I’d buy what the pros buy.
Sorry to the Generac, Honda, Cat folks...
The largest hospitals in Houston during a Hurricane, used Kohler, the Police, Fire, 911, EMS, Buildings large and small all around Houston during Hurricane IKE used Kohler.
Just my 2 cents. If you want pro level durable solutions, get what they get. And PAY for the maintenance agreement under contract. When everyone in town needed repairs only the folks that had a contract got serviced first. Everyone else went to the back of the list and it was a long list in during the aftermath of a hurricane.
Diesel is probably the best solution, unless you have a gas feed that is reliable.
AND FOLLOW the operation instructions. If it says REST IT after 8 hours you better do it! Those that didn’t during the hurricane paid a price for not following the instructions. Get it professionally installed.
Hard lessons from a place where city wide in many places we were without power for 2 weeks here.
Last week sat in a meeting with the director of emercency planning and response for Harris County gong over info for the upcoming hurricane season.
Hunker Down! Turn around, don’t drown! lol
Any generator beats no generator, but your point on service contact holders getting first priority on service is a great point.
All purchased from the cheapest not necessarily best bidder.