There's no argument there, brickeyee. In context, the breaker on the OP's generator *IS* likely to trip before undervoltage or oddball waveforms damage MOST consumer electronics. Computer PSUs typically operate *PROPERLY* down to about 90V or so, and shut themselves off (protection circuit) below that. Devices with linear power supplies aren't going to give a darn about undervoltage - and the waveform issue is never going to be seen by the secondary side - the transformer won't be happy, but that usually just blows the input fuse. I AGREE that, if the problem is overcurrent, everything electronic is long gone before the breaker trips. Overcurrent through any one particular electronic device isn't the issue here, it's undervoltage before the generator's breaker trips. Overcurrent through one particular electronic device, I might suggest, probably means that said device is already fried anyway.

Um... This is a forum. I'm asking how to do it right, and the responses thus far are "I can't believe you'd do that". Nobody has done anything. Yet. Except I've asked questions, and from the pros, gotten very little useful information. So pls keep the snide comments to yourself, and if you have useful information on what TO do in such an emergency situation -- which most people are ill prepared to really handle -- and aren't just going to make ridiculous allegations about ones desire to kill linemen then feel free to help by sharing your knowledge. This is a real-world crisis situation that myself or anyone could face. i.e. power out for extended time. Reading about it and listening to the pros now might lead to me or someone knowing just a little bit more when and if that situation ever does come up... I've asked "does a breaker work in reverse". This is not to "do it anyways" like you are assuming, but to better understand the circuitry in a breaker. I like to understand things. I have breakers in my house, I want to know how they work, what their limitations are. I don't do things cuz someone said to, I do them cuz I've researched, understand the risks, and make decisions. It affects everything. I couldn't cook the other day w/o looking up why double-acting baking powder acts twice. I just wanted to know. It's not a cost issue. I've replaced entire service feeds to code. But doing it might take me a year cuz I'm on another project at the moment. It's not a quality issue. I've been told by inspectors that I do nicer work than most pros they inspect. But I do so by getting all the information first, which is what I'm trying to do here. Thus far we've learned from the pro's. "don't use a double plug cord". Yes I know they're dangerous. One could walk around w energized prongs sticking out of a cord and bump into someone or something (a car, machine, whatever) and instant zap. Well you know what? Driving a care is more dangerous than using such a cord. More ppl die in cars every day but the answer is not to not use them, it's to use them safely. How does one safely, practically, and necessarily in an emergency situation where transfer power from a generator to various parts of their house, possibly leveraging the existing wiring and given the urgency of the situation, knowing that installing a transfer switch is not feasible... "don't run a generator in the garage". Ok, fine that's where not to run it but it gives no real help as to where TO run it. Where would you run it? A) don't run it at all. B) in the basement. C) in the garage. D) wheel heavy grounded machinery into an active lightning storm outside. Pick the LEAST harmful. None of them are completely safe. And then even once the storm passes... if you have an extended outage, are you going to leave your generator on your porch overnight when the city has been out of power? That is a recipe for getting your generator stolen, cuz there will be thousands of other ppl w/o power who would see it there and steal it in an instant. So again. Where do you (seriously) run it? These are real questions ppl. -mike

A lot depends on how much you want to spend. To me, dealing with an outage means we maintain essentials, and not luxuries. That means we keep the gas furnace, water pump, freezer, and refrigerator running, and provide a little CF light in each main room. That's it. OK, it doesn't take that much to keep the computer modem and network up, and a laptop doesn't use much energy, so that too. Maybe a small television set. But that's it. I mean it. :) I don't expect to have all the comforts of home when the power is off. If we can comfortably read our books, take showers, and so on - that's enough for us. We can cook regardless, thanks to the gas stove (just light with a match), and the water heater is gas too. Enough power to run an electric space heater - no way would I pay for that kind of extra genset capacity. We have a gas furnace and a woodstove with backup-powered fan, what else do we really need? I say let the whiny family members whine. Running an electric heater is redundant anyway, if your backup power is a genset. You have an engine making waste heat. Why not just duct in the heat from its radiator if you want some extra? As for fuel, I've seen natural gas fueled gensets that sat for years nearly unmaintained, and started right up when they were needed. The downside is that in a really dire situation nat gas service may be interrupted. But if it's that bad, you're also going to have trouble getting more gasoline or Diesel fuel when you run low. And large capacity onsite liquid fuel storage is a hassle, for where to put it, and keeping it fresh and safe. If you absolutely have to store fuel onsite, at least LPG won't go stale or evaporate. You could also go all out and install a grid-intertie PV system with backup battery and (optionally) genset. Then you can (eventually) pay for your backup system through the reduction in your electric bill from the energy your PV generates year-round.

LOL. Getting back to fuel, I do wonder about diesel. Wonderful engines etc and probably the go-to for commercial power backup but I wonder about the fuel life in terms of standing....it does go off after time, and I suspect the standby maintenance is bigger - and maintenance is something many probably don't factor into costs. I wonder if you can get the special diesel that doesn't include the road tax and is cheaper? The gas equivalent here in Canada is called "purple gas" but don't know if there's a diesel equivalent. If it was legal to do so and you were committed to having the tank topped off regularly, or had two tanks, I suppose you could, theoretically, have a diesel vehicle and use the fuel from tank A) when it was getting old, keeping tank B) full, then swap and use up tank B) - I believe you can have such fuel tested too. Reading the Costco fliers I thought the Natural gas gensets sounded appealing - no dangerous fuel storage, no old fuel to get rid of, but then you are reliant on the outside gas supply. I suppose propane beats this, but how long does IT keep?