Tag Archives: Portable Generator Servicing

portable generators

Hurricane Season Power Generator Service

Cars drive through hurricane flooded streets.Hurricane Season runs June through November, and many of us living in Florida appreciate having a portable generator to provide emergency electrical power when public utility service is disrupted by a storm, or even an auto accident.

Email Jimmy Stockton at Black Creek Services today –  [email protected] or Contact Us using our handy Contact form to make an appointment for maintenance or repair of your portable generator.

  • Pickup and delivery service is available.

Our Hurricane Season Power Generator Service Special  will help you have your portable generator ready to provide electrical power for your home and family, when you need it.

Briggs and Stratton Portable GeneratorFeatures offered in our Power Generator Service:

  • Inspecting your power generator for damaged or corroded parts, loose wires or damaged wiring insulation.
  • Inspecting all nuts and bolts, and tighten or replace them as needed. (Many generators vibrate a lot, and vibrations can cause bolts to loosen and cause a problem later.)
  • Change the oil. (Changing your generator’s oil at the beginning of every storm season follows the guidelines in most owner’s manuals.)
    • Keeping your generator lubricated is very important to reliable operation. We recommend that generator owners check the oil level of their generator before and after every use, and change the oil per the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Filling the gas tank with fresh fuel and adding Briggs & Stratton fuel stabilizer to battle the effects of ethanol.
    • We recommend generators owners replace the generator’s fuel with new gas every 30 days during Hurricane Season.
  • Inspect and clean or replace the air filter.
  • Replace and check the gap on the spark plug.

This short video by Honda gives some good reminders for how to use and properly take care of your portable generator. Please see the Owners Manual that came with your portable generator for your specific generator. Safety is always important!

10000 Watt - Briggs & Stratton Portable GeneratorWhether you live in Jacksonville,Orange Park, Mandarin, Green Cove Springs, Fleming Island, or Middleburg, Pickup and delivery service is available.

 

Hurricane season in FloridaDo you use a Power Generator for your business? We can service it to keep it ready to go, too!

portable generators

Portable Generator Maintenance

Many people living in Florida have purchased a Portable Generator to provide some electrical power if their primary electrical service is lost.

Thankfully, for most of us our primary electrical service is very reliable.

hurricane weatherBut during Florida Hurricane Season (June through November each year) or even during a more common thunderstorm, or as the result of an accident, there can be a power outage that can last from minutes to hours, even days. And to provide a reliable backup source of electrical power, we have a portable generator.

Because our primary electrical power service is so reliable, often our portable generators can sit for months without being needed. If they are not run periodically, they may not perform when we need them.

8000 Watt Briggs & Stratton Portable GeneratorIt’s a good idea to have a professional service your portable generator once a year.

In addition to annual professional maintenance of your portable generator, most generator manufacturers recommend:

1.  Read and follow the instructions in the manufacturer’s Owner’s manual for your portable generator. If you do not understand the instructions clearly, give them a call; most manufacturer’s have a telephone number in the Owner’s manual, and many are toll free.

2.  Put a fresh half gallon of fuel in the generator fuel tank, once each month, and run the generator for at least an hour. Drain any left over gasoline from the fuel tank. Gas goes stale when left sitting in a fuel tank for a month, and is harder to start.

As an alternative, some people add a fuel stabilizer to the fuel in their tank, which helps the fuel stay fresh longer.

3.  Check your generator starting method.

  • If your portable generator is a manual, pull-start, check the pull rope for wear as you pull it to start the generator each month. A worn rope should be replaced so it doesn’t break when you really need that generator.
  • If your portable generator is a battery started model, check the charge on that battery, and re-charge it if necessary.
  • Some portable generators have a manual start capability as a backup for the battery starting capability, and in those cases, you should check both ways of starting your generator.

portable generator with a small engine4.  While running your generator each month, plug in a small appliance; a lamp or a portable drill or kitchen hand mixer, and run the appliance to make sure that the generator is producing electricity.

5.  Remember that Portable Generators produce exhaust gases when they operate, including carbon monoxide with is colorless and has no odor, and can be deadly.  Always operate you portable generator outside of your home or business. And do not run a portable generator near an open window, because the carbon monoxide can blow into the home or business and endanger anyone inside.

6.  Protect your Generator. When you operate your Portable Generator, shelter it from wet or damp conditions. This prevents shock hazards from the electricity being produced by the generator (and to keep your generator from shorting out, or from being damaged by corrosion). Then store your generator in a safe, dry place, to keep it ready for use during an emergency.

7.  Generator fuel is flammable. Store fuel (usually gasoline) in a safe container, and in a safe, cool and well ventilated place. Don’t store the fuel in the same space as where you operate the Portable Generator. Never add fuel to a generator until the generator cools down. Better to use flashlights for a while than take a chance on a fire or explosion!

Generac Portable GeneratorBlack Creek Services, Inc. provides reliable Portable Generator maintenance and repair service for clients in Middleburg, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Orange Park, and Jacksonville, Florida,  in our shop in Middleburg, Florida.

  • Email us at [email protected] or use our handy Contact Form to make an appointment to drop off your small engine powered Lawn Mower, Lawn Tractor, Portable Generator, or Pressure Washer at our Middleburg, Florida shop.
  • We also can provide pickup and delivery service for clients in our service area.

If your portable generator is hard to start, runs rough, or won’t start at all, before you start pricing a replacement, Contact Black Creek Services, Inc. for a FREE estimate. Often, with some minor repairs, we can have your portable generator running right and reliable again in no time.

 

small engines

Black Creek Services Inc. Small Engine Maintenance Service

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Koehler Command ProWhether your small engine is in a lawn mower, a portable generator, a pressure washer, a lawn tractor, or another application, based on our experience, Small Engines perform better and last longer with an annual maintenance service.

Small engine maintenance service doesn’t cost a lot  of money. It’s really more of an investment in having a reliable small engine for whatever you want to do.

small engine Briggs and StrattonAt Black Creek Services, we follow the same basic guidelines for an annual small engine service as recommended for Briggs and Stratton small engines:

  1. Change the Air Filter.
  2. Drain and replace the Oil.
  3. Change the Spark Plug.
  4. Give your gasoline a boost while protecting your engine with Briggs & Stratton Fuel Fit Treatment

As part of our Annual Small Engine maintenance service, we also look for reliability concerns like:

  • Condition of starting rope (if it is a manual, pull-start engine)
  • Condition of Battery connections (if it is an electrically started engine)
  • Missing springs or fasteners
  • Condition of carburetor throttle controls or function of governor

lawn mower small engineWe will notify you about any concerns we find with your small engine, and provide you an estimate for the cost of making necessary repairs.

We use quality parts and materials during small engine maintenance service and any repairs. Black Creek Services, Inc. has built a reputation for providing reliable, quality small engine service for people living in Middleburg, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Green Cove Springs, and all around the Jacksonville area, and we want to keep it that way.

Just email Black Creek Services a call at [email protected] or Contact us. We can help you keep your small engine-powered equipment maintained for a fair and reasonable price.

  • Pickup and delivery service is available, too!
portable generators

Ready for Florida Hurricane Season in Jacksonville?

Being prepared during this hurricane season in Jacksonville Florida is very important.

Hurricane Season for the United States Atlantic Coast runs from June through November.

Hurricane winds pushing waves to batter beach.Waiting until you see a storm nearby in the Atlantic, or see a Hurricane Watch or a Hurricane Warning being flashed across your television or smart phone screen could be too late to protect yourself, your family and loved ones and your property.

A little preparation goes a long way to being prepared for a hurricane coming to the Jacksonville Florida area.

Please take some time to go over Hurricane Preparedness lists like the one at the NOAA National Hurricane Center.

A few minutes spent gathering resources and preparing a plan for you and your family can mean the difference between survival and sorrow.

  • Do you have a portable generator for providing emergency electrical power to your home or business?
  • Is your portable generator maintained annually, and run periodically, to make sure it is ready when you need it?

Generac Portable GeneratorBlack Creek Services, Inc. provides reliable in-shop portable generator maintenance and repair. No portable generator is too big or too small.

If you have a portable generator, and it needs annual maintenance, or you are having trouble getting it to start or stay running, or it will not provide the power that it used to, use our Black Creek Services Contact form. Or you can Call 904-449-3986 for an estimate or to make an appointment to get your portable generator ready to go when you are!

  • We also can provide pickup and delivery service for clients in our service area.

Let us help you have confidence that your portable generator is one thing you don’t have to worry about during this Florida Hurricane Season.

When you call us, if we aren’t able to answer the phone, please leave your name and phone number, and a brief description of what work you’d like done.
portable generators

Safe Operation of Portable Generators

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Are you thinking about buying a portable generator for emergency electrical power to your home or office during a power outage, such as during a hurricane?
Here are a few quick tips for safe operation of portable generators to help you get started.

8000 Watt Briggs & Stratton Portable Generator1. Portable generators are designed for providing temporary power to one or several appliances. The number of appliances they can support is based on the output of the generator and the power requirements of the appliances.

2. The first step in buying a generator is deciding how much wattage you need during an emergency power outage. The size of your generator in wattage is determined by which appliances you want to power and how much total startup energy they need.

See our Chart for approximate wattage needs of various appliances.
– – (Click on the Chart below to see enlarge the chart.) – –

watts of power needed chart

3. Check the rating of the extension cord that you use to connect each appliance to your portable generator. Make sure the cord is designed to carry the full amount of electrical current to the appliance.

4. Portable power generators are not designed to be run continuously, nor run inside your home or garage.  They should be run (outside)  for short periods of several hours, and then shut down for several hours before being run again.

Generac Portable Generator5. We recommend adding a fuel stabilizer to your fuel tank , and running your portable generator for at least 10 minutes each month, to keep it ready to go when you need it.

For more tips on the safe operation of Portable Generators, please see these tips shared by:

Is your portable generator not running or giving you other problems?
Black Creek Services can provide reliable maintenance and repair servicing to your portable generator.
We will help you keep your small engine powered portable generator ready to go when you need it!

Call 904.449.3986 to make an appointment to drop off your small engine powered Lawn Mower, Lawn Tractor, Portable Generator, or Pressure Washer at our Middleburg, Florida shop.
  • We also can provide pickup and delivery service for clients in our service area.