Congrats on your new home. You likely spent weeks going over the property with a fine-toothed comb, looking for anything that might require repair and remodeling so you can negotiate with the former owner to lower your price appropriately. However, one thing you may have overlooked was the house’s generator. A generator is definitely a plus when buying a home, but you need to watch for signs that it needs replacing.
Slow to Start
The Generac generator service Spring TX area residents hire includes both maintenance and repair. Try turning on your generator even if there isn’t an outage. (It’s better to know if there’s an issue before you actually need to use it.) Even if your generator seems operational, if you find it’s slow to start up, hire an expert to look it over. Parts may be wearing down or the model could simply be out-of-date. An expert can tell you if a small repair will bring the model back to maximum efficiency or if you’d be better off replacing the unit entirely.
It Looks Worn
Generators, often placed outside of houses or in detached garages, are made to stand up to the elements. However, decades of exposure – whether actively used or rarely turned on – can lead to damage from wind, rain, heat, and even snow, depending on where in Texas you’re located. A generator that’s in bad shape on the outside is more likely to be rusted and in poor shape on the inside as well. Hire a maintenance and repair service to take a look or go ahead and order a new model, as rust is impossible to “fix” and it’s cheaper to get a new model than to replace most of the generator’s parts and casing.
It’s Rarely Been Used
Ask the previous home owner how often she’s used the generator. If she answers that she rarely bothered, the equipment may have started wearing down from inactivity. Even if it appears to run, there could be problems you’re unaware of. It’s always a good idea to turn on your generator at least once a year or even once a season even if you don’t wind up relying on it much.
If the house doesn’t have a generator, definitely look into installing one before the summer season rolls around, as rising temperatures lead to an increased demand for power, which results in more frequent power outages. Even if the existing generator is in decent shape, you may find a newer model more efficient. Ask an expert to look over your generator hookup and discuss current specials so you can save when upgrading to a newer one.