Standby Generators: What a Factory Authorized Service Agent Actually Does

A customer named Nate quoted a home generator install about six years ago. It got installed along with some other electrical work at the same time, and every year since, a technician named Jim has come out to service it. That's the arc most standby generator owners go through, a quote, an install, then years of annual visits, and it's worth understanding what's actually happening at each stage before you're the one signing off on a generator for your Frankenmuth home or business.

What factory authorized actually means

Nuechterlein Electric Inc is a Briggs and Stratton factory authorized service agent for the tri-city area. Briggs and Stratton has been building engines and generators for more than a hundred years. Being factory authorized means the shop is recognized by Briggs and Stratton itself to handle warranty and non warranty service on their equipment, not just install it and walk away. That matters most when something goes wrong under warranty, because a factory authorized agent can do warranty repairs directly instead of you having to work through a manufacturer's call center from a dark house.

What the annual service visit actually covers

A generator that only runs a few times a year, or never runs at all until the power goes out, needs someone checking it while it's idle, not after it's failed you. An annual visit is where a technician runs the unit, checks the battery, checks the fuel or gas supply, and looks at the transfer switch, catching small problems while they're still small. This is the same idea behind Jim's yearly visits. A generator that's serviced every year is a generator you can trust to start the one night you actually need it.

What to ask before you buy one

• What size generator does this house or building actually need, based on what you want to keep running during an outage
• Who installs it and who services it afterward, and are they factory authorized for the brand you're buying
• What does the annual service visit include, and how is it scheduled
• What's covered under warranty, and who handles a warranty claim if something fails
• Is 24 hour emergency service available if the generator itself has a problem during an outage

Fuel type and sizing basics

Standby generators generally run on natural gas or propane, and which one makes sense depends on what's already available at your property. A home or business already on a natural gas line usually stays on gas, since it means never scheduling a fuel delivery and never worrying about running out during an extended outage. A property without gas service typically runs on a propane tank instead, sized to the generator and to how long you want to be able to run it before a refill. Sizing the unit itself comes down to what you actually want kept alive during an outage. A furnace, a well pump and some lighting circuits need far less capacity than a whole house or a commercial building running everything at once, and oversizing costs more up front for capacity you'll rarely use, while undersizing means tripping the generator's own overload protection right when you need it most. This is exactly the kind of thing worth walking through with a technician before you settle on a unit, not after it's already sitting outside.

24/7 support, warranty and non-warranty

Emergency service isn't only for a house without power, it also covers a generator that won't start when you need it most. Nuechterlein Electric Inc offers 24/7 service for both warranty and non warranty generator issues, so a failed start in the middle of a storm isn't something you have to wait until Monday morning to deal with.

Installation is part of a bigger electrical picture

A generator install often happens alongside other electrical work, exactly like the case where Nate's original quote included some other things the customer wanted done electrically at the same time. That's worth knowing going in. A generator ties into your panel and your transfer switch, so if there's other electrical work you've been putting off, a generator install is a reasonable time to have it looked at in the same visit rather than scheduling separate trips.

If you're in Frankenmuth or the surrounding tri-city area and you're thinking about a standby generator, or you already have one that hasn't been serviced in a while, call Nuechterlein Electric Inc at (989) 652-2431.