Fuel Management is More Important Than Ever During Winter Months
Fuel management is an essential part of generator maintenance to ensure you have a reliable power supply when you need it most.
Generators serve an important purpose for homes and businesses, as either a main power source or emergency backup. But whether you use your generator every day or only a few times per year, it is essential to make sure it is properly maintained and will give a reliable service when you need it most.
Fuel management is an important component of that maintenance programme, and is available as part of Templant’s overall generator hire service.
Effective fuel management helps to ensure your generator is running efficiently and will not run out of fuel unexpectedly. One American town learned this lesson the hard way late last year, when backup generators ran out of fuel, putting emergency telephone services offline.
Generator maintenance and fuel management
Mention generator maintenance and most people think of checking the battery, topping up fluid levels, changing filters and inspecting parts for wear. These are all important, but fuel management is also a critical part of preventative maintenance.
An effective fuel management programme has two aspects, monitoring the consumption of fuel and the fuel itself.
Monitoring consumption
If a generator is using more fuel than it should, then you need to know about it. Not only will it soon be burning a hole in your wallet at today’s prices, but it could lead to your generator running out of diesel unexpectedly. The problem is likely to be exacerbated during winter months, when usage is usually higher, powering heaters and lighting for longer periods.
Excessive fuel use is usually due to a mechanical defect such as a stuck valve or a faulty pump. With regular checks, this sort of problem will be identified sooner rather than later, and can be put right before it causes any problems.
Fuel monitoring
Most domestic users only use their generator occasionally, or as an emergency backup, and it is common to hear them proudly say that they “cannot remember when they filled it with diesel.”
Fuel efficiency is great news, but many people are shocked to hear that diesel does not last forever. In years gone by, both petrol and diesel had long shelf lives that were almost indefinite, but while today’s fuels are cleaner in terms of lead and sulphur content, the replacement additives that they contain soon break down.
This results in bacterial growth and sludge, which in turn leads to blocked filters and various other potential problems. This can cause your generator to run inefficiently, or to break down altogether. It can also lead to serious long-term damage.
Checking the overall condition of the diesel in your fuel tank is therefore an important part of fuel management that should not be overlooked.
It is not always obvious to tell when fuel has gone “bad,” as the degradation is a gradual process. When the problem is serious, you will notice that the fuel looks darker and has a strange smell. You might also see visible sediment in the tank.
However, by making use of an effective fuel management service, any potential problems will be identified long before things reach this stage, ensuring peace of mind that your generator will provide trouble-free, efficient service when you need it most.
