Annual generator maintenance! Never be without power by keeping your generator in peak condition!

In this video, I show how I maintain my Champion Inverter Generator, which covers changing the oil, cleaning the air filter, checking and adjusting the gap on the spark plug, cleaning the spark arrestor, and I also discuss cleaning the fuel valve filter and whether or not we need to change the fuel lines (which is noted as being required every 3 years in the Champion manual.
Disclaimer:
I am a DIY'er and NOT a professional. I do not represent Champion, and it is possible that some of my methods or procedures are not best practice. I implore you to do your own research in maintaining your equipment. I always welcome and encourage that you validate anything I share or say in the video. If you find any information that is contrary to what I provide or supplemental, please comment, and I'll be happy to pin said comment for future viewers.
Thanks for watching!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:45 Generator break-in oil
1:19 Oil change
12:03 Cleaning the air filter
19:35 Checking / Adjusting the spark plug
25:11 Cleaning the spark arrestor
29:27 Cleaning the fuel valve filter
31:44 Discussion for fuel line replacement necessity
32:11 Draining fuel from the generator

[@toddjones3046]

Hey Ken I’m looking to buy to 5500w. Gas only. The champion website says you can use ethanol gas less than 10%. Have you used that in yours? Cheers Todd

[@TheKenAgain]

Hey Todd! I have a cursory understanding, I think, hah, of the ethanol ratings and percentages. At gas stations local to me, they have the ratings of, I believe, E87, E89, and E93 (www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gasoline/octane-in-depth.php) - and I just go with the cheapest / regular gasoline, which would be E87 I believe.
Now, that said, I have always had the fuel stabilized with Seafoam - I've never had an outage last longer than my 10 gallon reserve supply that I keep on hand. So, I can't say that I've used just straight, untreated / unstabilized gasoline by itself if that makes sense. I share in the generator maintenance video I did though that, in chatting with the Champion representatives regarding some of the recommended maintenance, they advised using Seafoam to clean out the fuel lines. So, it can't hurt to treat it with Seafoam or a product like it (but I'm partial to Seafoam of course, just personal preference!) however often you would want to, to keep it clean.
And also, they do have guidelines on storage and whether to empty the fuel from the system / tank, and that sort of thing, between uses.
I hope this helps - good luck on your generator purchase!

[@toddjones3046]

Thanks Ken. Bought the champion 5500/4000w gas only model. I’m in Louisiana and they are expecting a rough hurricane season. Could be without power for a couple of hours or a couple of weeks. Just depends where the hurricane comes ashore. I’m subscribing now so any generator vids are greatly appreciated. Also looking to purchase the midea u-shape window ac to run on the genny. Cheers Todd