Spare parts
Filters & Service Parts
Fuel, oil and air filters, water separators, belts, hoses and coolant: the parts that decide whether a standby set starts during an outage or runs for two minutes and stops.
Symptoms
- Runs for a few minutes then stops
- Black smoke and loss of power
- Set never serviced since installation
- Water in the fuel separator bowl
- Belt squealing or perished hoses
The cheapest parts prevent the dearest failures
There is an uncomfortable asymmetry in generator ownership: the parts that prevent failures cost a tiny fraction of the parts that repair them, and nobody buys them because a standby set gives no warning that it needs them.
Fuel filtration is the Kenyan problem
A standby generator is a tank of diesel that sits still for months. Water condenses into it, settles to the bottom, and supports microbial growth. The filter and the water separator catch it until they block.
The failure mode is specific and familiar: the set starts normally during an outage, runs for one to three minutes, and shuts down. To the owner it looks like a serious fault. It is a blocked filter and contaminated fuel, and it is entirely preventable by draining the separator and changing the filter on schedule.
For sets that stand idle for long periods, fuel polishing or simply using and replacing the fuel is worth more than any other maintenance action.
Oil, air, coolant
Oil oxidises with time as well as use, so the annual change applies to a set that has done forty hours in three years.
Air filters clog quickly in dusty conditions, which in Nairobi means anywhere near unpaved access or a construction site. A restricted air filter shows as black smoke and lost power.
Coolant loses its corrosion inhibitors long before it loses its freezing point, which is irrelevant here; the inhibitors are the whole point in a Kenyan climate.
Belts and hoses perish. A shredded fan belt on a running set becomes an overheat shutdown within minutes.
FAQ
▸Which filter causes most generator failures in Kenya?
The fuel filter, by a wide margin. A standby set holds the same diesel for months. Water settles out, microbial growth develops, and the filter blocks. On the day of a real outage the set runs briefly and stops. It is the most common call we attend and the cheapest to prevent.
▸Can I use any filter of the right size?
Physically it may fit. Filtration rating and bypass behaviour vary, and a fuel filter that does not separate water is not doing the job that matters most in a Kenyan standby application. We supply against the engine, not against dimensions.
▸How often should filters be changed?
On running hours, typically every 250 hours, and annually regardless of hours. Fuel degrades in the tank whether the engine runs or not.