Maintenance plans
Generator maintenance plans, from $34 a month
A standby generator sits idle for months and is then asked to run perfectly, at full load, on the worst night of the year. Scheduled service is what makes that a reasonable expectation. Annual and bi-annual plans, including units we did not install.
Why it matters
What maintenance catches that the exercise cycle cannot
Your generator starts itself once a week, runs for a few minutes and shuts down. That weekly exercise proves two things: the control board is awake and the starter turns the engine. It is a useful signal and it is not a substitute for service.
- Oil degrades on a calendar, not a runtime clock. Synthetic oil in an engine that barely runs still oxidizes and still collects moisture.
- Batteries fail quietly. A battery with enough charge for a three-minute exercise in mild weather can still fail to crank the engine at 19 degrees in February.
- Enclosures attract wildlife. Warm, dry, sheltered. Rodents chew harnesses and wasps build in vents, and neither shows up on the controller.
- Fuel pressure only reveals itself under load. A regulator or line that is marginal will pass a no-load exercise and sag the moment the air conditioner starts.
A maintenance visit is a technician physically checking those things, plus the multi-point inspection the manufacturer asks for. If your unit has an active fault right now, that is a repair call rather than a plan — get it diagnosed first, then enroll. More on the service itself in generator maintenance.
The plans
Annual plans: one service visit a year
Three tiers on the same visit schedule. The difference between them is how much of the routine work and consumables are included, and how much attention the system gets between visits.
Shield
$34per month
1 service visit per year
Best forA newer generator under manufacturer warranty that needs its scheduled inspection documented.
What is included:
- Multi-point factory inspection — the manufacturer-recommended annual inspection
- Battery and telemetry diagnostics, including a full battery test
- Fluid and pressure verification with a run test
- Proactive maintenance reminder scheduling
Not included: Parts, oil changes, battery replacements and emergency service discounts are not included unless due and approved.
Armored
We usually recommend$46per month
1 service visit per year
Best forMost homes. The consumables are covered, so the annual visit rarely turns into a separate invoice.
Everything in Shield, plus:
- Priority scheduling for service calls
- Reduced diagnostic and service-call rates
- Mid-year check-in by phone or text
- Annual air filter and spark plug service when due
- Oil change service included, based on manufacturer intervals
- Battery replacement coverage at scheduled intervals per plan terms
- 5% discount on repairs, maintenance parts, labor, emergency fixes and future upgrades
Fortress
$69per month
1 service visit per year
Best forProperties where an outage is expensive — wells, livestock, home medical equipment, a business run from the house.
Everything in Armored, plus:
- Monthly remote and active system monitoring
- 24-hour response time goal
- Annual air filter with full labor and materials included
- Spark plug service with full labor and materials included
- Oil change service when due, with full labor and materials included
- 5% discount on all emergency repairs and future approved upgrades
The plans
Bi-annual plans: two service visits a year
Built for systems that work harder — frequent outages, dusty rural lots, or a unit that carries serious load whenever it starts.
Shield Bi-Annual
$49per month
2 service visits per year
Best forGenerators that run often — frequent outages, or a unit that carries heavy loads when it does start.
What is included:
- Multi-point factory inspection at each of the two service intervals
- Battery and telemetry diagnostics, with a battery test at each visit
- Fluid and pressure verification with an exercise run test
Not included: Parts, oil changes, battery replacements and emergency service discounts are not included unless due and approved.
Armored Bi-Annual
We usually recommend$59per month
2 service visits per year
Best forTwice-yearly service with the routine consumables covered.
Everything in Shield Bi-Annual, plus:
- Oil change service included when due, based on manufacturer intervals
- Air filter and spark plug service when due
Fortress Bi-Annual
$94per month
2 service visits per year
Best forThe most hands-off option: two visits a year with labor and materials on the routine items covered.
Everything in Armored Bi-Annual, plus:
- Oil changes included when due, with full labor and materials
- Annual air filter included when due, with full labor and materials
- Spark plug service included when due, with full labor and materials
Prices shown are per month, as published for residential standby systems. Two visits a year is not automatically the larger plan — compare the inclusions rather than the visit count, because priority scheduling, monitoring and the member discount are listed on specific tiers. We confirm exactly what your plan covers for your equipment, and the terms that go with it, before you enroll. Nothing starts from a web page.
Which plan fits
Match the plan to the property, not the brochure
Armored is the tier we point most homes toward. These are the situations where something else makes more sense.
- Your generator is new and still under manufacturer warranty.
- Shield, annualIt documents the manufacturer-recommended annual inspection, which is the part warranty claims tend to hinge on.
- It is your main protection and you would rather not get a separate invoice every visit.
- Armored, annualOil, air filter, spark plugs and battery replacement at scheduled intervals are built in, so a routine visit rarely turns into a second invoice.
- Outages are frequent, the lot is dusty, or the unit carries heavy load whenever it runs.
- Shield or Armored, bi-annualTwo visits a year catches degradation between seasons instead of after it. Rural properties are the common case here.
- An outage costs you real money: a well, livestock, medical equipment, a business run from the house.
- Fortress, annualAdds monthly remote monitoring and a 24-hour response time goal, so a fault gets noticed before you find it the hard way.
- You want to think about this as little as humanly possible.
- Fortress, bi-annualTwo visits with labor and materials on the routine items included. The most hands-off option we publish.
Not sure which one describes you? Describe the property on the phone and we will tell you which tier we would put our own equipment on.
The Armored Promise
Every new generator installation includes your first full year of routine maintenance, free.
Coverage runs from the day we commission the system, so your first year of scheduled service is already handled before you ever look at a plan. It applies to new installations we perform — see standby generator installation.
We take on generators we did not install
There is a specific kind of call we get a lot: the company that installed the unit has moved, closed or simply stopped answering, and the machine has not been touched in three years. That is not a problem, it is most of our service book.
The first visit on an unfamiliar unit is a diagnostic rather than a plan visit. We check the controller history, the starting system, fluids and filters, fuel pressure, the transfer switch and the pad and enclosure, then tell you what condition it is genuinely in. If something needs repairing before a maintenance plan makes sense, we will say so instead of enrolling you and finding it later.
Bring us the brand and, if you can find it, the model and serial from the data plate inside the enclosure. Schedule a service visit and we will start there.
Coverage
Standby generator brands we service
- Generac
- Kohler / Rehlko
- Briggs & Stratton
- Cummins
- Champion
- Honeywell
We install Generac and Kohler systems and maintain the wider list above. If your brand is not here, call and describe the unit — parts availability, not badge loyalty, is usually what decides whether we can keep a machine going.
Plan questions
Before you enroll
How often does a standby generator actually need service?
At least once a year for a typical residential system in normal standby duty. If your property loses power often, or sits on a dusty rural lot with heavy weather exposure, two visits a year is the better call. During an extended outage the math changes again: a generator engine running continuously generally needs an oil and filter change every 50 to 100 hours of run time.
My generator runs a weekly exercise cycle. Is that not enough?
The exercise cycle proves the control board and starter motor still work. That is genuinely useful and it is not maintenance. It cannot tell you the oil has broken down, the starting battery has lost cold-cranking capacity, a rodent has chewed a sensor harness, or fuel pressure sags under load. Those are the failures that show up when the machine is finally asked to run for six hours.
Do the plans include parts?
Shield covers the labor, the diagnostics and the scheduling; consumable parts such as oil, filters and spark plugs are billed separately when they are due. Armored and Fortress build the routine service materials into the plan, so the scheduled oil, air filter and spark plug work is covered when it comes due. The exact coverage for your unit is confirmed before you enroll.
Will you service a generator you did not install?
Yes, and it is a large share of what we do. Installing contractors move, retire or stop answering, and the homeowner is left with a machine nobody maintains. The first visit on an unfamiliar unit is a full diagnostic so you get an honest picture of its condition before you commit to a recurring plan.
What brands do you service?
We service Generac, Kohler / Rehlko, Briggs & Stratton, Cummins, Champion, Honeywell standby systems. We install Generac and Kohler, and we are a Generac Authorized Sales and Service Dealer, dealer #1033043.
What happens if you find a problem during a maintenance visit?
The technician documents it, explains it in plain terms and gives you a written repair estimate before any additional work starts. Nothing beyond the plan scope gets done without your approval. Armored and Fortress members get their 5% discount applied to the repair parts and labor.
Do maintenance plans cover emergency repairs?
No. These are preventive plans, and repairs after a failure are quoted separately. What membership changes is the response: Armored and Fortress members get priority scheduling for service calls, plus 5% off repair parts, labor and approved upgrades.
Can I change plans later?
Yes. You can move between Shield, Armored and Fortress, or switch between the annual and bi-annual schedules, by calling the office. Households change — a new well pump, a home office, a family member on oxygen — and the plan should follow.
Related
Related services
- Generator maintenanceWhat a scheduled service visit covers, step by step.
- Generator repairFault codes, no-starts and units that shut down under load.
- Our processHow an installation runs, and where the first free year of service begins.
- Schedule serviceTell us the brand and what it is doing, and we will bring the right parts.
Two ways to start
Which one are you?
Need a generator
We start with what has to keep running at your property — the well, the AC, the freezer, the shop — and size the system around it. You get a written proposal with the equipment, the electrical work and the site prep all in one number.
Already own one
Repair, diagnostics and scheduled maintenance for Generac, Kohler and Briggs & Stratton systems — including units another company installed. Tell us the brand and what it is doing and we will bring the right parts.