Another memo I never got...
So on Sunday, 9/3, my standby generator took a very long time to start up for its exercise run, which is odd since it normally jumps right up. After it finished, I manually tried starting it and it started and immediately stopped, with a low propane pressure error message, which makes no sense since the 1000 gallon tank is 75% full. My generator folks showed me a trick to help the regulatory by inhaling and blowing into the air tube to the regulator to clear it, and that worked like a champ, Genny started right up, problem fixed right? NOPE!
This past Sunday I manually tried to exercise it and it took a long time to start again, so I was on the phone with the service people looking to get the regulator replaced. For once I got a "No problem, we have one of those regulators in stock, we'll replace it on Tuesday." The family patriarch, who only comes out now for special clients gets here, replaces the regulator, turns all the gas lines on, and the generator coughs and wheezes, but does eventually start up. We both figured it was due to the purging of the lines, BUT when he tries to start it a second time, it turned over and died, with the low propane error message, WTF???
He put a manometer on the gas line before the generator and the 12 oz of pressure, the correct reading, dropped immediately to 0 as soon as we tried to start the unit. He pointed to the next regulator in line that was attached to the house and said that might be your problem, and the first regulator (3 F-ing regulators in line for the generator) had to be fine since all the other propane fuel items in the house are working fine. "Better call up the gas company and have them come out to replace it, we don't have one."
Now I'm panicking, will they be able to fix it before Lee arrives, but then the wise elder statesman goes, "Any mud wasps around here?" "Yeah, sure." "Hmmm let me take a look at that regulator. It's only happened once, but I've seen where they can screw things up". He opens the cover and sure enough, there's a big blob of dried mud blocking the tiny air hole for the regulator. Grabs a tiny Allen wrench and scrapes out the mud, telling me to hit the start button.
Sure enough, Genny fires right up and has been doing the same on a daily basis for me on the countdown to Lee. So now there's another Periodic Home Checklist to do item, periodically checking to see if the wasps make mud pies in my generator regulator. Not at all upset regarding getting the regulator replaced, as the old one was giving me some problems over the winter, so that was inevitably going to fail and better to be replaced now than it failing during a blizzard.
Just wish I had gotten the Mud Wasp Watch memo early, the inspection takes 20 seconds. If necessary, the repair takes less than 1 minute...
