The single best thing anybody can do for their generator is run it. Generators that sit idle for long periods of time have 2 major issues.
One, everybody has heard this one, is fuel. It's best to keep the tank full of stabilized fuel and shut off the supply to the carburetor. Then run the carb dry. No condensation in the tank, no fuel in the carb to varnish. If your generator has a carburetor drain of some sort then I highly encourage you to use it as well or in lieu of running the carb dry.
Two - Generators that sit for very long periods of time can lose residual magnetism in the field windings that you need to get things moving at start-up. I've seen plenty of units that start and run excellent but generate no power. Exercising your genset every 6 months or more will prevent this. Start it up, run it with a decent (10% or better) load for 5-10 minutes and you're done. If you find your generator fires but creates no power.... you can "flash" it at home with a portable drill. Plug it in, set it in forwards, pull the trigger and give the chuck a brisk twist in reverse. You only need a tiny amount of current to kick-start the generator. There are tools and home-grown methods that involve using a battery to flash the field but buying a dedicated tool doesn't make sense for Joe Average and the DIY methods aren't safe enough for me to detail here.
If you have an electric start unit then using a motorcycle "maintenance" charger is an excellent idea. Some can be had very inexpensively but I favor the c-tek units.
http://smartercharger.com/
One, everybody has heard this one, is fuel. It's best to keep the tank full of stabilized fuel and shut off the supply to the carburetor. Then run the carb dry. No condensation in the tank, no fuel in the carb to varnish. If your generator has a carburetor drain of some sort then I highly encourage you to use it as well or in lieu of running the carb dry.
Two - Generators that sit for very long periods of time can lose residual magnetism in the field windings that you need to get things moving at start-up. I've seen plenty of units that start and run excellent but generate no power. Exercising your genset every 6 months or more will prevent this. Start it up, run it with a decent (10% or better) load for 5-10 minutes and you're done. If you find your generator fires but creates no power.... you can "flash" it at home with a portable drill. Plug it in, set it in forwards, pull the trigger and give the chuck a brisk twist in reverse. You only need a tiny amount of current to kick-start the generator. There are tools and home-grown methods that involve using a battery to flash the field but buying a dedicated tool doesn't make sense for Joe Average and the DIY methods aren't safe enough for me to detail here.
If you have an electric start unit then using a motorcycle "maintenance" charger is an excellent idea. Some can be had very inexpensively but I favor the c-tek units.
http://smartercharger.com/
