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Maintain Your Safety Net
Keep Generators From Failing
By John Bisset

• Implement a solid Maintenance program
• Environmental damage
• Parts is parts?
• Other checks
• You can't go to Jiffy Lube
• Records, fuel and water
• Don't forget your UPSs
• Engine Oil Sample Analysis
• Bottom Line

Are you living on the edge of catastrophe? You may be walking a tightrope and not even know it. As more eggs are placed in the communications basket, having reliable and adequate power backup systems becomes essential.

If you havent taken a few moments to review your backup systems, youre on that tightropeand could be ready for a nasty fall. On the other hand, if you have maintenance contracts in place, what is there to worry about? Plenty! In an age when qualified technical help is harder and harder to find, its important to ensure that your staff and your contractors know what is expected of them.

This couldnt be more important than in the maintenance and periodic testing of backup power systems. But where do you start, and arent the service contractors supposed to know what they are doing?

Implement a solid Maintenance program

As a starting point, dust off the equipment service manual. For backup power systems such as generators, the manual usually lists routine maintenance procedures and their frequency. Review the last service work order from your generator service company. Are the recommended points being covered? If you maintain the generator in-house, does the maintenance include more than just checking the fuel level?

Remember, a generator is akin to an automotive engine. It takes more than fuel to make the engine run. Do you have a staff member who likes to work on his car? Assign him to generator maintenance.

Create a checklist of maintenance items, including routine fluid level checksoil, coolant and battery electrolyte. Note from the generator manual whether there are static and dynamic fluid levels. The manufacturer may specify measuring the oil with the motor at rest, but there may also be a dynamic level. Your staff needs to look for leaks, including oil, fuel and coolant. Leaking fluids will not correct themselves and only point to future trouble. A good place to start the leak inspection is around hoses.

A periodic inspection of all hoses is in order. Check for pliability, cracks, leaks and weak spots.

Environmental damage

The generator usually is in an exposed environmentextremes of heat and cold cause engine components to deteriorate faster. Before the generator is turned on, squeeze the hoses to check for pliability and cracking. Check for tight hose clamps. A folded white napkin or paper towel can be swept around the hose connection and viewed for any absorbed fluids.

As the leak inspection continues, look at the base of the motor housing. Fluid can pool in these locations. Keeping the base clean of grease will make it easier to spot leaks. Using a clean cloth to periodically wipe down the engine is a good way to get familiar with the engine while keeping it clean.

Parts is parts?

If a hose cracks, dont skimp on quality when you replace it. Silicone hoses cost more, but are worth the extra investment. Cheaper hoses can dry rot and become so brittle that they can be torn apart with bare hands.

Before you balk at the prices of replacement parts, remember that this equipment is your safety net. How will you explain the cost of routine maintenance when the generator fails and youve lost tens of thousands of dollars in revenue? A $50 hose becomes a paltry sum in such cases.

Belts fall into the same category as hoses. Check to see that they are not cracking or glazed. Cog belts are more expensive, but they provide better transfer of energyimproving the efficiency of the systemand last longer than standard belts.

Other checks

While youre under the hood, what else should you look for? Keep an eye out for things such as broken bolts or nuts that may have loosened or fallen off. Also make sure that electrical connections are tight and corrosion-free. Remember that battery terminals and the wires for the block heater need periodic cleaning and tighteningall of these are parts of the backup system puzzle that will shut you down if you miss them.

Does the exhaust pipe have a rain cap? This is the little weighted cover that keeps rain, snow and insects out of the exhaust pipe when the engine isnt running. It doesnt seem like much, but a clogged exhaust pipe can run down a battery in no time.

How often is the generator exercised? Does the exerciser work? I had a customer who supervised a number of generator-backed sites. He tied the exercise circuit into a security system auto-dialer that he picked up at Radio Shack. As each generator underwent its weekly test, the auto-dialer dialed his pager number and entered a site number. This was an inexpensive way of being "on site" at 10 different locations. If he missed a page, he knew there was trouble.

There's no auxiliary power without a battery. Keep connectors clean and tight.

You cant go to Jiffy Lube

Now, youre probably thinking that because this generator engine is so much like your car that you need periodic oil changes & not necessarily. The "oil change" is where you can get ripped off. Oil changes are costly, but unfortunately there are no generator Jiffy Lubes. When you add the labor, the hazardous materials charges, disposal charges (especially if the generator is on the roof of a building), and the cost of the oil and filter, youve accumulated a princely sum. Whats worse, your oil might be fine.

So how do you know? Have your oil analyzed. Laboratory oil analysis is cheaper than you think, and in addition to giving you a go/no go as to the quality and condition of your oil, an analysis for trace metals can be invaluable. Through the oil analysis, premature metal wear can be spotted. The various metals found in the oil can diagnose specific problems, and catching them early can save you plenty.

Keep filters clean, and regularly replaced depending on usage.

Records, fuel and water

By now, youve developed a pretty exhaustive maintenance procedureone that either your staff or a contractor can follow. Keep a loose-leaf binder with printed forms, or save the completed inspection reports from your contractor. The point here is to be able to trace any work done on your backup power system. Keep a list of "normal" operating readings of gauges and meters. Instruct your staff to investigate any changes from the norm. Even the cost of a "false alarm" inspection by your generator contractor will be much less than the cost of a system failure.

As you round out your generator maintenance procedure, put together a fuel replacement program. If your generator is fueled by a fuel truck, what backup plan do you have if inclement weather prohibits the truck from entering your compound? If the generator uses diesel fuel, the answer might be finding the closest diesel service station and having several metal canisters for transporting the fuel to the site.

Fortunately for most of us, dependable power means never having to lean on your backup system. Unless youve encountered a power disaster, you may not even know how many hours of fuel your tank will hold. Find out now, and plan in advance with your fuel supplier how often the tank will need to be refilled. Log this information, along with 24-hour numbers so your generator wont run dry. Now is also a good time to obtain a fuel dipstick, especially for underground tanks. Also pick up a container of water paste, usually available from heating oil fuel suppliers for less than $10 a tube. When coated on the end of the dipstick and inserted into the tank, the presence of water will change the color of the indicating paste.

Keep a log of the amount of water indicated on the dipstick. An inch or two of water isnt the end of the world, because the tanks usually are inclined 5 degrees. The fuel pickup and return are located six inches from the bottom at the opposite end of the fill. More than two inches of water could cause a problem and need to be removed. Because of the need to dispose of the fuel/water mixture, an environmental company is best suited for this task.

Keeping regular entries of the accumulation of water, as indicated on the dipstick, keeps the problem in check. Water usually comes from condensation, which can be prevented by keeping the tank full of fuel. In warmer climates, bacteria and algae can grow in this watery environment, which can further foul your system.

Dont forget your UPSs

Most facilities that depend on generators have some kind of maintenance program in place to guarantee their reliability. Its sad to say, but most facilities that incorporate uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) do not. A UPS is by its very nature an "install and forget" type of device. Its shoved under a desk, behind a cabinet, in the bottom of a rack, and may live and die without anyones knowledge.

Having a routine inspection program for your UPS is just as important as having one for your generators. Depending on the sophistication of the UPS, operating parameters may be accessible. Some systems require the purchase of a small monitor that plugs into the UPS and displays operating parameters. Spend the money for this monitorit can save you hundreds of dollars in diagnosing problems. The less expensive UPS may have no provision for monitoring operating parameters and only signal trouble with either a light or a chirp or beep.

Posting a "caution" notice on the rack or on the cabinet housing of the UPS can guide staffespecially nontechnical membersin reporting what that periodic chirping or beeping actually is. A few years ago, we were called into a facility that suffered a catastrophic power failure. A very large UPS had failed. It had been placed in a supply closet, next to the soda and snack vending machines. When the UPS started beeping, the staff simply closed the door to muffle the noise. No one thought it was a problem, and no one was called until everything died.

That brings us to two very different lines of thinking. Should the system be protected by one very large UPS, or several smaller power packs? There are pros and cons to both, and much of it is a personal decision. The larger UPS usually will provide more flexibilitya hot bypass, only one set of batteries to maintain and full monitoring data ports. Servicing may require taking the entire system down, however.

Smaller, individual UPS packages can be used to power specific clusters of equipment so that if the UPS fails, only a small cluster of equipment is affected. There are multiple batteries to maintain, but if the system is properly engineered, UPS loads can be shared should the system fail.

Whichever system youve chosen, keeping a few spare parts on hand is a wise investment. Cooling fans and batteries are the most common failures. As with the generator, its prudent to keep a maintenance log listing operating parameters under normal conditions and when the manufacturer advises battery replacement.

Taking a little time now to document and prepare for worst-case scenarios will minimize problems when failures do occur. So enjoy the great weather, spend an afternoon outdoors getting to know your generatorthe investment in time is priceless. TB

Engine Oil Sample Analysis

If youre paying for a generator oil change even once a year, you probably are throwing your money away. Walt Billings, owner of TESSCO, a generator maintenance and repair company based in Baltimore, says if you are using a good quality oil, it is rated for 300 to 400 hours of usage in a genset application. If youre only putting 20 hours on a generator in a years time, your oil will carry you for some time.

Just how long? Have the oil analyzed to find out. This is a service your generator technician can perform, but your maintenance staff also can complete the test. Oil analysis kits are readily available from an oil or lubricant supplier, says Billings. Shell or Valvoline are examples. Cummins and Caterpillar engine distributors also have the kits. The kits run $10-$15 a sample. Billings suggests buying a kit with a squeeze-bulb suction pump, so youre getting a good sample of oil from the engine oil pan. He also cautions to take the sample while the engine is hot.

In addition to giving you an idea of the condition of your oil, the analysis will tell you about wear metals present in the oil. A single oil analysis is really a baseline measurement. To be

effective, the test needs to be conducted periodically, every six months, so engine wear trends can be established. The more frequently the test is performed, the more information you have to track and gauge the wear of your engine.

The results of the analysis will spot suspended dirt in the oil and the presence of water in diesel fuel, in addition to the wear metals. The laboratory doing the analysis also can interpret the findings and even tell you when the oil needs to be changed. A savings may not be noticed when oil analysis is performed on small generators because of their size. However, the larger the generator, the more valuable the analysis, as oil change charges increase exponentially.

Walt Billings of TESSCO can help answer questions about oil analysis, or generators in general. He can be reached online at . A maintenance checklist also is available by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to TESSCO, P.O. Box 5265, Baltimore, MD 21224.

John Bisset has spent 30 years in the communications field. He is now a district sales manager for Harris Broadcast and can be reached via e-mail at .

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