Generator service built for facilities that cannot lose power.
Preventive maintenance, testing, and repair for standby generators across Illinois and the Midwest. NFPA 70E certified technicians, and the person who answers the phone is the one who shows up with the tools.
- Cummins
- Onan
- Caterpillar (Cat)
- MTU
- Kohler
- Generac
- Baldor
- Briggs & Stratton
- Aggreko
- and more
Founded by the technicians who do the work.
Hedgehog Power Systems was founded by working generator technicians. The people who answer the phone are the same specialty techs who show up with the tools, with years of hands-on field experience behind them.
We keep Cummins, Onan, Caterpillar, MTU, Kohler, Generac, Baldor, Briggs & Stratton, and Aggreko units running for commercial, industrial, and residential clients across the Midwest. The work covers the whole power system: breaker testing, parallel systems inspection, fuel tank cleaning, control panel and ATS upgrades, and coolant service.
A written report follows each visit, with recommendations for the next one, so you know the condition of your generator before the next outage tests it for you.
- NFPA 70E Trained and certified technicians
- 9+ Generator brands serviced
- 8 Midwest states covered
- 1 day Business-day response to service requests, sooner for emergencies
Where backup power is a life-safety system.
Each facility type answers to its own code. The testing schedule, the records, and the people who review them are different in a hospital than in a data center.
Hospitals & Healthcare
Joint Commission surveys, NFPA 99 Type 1 systems, and records that hold up under review.
02Data Centers & Critical Facilities
Paralleled systems, planned work windows, and technicians who respect the load.
03Life Care & Senior Living
CMS and state survey readiness for facilities that run on a fixed budget.
04Public Health Facilities
Standby power for clinics, labs, and public health operations that cannot pause.
Your generator is only compliant if the paperwork says so.
NFPA 110 sets the testing schedule for emergency and standby power systems and requires a permanent written record. We build the plan around the schedule and hand you the record.
| Frequency | Requirement | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Inspect the emergency power supply system and the starting batteries. | NFPA 110, 8.3.1 and 8.4.1 |
| Monthly | Exercise diesel generator sets for at least 30 continuous minutes at 30% or more of nameplate kW rating, or at the manufacturer’s recommended minimum exhaust gas temperature. Tests include a complete cold start. | NFPA 110, 8.4.2 |
| Monthly | Operate each automatic transfer switch electrically from the normal to the emergency position and back. | NFPA 110, 8.4.6 |
| Annually | Test stored fuel quality to the applicable ASTM standard. Stored diesel degrades; the test tells you whether it will burn cleanly when the unit is called on. | NFPA 110, 8.3.7 |
| Annually Level 1 | Exercise Level 1 main and feed circuit breakers between the generator and the transfer switch load terminals, with the generator in the off position. | NFPA 110, 8.4.7 |
| Every 36 months Level 1 | Run Level 1 systems continuously for the duration of the assigned Class or 4 continuous hours, whichever is less, at not less than 30% of nameplate kW for diesel units. The 36-month test can be combined with the monthly and annual tests as a single event. | NFPA 110, 8.4.9 |
Requirements differ between editions of NFPA 110, and the edition that applies is the one adopted by your local authority having jurisdiction. Confirm the adopted edition with your AHJ, accreditor, or insurer before relying on any schedule.
The report is the deliverable.
A visit that is not written down did not happen, as far as an inspector is concerned. A written report closes out each Hedgehog Power Systems service call.
Each report captures what NFPA 110 requires a permanent record to show:
- Date of the inspection, test, or repair
- Name or identification of the servicing technician
- Any unsatisfactory condition found and the corrective action taken
- Parts replaced
- Results of any testing performed after a repair
- Engine hours, transfer times, per-phase voltage and amperage, frequency, pressures, and temperatures for exercise runs
Eight service lines. One accountable team.
From the breaker panel to the engine block, each service is a dedicated line of work with its own scope, its own checklist, and its own report.
Breaker & Electrical System Testing
Trip time, insulation, and fault-handling verification on your switchgear and breakers.
Parallel Systems Maintenance, Diagnostics & Upgrades
Keeping multi-generator paralleling systems synchronized and load-sharing correctly.
Fuel System Maintenance & Fuel Tank Cleaning
Removing water, sludge, and sediment before they clog filters or stall an outage response.
Control Panel & ATS Modernization
Upgrading aging control panels and automatic transfer switches to current standards.
Coolant System Maintenance
Tiered coolant service to stop corrosion, overheating, and freeze damage before they start.
Engine Maintenance & Rebuild
Preventive engine service through full teardown and rebuild for major brands.
Full Diagnostic Inspections & General Repair
A complete system inspection that catches the small failure before it becomes an outage.
Emergency & Outage Service
A generator down during an outage is an emergency. We treat it like one.
What a facility manager needs to know before handing over the keys.
Backup power is a life-safety system in most of the buildings we serve. These are the standards we hold ourselves to on every one of them.
- 01
NFPA 70E trained and certified
Every technician works to the electrical safe-work standard, on your switchgear and around your live equipment.
- 02
Critical-facility experience
Data centers, hospitals, life care facilities, and public health customers, where a generator that fails to start is not an option.
- 03
Minimal downtime guarantee
Service is planned around your operations so the work gets done without taking your power protection offline longer than it has to.
- 04
Fully licensed and insured
Licensed and insured for commercial, industrial, and residential generator work across the Midwest.
- 05
Certified in major brands
Cummins, Onan, Caterpillar (Cat), MTU, Kohler, Generac, Baldor, Briggs & Stratton, Aggreko, and more, across diesel, natural gas, and propane units.
- 06
100% satisfaction commitment
A written report after every visit and a technician who answers the phone when you call back.
Three steps, no surprises.
The same process on a residential standby unit and a hospital's paralleled system. The scope changes. The discipline does not.
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Consultation and assessment
A detailed review of your generator system: on-site inspection, performance history, and a conversation about what the site actually needs. That becomes a tailored service plan.
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Testing and maintenance
Certified technicians perform the diagnostics, testing, maintenance, upgrades, and repairs to manufacturer guidelines and industry standards.
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Verification and ongoing support
A testing plan for your site, a full written report, and recommendations for preventive care. You are back online with confidence and we stay reachable for follow-up.
Straight answers on generator service.
What clients across Illinois and the surrounding states ask most. For anything specific to your unit, call (708) 292-6300.
How often does NFPA 110 require a generator to be tested?
NFPA 110 calls for a weekly inspection, a monthly exercise run of at least 30 continuous minutes at 30% or more of nameplate kW (or the manufacturer’s minimum exhaust gas temperature), monthly operation of each transfer switch, annual fuel quality testing, and, for Level 1 systems, a 4-hour run at least once every 36 months. The edition that applies is the one adopted by your local authority having jurisdiction, so confirm it with your AHJ.
How often should my generator be serviced?
Generators typically need full service annually or every 200 to 500 hours of operation, whichever comes first. We also recommend weekly visual checks and monthly exercise runs. A tailored plan can include breaker testing, fuel tank cleaning, and engine maintenance to prevent issues before they start.
Why did my generator fail during a power outage?
The most common cause we find is a dead or weak starting battery, which is why batteries get tested monthly and replaced on a schedule. After that: contaminated fuel that clogs filters, a transfer switch that did not transfer, and coolant or block heater problems that keep a cold engine from starting. A generator that only runs under light load can also wet stack, leaving unburned fuel in the exhaust that chokes the engine when real load arrives.
What does a typical generator maintenance visit include?
A standard visit covers fluid checks (oil, coolant, fuel), filter inspections and replacements, battery testing, visual inspection for leaks or wear, control panel inspection, and system performance verification. Every visit ends with a written record of what was found and what was done.
What records does an inspector expect to see for a standby generator?
NFPA 110 requires a written maintenance and testing schedule plus a permanent record kept on site and available to the authority having jurisdiction. Each entry should show the date, the technician, any unsatisfactory condition and the corrective action taken, parts replaced, and the results of testing after a repair. For exercise runs, the record should also capture engine hours, transfer times, voltage and amperage by phase, frequency, pressures, and temperatures. Hedgehog Power Systems delivers a written report after every visit that covers these fields.
Power that stays on.
Preventive maintenance, testing, and repair for standby generators across Illinois and the Midwest. One call reaches a technician, not a call center.