Last fall, the power went out during a storm and my generator would not start. It had sat in the shed since the previous spring, and I had done exactly nothing to it. I learned that lesson the hard way, standing in a dark kitchen with a flashlight and a dead machine.

A generator is only useful if it runs when you need it. Fall is the right time to prep it, before storm season hits.

The pre-storm checklist

1. Check the oil. Change it if it is dark or low. Most generators need an oil change once a season.
2. Check or replace the air filter. A clogged filter starves the engine.
3. Fresh fuel. Gasoline goes bad in about a month. Drain old fuel and refill with fresh, or use stabilized fuel.
4. Test start it. Run it for ten minutes with a small load to make sure it works.
5. Inspect the cord and outlets. Frayed cords are a fire risk.

Fuel is the big one

Stale gas is the number one reason generators fail. If you stored fuel over the summer, drain it and start fresh. Add a fuel stabilizer to the new gas, and run the generator once a month for about fifteen minutes to keep the carburetor clean. That monthly run takes almost no time and it saved me from a repeat of last year.

Where to run it

Never run a generator indoors, in a garage, or near a window. Generator exhaust is deadly carbon monoxide, and it has caused deaths in exactly those situations. Set it up outside, at least twenty feet from the house, with the exhaust pointing away.

Keep a backup plan

Even a prepped generator can fail. Keep a few charged power banks and a battery radio in the same spot as the generator. Last year, the power bank was what actually kept my phone alive while I figured out the generator problem.

This year, the prep takes me about thirty minutes in September, and I do it before I need it, not after.