Industry
Generator Maintenance and Repairs for Plants, Factories and Mines
We repair, service and maintain large standby, prime and continuous-duty generators on factory, warehouse, mine and processing sites across Gauteng, working within your permits, shutdown windows and maintenance system. On an industrial site a generator is judged on uptime: it must start, take its share of the plant load and keep running for as long as the outage or the duty lasts. Every visit adds to a dated record of the work and readings that your planners, auditors and insurers can check.
- Standby, prime and continuous-duty sets
- Synchronised sets, plant rooms and bulk fuel
- Load bank testing, arranged for each site
- 1 kVA–20,000 kVA capability
Established 2006
20 years of experience
24/7 operations
We Arrive Within 1–2 Hours
(usually within 1 hour)
Free callouts and quotations
One-year warranty
Qualified and certified technicians
We Service & Repair All Generator Brands
All generator makes and models
1 kVA–20,000 kVA capability
How duty shapes the maintenance programme
| Duty | What the site asks of the set | Where the programme focuses |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency standby | What the site asks of the setStart within seconds of a mains failure and carry the plant until the supply returns, for limited hours a year | Where the programme focusesReadiness: batteries and chargers, fuel condition, heaters, transfer tests and periodic load tests |
| Prime power | What the site asks of the setBe the main supply for unlimited hours, at a load that varies through the shift | Where the programme focusesServices tracked from the hour meter, wear parts, and cooling and filtration under sustained load |
| Continuous | What the site asks of the setRun at a steady, high load around the clock | Where the programme focusesPlanned overhauls, short inspection intervals, spares held ahead of need and trend records |
| Standby working like prime | What the site asks of the setCarry long daily outages, as many standby sets did through load shedding | Where the programme focusesChecking whether its rating and service intervals still suit the hours it now runs |
What standby, prime and continuous ratings mean for a set’s output is explained on the diesel generators page, and automatic transfer on the standby generators page.
Uptime
Where industrial uptime is lost
Large sets rarely fail in one dramatic event. They fail to start because a battery charger stopped weeks ago; they start but never close onto the busbar because a breaker or synchronising fault blocks them; they close and then trip when a large motor starts; or they run perfectly until the day tank empties because a transfer pump or level switch failed. Each is a different system, and the programme has to cover them all.
Industrial loads are harder on generators than offices. Induction motors draw several times their running current as they start, variable speed drives and rectifiers distort the current waveform and can unsettle an AVR, and welders and crushers swing the load in seconds. A set that held steady on a resistive load bank may still struggle with these, so we look at how the plant actually loads it and how loads are sequenced back on after a transfer.
Dust is the other enemy. On mines, quarries and busy yards, radiator cores and air filters clog far faster than on an office site: an engine that overheats under full afternoon load often has nothing worse than a radiator core packed with dust, and a choked air filter shows as lost power and black smoke. Dust and damp also reach large alternators, where insulation resistance tests catch a weakening winding, and bearing checks a worn bearing, before either fails; see generator rewinding.
Plant rooms, switchgear and bulk fuel
Larger sets often live in a plant room beside the main switchgear rather than in a canopy outside, and the room becomes part of the generator. The radiator needs a clear path for cooling air in and hot air out, the exhaust must stay sealed and properly supported, and a room that heats up under full load cuts what the engine and alternator can safely deliver, ending in a high-temperature shutdown if nothing changes.
Fuel arrangements grow with the site: a bulk tank, a transfer pump, a day tank with level switches and overfill protection, and bunding to contain spills. Water and sludge settle in a bulk tank and reach the injectors unless they are drained and filtered out; see diesel fuel contamination and fuel system repairs.
- Cooling air path, louvres and radiator discharge checked
- Day tank, transfer pump and level alarms proven
- Breakers and changeover checked with your electrical team
Synchronised and multiple-set systems
Many plants run two or more sets together, to share a load too large for one set or to keep one in reserve so that a set can be serviced, or can fail, without losing supply. Before a set joins the busbar, its controller matches voltage, frequency and phase angle with the running sets and closes the breaker at the right moment. Once on, the sets share real power (kW) through their governors and reactive power (kVAr) through their AVRs.
A fault anywhere in that chain shows as a set that will not synchronise, sets that fight each other, reverse-power trips or one set carrying more than its share. These faults are found by testing each set and then the system as a whole, on controllers such as Deep Sea Electronics and ComAp modules. Controller and switchgear faults are covered under control panel repairs.
Load testing when the plant cannot be the test load
A standby set may go months without carrying the plant, and a running plant cannot always be switched onto generator power just to prove it. A load bank test gives the set an artificial load instead, applied in stages up to its rating and held, with readings taken at each stage. On large sets a resistive-reactive load bank also proves the alternator and AVR at the rated power factor, not just the engine.
The same sustained run is the usual remedy for a set that has spent months lightly loaded and shows wet stacking. Load bank testing is arranged and quoted for each site, matched to the set’s rating, voltage and connection point, and the results go into that set’s record.
On site
How we work on your site
- 01
Access and paperwork
Tell us what the site requires before the visit: inductions, permits to work, risk assessments, PPE and escort arrangements. Technicians arrive expecting to follow your rules.
- 02
Isolate with your team
A standby set can start by itself. Before work begins it is isolated and locked out under your site’s procedure, with your electrical staff where the switchgear is theirs.
- 03
Work inside the window
Work that takes a set offline or transfers load goes into an agreed shutdown window. With several sets, one is serviced while the others stay available.
- 04
Test and hand back
The set is run and, where agreed, tested on load before it is returned to automatic, and your team confirms it is back in service.
- 05
Record and quote
You receive a record of the work, the readings and anything that needs attention, with a quotation for further work before any of it starts.
Records for audits, insurers and your maintenance system
Auditors, insurers and your own planners all ask the same question: can you show the generator is looked after? Each visit adds to a dated history for every set.
- Asset details: make, model, serial numbers, kVA rating, engine and alternator
- The date and hour-meter reading of every visit
- Work done, with the parts, filters and fluids fitted
- Readings on test: voltage and frequency, oil pressure, coolant temperature, battery and charger voltage
- Load test results: the load at each stage and how the set held up
- Controller alarms and events since the last visit
- Defects found, ranked by urgency, with quotations
- When each set is next due, by running hours and by date
These are records of work and test results, not certificates. If an auditor or insurer asks for a particular document, tell us when we quote and we will confirm what we can provide.
Working with your maintenance team
On many sites our technicians work alongside your own planners, fitters and electricians. Your team may handle daily checks and refuelling, while we carry out generator servicing at the hours and dates the engine maker sets, and the diagnostics and generator repairs that need a generator specialist. We explain what we found and what it needs, and every quotation sets out the work before it starts.
For critical plant, a maintenance plan fixes the services, inspections and load tests for each set, matched to its duty and to what a failure would cost the site. We Service & Repair All Generator Brands, so an older set and a newer one from different makers, such as Caterpillar, Cummins or MTU, can sit on one programme.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can you work on generators at mines, plants and factories?
Yes, on site across Gauteng. Tell us about inductions, permits and access requirements when you book, so the visit can be planned around them.
Do you work on synchronised (paralleled) generator systems?
Yes. Synchronising, load sharing and breaker control are tested set by set and then as a system; see control panel repairs.
How large a generator can you work on?
Our 1 kVA–20,000 kVA capability covers everything from a small standby set to large multi-set installations. All generator makes and models.
Can you service a set without stopping production?
Usually. A standby set can be serviced while the mains carries the plant, provided everyone accepts there is no backup for those hours. Where several sets share the load, one comes out at a time. A single prime-power set needs a planned shutdown window.
Can you load test our generators?
Yes. Load bank testing is arranged and quoted for each site, matched to the set’s rating, voltage and connection. See load bank testing.
Do you provide records our auditor or insurer can see?
Every visit is recorded with the date, hours, work done, readings and defects found, and load tests with their results. These are records of work, not certificates, so check what your auditor or insurer needs and tell us when we quote.
Will you work with our own electricians and fitters?
Yes. Isolation follows your site’s procedure, and your team can carry out daily checks between our visits. Changes to the fixed wiring need a registered electrical contractor and a Certificate of Compliance.
Related pages
Related services
Related generator problems
Generator types
Who we work for
Need a generator technician?
- 24/7 operations
- We Arrive Within 1–2 Hours (usually within 1 hour)
- Free callouts and quotations