What’s the second most expensive, and maybe the most important piece of equipment in your spray foam rig? It’s that generator. And when it dies, as far as your insulation company goes, money is only going out instead of coming in.
As a spray foam tech for IDI, a massive amount of my troubleshooting calls are because of the generator. Problems with overheating, shutting off, wrong outbound voltage, low oil pressure, you name it. My first question: “When the last time it was serviced or maintained?” Normally if I get a date at all, it was long ago. Maybe before this crew even had the rig. That or they say there isn’t enough time, or the generator shop was backed up. Or better yet, it’s been running just fine so I wasn’t worried about it. Sometimes, they tell me preventative maintenance is just too expensive. Well, I promise you it’s more expensive after it goes down than it is to maintain it.
Generator service doesn’t take a lot of time, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Most of the things that keep it running better and last a good long time are things you can do in-house. It takes very little time to change the oil and oil filter. Then set a date to do the fuel filter, fuel pump, and air filter. You could even be cleaning the fins on the radiator and while you’re at it, check the outgoing voltage and make sure it’s within the required voltage range for your equipment. These are all fairly simple things that could save you lots of money down the road. Remember, there’s no such thing as making spray foam insulation when the power goes out. Be sure to check out this video on maintaining your generator and share it with your crew. If you are the crew, when you’re making foam, you’re making money so start using these tips today. Keep that generator healthy and it will keep you making money. For more great tips and answers to your questions, be sure to watch our other videos on the IDI YouTube channel and reach out to any of us at IDI.