A standby generator only helps if it starts when the grid drops, and that takes routine service — oil, filter, spark plugs, and a healthy battery — plus a working exercise cycle. We service standby units across Houma and Terrebonne Parish, including a check of the transfer switch and the back-feed protection. It is the low-cost, often-skipped work that separates a real backup from an expensive lawn ornament that will not crank during the next storm.
Why maintenance is the whole point of a standby
The reason a standby generator is supposed to be more reliable than a portable is that it is wired in and ready — but only if it is maintained. A unit that sat untouched for a few years is the one with a dead battery and overdue oil that never starts the night you need it. The exercise cycle and the service schedule are what keep it ready, which is exactly the part homeowners forget until an outage exposes it.
What a proper service visit covers
We change the oil and filter, check or replace the spark plugs, test and service the battery, confirm the exercise cycle is set and running, and verify the automatic transfer switch and its back-feed protection. We run the unit under load to confirm it actually carries the circuits it is supposed to, and flag anything — fuel, gas line, or a corner cut on the original install — that would keep it from performing in a storm.
- Engine service. Oil, filter, spark plugs — the routine that keeps it starting.
- Battery. Tested and serviced; the dead battery is the most common no-start.
- Exercise cycle. Confirmed set and running so the unit stays ready between outages.
- Transfer switch check. Back-feed protection verified, not assumed.
Before the storm, not during it
The best time to service a generator is in the off-season, not the week a storm is in the Gulf. We cover the full readiness checklist in hurricane prep for a standby generator, and if your existing setup needs the safety side fixed, see transfer switch install.