Remember that inverters DO NOT create 60 cycle AC. They create an AC wave form much higher, in order to stay somewhat efficient. They are not efficient use of limited power. About 50% of the input power is generally available AC at the load. Inverters consume fairly high power from the battery to simply make the power available, ie. low load (small AC load) still consumes a lot of power.
Since they create something other than 60 cycle AC, many things cannot be powered by them, those that rely on the frequency of the AC.
I noticed that there are some pretty cheap AC generators at Harbor Freight (Chi Com but price right). (800 watt unit starting at $129 on their website.)
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=generator
Good link, thanks.
If you are serious about backing up your power for your your refrigerator and/or freezer - or anything which throws off appreciable sensible heat - you pretty much need to consider a gasoline generator.I looked at your link, and I gotta say I'm interested in picking up one of those puppies - and probably not the smallest one, either. Against the possibility of losing power in winter, and needing to run the oil burner/hot air fan.