Real repair experience, not rewritten manuals.

I’m Keith, and I’ve spent my whole working life keeping machines running. I started GeneratorFixIt for one simple reason: most generator “repair” articles online are rewritten owner’s manuals, written by people who have never had a wrench in their hand. I wanted a site that tells you what actually fails, in plain language, from someone who has done the work.

Where the experience comes from

For 19 years I was a fuel and hydraulic systems technician on F-16 fighter jets in the U.S. Air Force. I made Technical Sergeant (E-6), deployed to active war zones, and served as a certified hazmat responder for hydrazine — the kind of fuel-and-pressure work where a mistake is not an option. After the military I spent years repairing commercial food-service equipment in supermarket delis, meat departments, and bakeries: ovens, slicers, compressors, and motors that have to run all day, every day.

Across 39 years the common thread never changed — engines, fuel systems, electrical, and mechanical fundamentals. A portable or standby generator is built on the exact same principles, which is why the diagnostic approach on this site is the same one I’ve trusted my whole career: rule out the cheap, common stuff first, then test before you replace.

How these guides are different

Every guide here is written by me and aimed at one thing: helping you fix it yourself safely — or at least walk into a repair shop knowing exactly what’s wrong so you don’t get oversold. I’ll tell you when a part is worth replacing, when it isn’t, and roughly what it should cost. GeneratorFixIt is operated by GeneratorFixIt out of Peoria, Arizona, and it’s independent — not affiliated with any generator manufacturer — so the advice answers to you, not a brand.