[martin_fierro]

Do tell.

[martin_fierro]

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[WOBBLY BOB]

Honda makes nice ones.expensive, but nice.

quiet ,too.

[Paladin2]

I'd hold out for a Diesel. (It's safer/easier to store fuel).

Currently I use a sine wave inverter (large enough to run the furnace and refridgerator) and a bank of old car batteries with a couple of (Diesel) cars available to idle/recharge the bank.

[isthisnickcool]

If you have natural gas get a generac. If you don’t have gas and can put in a propane tank consider that.

[Huck]

I say don't go half assed. Get the generator linked to your main box, and get a generator sufficiently powerful to run your house--appliances, hot water, etc.

Check with your electric company. They should have info on it. You'll need to calculate how much start up power/running power is needed to run what you want to run---e.g., hot water, fridge, appliances, lights, etc.

Ours in a Honeywell and cost under 2K.

[Lazlo in PA]

A gas powered generator? Not in the Era of Obummer. Get with the times man. This is the only way to fly...

[Keith in Iowa]

If you intend to power electronics, you’ll need one that puts out a decent 60 hertz sine wave. Honda’s line is good in that regard. If you’re going for a semi-permanet install, you’ll want an isolation switch to take your house off the grid and on your generator. If you want to go big... Generac & Kohler are a couple brands to look at.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Kohler And you can get them to match your bathroom fixtures.

[deweyfrank]

Ping

[rockinqsranch]

bflr I need one too.

[PeteB570]

5 Kw should be about right for you.

I got one the last time power was knocked out for a couple of days and have it out in the shed. Take it out in the Fall and Sping and run a half cup of gas through it and then put it back.

It will run the Frig, intertainment center, my work station and either a window A/C or oil floor heater depending on season. Required drop cords are stored with the generator.

Our worry is hurricanes or ice storms. I have a few 5 gal gas cans I fill up plus the 27 gal truck tank when things look bad. If nothing happens the extra gas just gets put in the cars. Things get really bad and I can siphon gas out of the truck.

[humblegunner]

Honda makes some nice ones that are very quiet.

Noise might not be an issue for you, but if it is.. check out some of the nicer Hondas.

[isthisnickcool]

Craigslist in your area has numerous generators for sale. One is the one I have. It is water cooled and the things are indestructible. After IKE here in Texas we ran on one for over a week without a hitch. The new Kolers are good too. You can even do SMS with some of them and get notified when the thing starts. They also have a web interface for monitoring.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/tls/2720219280.html

[stuartcr]

Required ouput is the most important, then fuel type and efficiency.

[justlurking]

Is it relatively easy to wire into a standard home electrical system?

No. You'll need a qualified electrician.

If you want to hook it up to your home electrical system, the utility will require you to install an automatic or manual transfer switch. This prevents the generator from energizing the utility main and possibly electrocuting a repairman working on a downed power line.

[Gaffer]

I have one that is load-sensing...it idles mostly but when load draw is high, it cranks up the speed to handle the output....I like it...seems to use less gas...

[truthguy]

Santa Cruz (city & county) is a lunatic asylum. It's filled to the brim with some of the most foolish people you can ever want to imagine. If not for the fact Innocent people would suffer, I'd like to see more blackouts, brownouts, and other power outages in Santa Cruz. It would serve those people right. But part of me wants to see these idiots suffer.

However to be fair, the latest outages are probably the result of the very high winds that were in the Northern California area(and much of the West) over the last few days.

[Calvin Locke]

FWIW, I’ve read that a typical portable home generator (probably low-end “consumer” model) only has an operating lifespan of about 500 hours.

[BitWielder1]

Get one that's quiet.
Make sure it's outdoors when you run it.
If you store it indoors, get one that's not too big to move yourself. You can put wheels on it.
To connect it legally you need an electrician.
You want a toggle switch so that you CAN NOT have the generator and public supply connected at the same time.
Failure to do so could electrocute line workers trying to fix your power out.
There are kits to switch over circuits one by one but I prefer the whole house switch.
They will tell you that you need a huge generator for a whole house, but that's not so.
Just don't turn on everything at once when on backup power.
Electric stove and electric dryer are things to be careful about.

Consider a professionally installed automatic generator that runs on propane.
It's expensive but worth every penny.

[taxcontrol]

Feature considerations in a generator to back up the house in an emergancy.

#1 power output characteristics. meaning, number of plugs, Amps, voltage, etc

#2 feature - fuel type (you have already said gasoline), multifuel possibilities (alcohol possible?)

#3 run time from a full tank and can you fill while running

#4 size and tranportability

#5 Noise level

#6 ease of start

#7 maintenance - drain and replace oil, drain the fuel, spark plug replacement, fuel filter,

#8 Heat generation and exhaust - most are air cooled and need to be placed outside. Can you place in the garage and vent the exhaust?

#9 Warranty