The Problem: Older Kit Has Nobody To Ring
An estate in a remote part of north Scotland relies on a classic Lister generator, fitted with its original Startomatic auto-start system, as its backup power.
Buy a new generator today and you get a warranty, a support line and a parts catalogue. A set of this age has none of that. There is no manufacturer to escalate to, no next-day parts order, and no diagnostic laptop that plugs in and tells you what is wrong.
That leaves owners of older equipment in an awkward position. Plenty of contractors won't touch it — not because it's beyond help, but because it doesn't fit the way modern servicing work is usually done. So the set gets left alone until it fails, and by then the estate is in a power cut, in the dark, a long way from anywhere, discovering the problem at the worst possible moment.
The real risk with a backup generator is silence. It spends almost all of its life not running, which is exactly why faults go unnoticed. Nothing tells you it has stopped being reliable until the day you need it.
The Approach: Work With The Set, Not Against It
We carry out an annual service and full checkover of the generator. The starting point is respecting what it is: a set with genuine character and a design that has already proved itself over decades, not a problem to be modernised into something else.
Working with the age of a set rather than against it changes how you approach it. Older Listers were built to be maintained by hand — mechanical systems that can be inspected, adjusted and put right, rather than sealed modules that get swapped out. Handled properly, that's an advantage, not a limitation.
What the annual service covers
- The engine — condition, wear, fluids and running behaviour, assessed against what this set should look like rather than a generic checklist
- The Startomatic starting system — the part that has to work first when it matters, checked specifically rather than assumed
- Overall condition of the set and its installation, looking for what's changing rather than only what's already broken
- Catching developing faults early, while they're still small and while the mains is still on
The Startomatic system deserves particular mention. It's Lister's original automatic start arrangement — the set senses demand and starts itself, with nobody present. It's a genuinely clever piece of mechanical and electrical design, and on a backup generator it's the single most critical part. A generator that could run but won't start is no more useful than one that doesn't run at all.
The Standard Doesn't Change With The Age Of The Set
This is the same care and attention we'd give a brand-new installation, applied to a generator that has already earned its reputation. Age isn't a reason to lower the standard — if anything, it's a reason to look harder, because there's no support line to fall back on and the knowledge has to sit with whoever is servicing it.
The Outcome
The estate has genuine confidence that when they need backup power, this generator will be there and ready. It's kept in proper working order year after year, on a maintenance schedule rather than a wait-and-see basis.
That's the whole point of a backup supply. It isn't an asset while it's sitting still — it's an asset on the one day a year it has to work. Servicing is what converts a generator you own into power you can actually count on.
We service what we didn't install. Including older equipment, including sets other contractors have turned down, and including kit with no manufacturer support behind it. If you've got a generator nobody wants to look at, that's usually a job we're interested in.
Common questions
Will you service a generator you didn't install?
Yes. A large part of our servicing work is on sets installed by someone else, sometimes decades ago. We assess what's actually in front of us rather than working from an assumption about how it should have been done — and we're happy to take on generators that other contractors have turned down because of their age.
Can old generators like Listers still be maintained?
Yes, and often better than newer sets. Older Listers were built to be maintained by hand, with mechanical systems that can be inspected, adjusted and repaired rather than swapped as sealed modules. What they need is someone who understands how they work, because there's no manufacturer support line and parts aren't simply ordered from a catalogue.
What is a Startomatic system?
Startomatic is Lister's original automatic start arrangement: the set senses a demand for power and starts itself, without anyone needing to be present. It's a genuinely clever mechanical and electrical design, and on a backup generator it's the part that has to work first when it matters — so it gets specific attention at every service.
How often should a backup generator be serviced?
Annually as a baseline, with regular running between services. A backup generator spends most of its life not running, which is precisely why faults go unnoticed. An annual service and checkover finds the problems while they're still cheap and while the mains is still on — rather than during the power cut you bought the generator for.