{"id":"generator-diesel","version":"0.3.0","classification":{"uniformat":"D5090"},"names":["Generator, diesel standby"],"aliases":["genset","emergency generator","diesel generator","generator"],"service_life":{"median_years":25,"range_years":[25,25],"range_basis":"source_spread"},"pm_tasks":[{"task":"Visual inspection","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check coolant heater","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check coolant level","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check oil level","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check fuel level","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check charge-air piping","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check and clean air cleaner","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check battery charger","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Drain fuel filter","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Drain water from fuel tank","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check coolant concentration","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check drive belt tension","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Drain exhaust condensate","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check starting batteries","frequency":"P1M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Change oil and filter","frequency":"P6M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Change coolant filter","frequency":"P6M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Clean crankcase breather","frequency":"P6M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Check radiator hoses","frequency":"P6M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Change fuel filters","frequency":"P6M","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"},{"task":"Clean cooling systems","frequency":"P1Y","reference":"UFM 3-540-07 Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Generators","url":"https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/ufm_3_540_07_2026.pdf","page":42,"checklist":"Table 6-1 Typical Generator Maintenance Schedule"}],"basis":[{"type":"public_document","life_type":"planning","title":"CNA e-Tool Estimated Useful Life Table","by":"U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development","url":"https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/eul_for_cna_e_tool.pdf","page":15,"code":"HUD CNA 3.6.2.4","label":"Emergency/auxiliary generator","years":25,"note":"Same life for family and elderly properties. US multifamily housing. HUD's row does not name the fuel."},{"type":"public_document","life_type":"accounting","title":"General depreciation rates (IR265), July 2021","by":"Inland Revenue (Te Tari Taake), New Zealand","url":"https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/home/documents/forms-and-guides/ir200---ir299/ir265/ir265-2021.pdf","page":43,"code":"BDFO","label":"Generators (standby)","years":25,"note":"Printed page 43. Standby generators, fuel not stated. BDFO Building fit-out (when in books separately from building cost). Same life under POWR p.33. Printed DV 8%, SL 6%. Tax depreciation lives set by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue for New Zealand income tax, not engineering or asset-management lives; they are banded and often short (e.g. reticulation piping 25 years). The July 2021 edition was the newest PDF reachable; the online Depreciation Rate Finder may hold later determinations."}],"confidence":{"grade":"C","sample_size":null},"open_questions":["Every source here is a published planning, design or accounting life. None is observed replacement data."],"contributors":["unfinished.one editors"],"last_reviewed":"2026-10-22","canonical_url":"https://unfinished.one/c/generator-diesel","versioned_url":"https://unfinished.one/c/generator-diesel/v/0.3.0","licence":"CC-BY-4.0","citation":"unfinished.one (2026). Generator, diesel standby, v0.3.0. https://unfinished.one/c/generator-diesel/v/0.3.0"}