trees. The other big demand was assisting both commercial sites and households with generator function and maintenance.
We offer these tips to help you and your portable home generator be ready for this coming wet season:
1. Change the oil
Ensure you change the oil annually at minimum, usually the oil will need to be changed every 100 hours of use.
2. Drain fuel
Fuel can evaporate over time leaving residue during storage. This can result in a blocked carburettor or fuel hose. To improve engine functionality we recommend that you:
- Add a fuel stabiliser; or,
- Remove all fuel from the fuel tank when it’s not in use. Only do this after the engine has cooled down.
(Remember to add new fuel, and have some in reserve, at the start of each wet season).
3. Spark plug and air filter
Check the spark plug and air filter in case they need replacing. It is worthwhile doing this annually to ensure your engine runs smoothly for longer.
4. Start your generator regularly
When you have fuel in the generator start it up every one to two months to keep the engine lubricated.
5. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Please contact us at Combined Electrical if you require assistance with your generator.