>>117064> You should look into those stationary generators. They're pretty expensive though.Yes, a friend has one and they're cool and foolproof but as you point out, very expensive.
I'm a single guy with no kids, so my needs are pretty minimal; periodically run the furnace
and refrigerator to heat the house and keep the food from spoiling and provide enough
electricity to use my computer and watch tv until the power is restored.
My philosophy is I don't need to power my entire house in the event of a power outage,
(which a large stationary natural gas generator will do) my Ryobi 2000w peak "suitcase"
type generator with a power transfer switch will be sufficient for all my needs, using the
breaker box in the basement to switch on whatever room I happen to be using at the
moment.
NOTE: for those of you looking to get a generator, either for emergency preparation and/or
camping use; the conventional generators one usually sees, use a generating head to make
electricity and this creates a modified or "dirty" sine wave electrical current.
These will work fine for a furnace, refrigerator, power tools, etc. but WILL NOT work with
sensitive electronics like computers, flat-screen tvs, cell phones, etc. which may become
permanently damaged.
What you want is an _alternator type generator_, which produces a pure or "clean" sine wave
electrical current compatible with the sensitive electronic gadgets used nowadays.
