Just need to vent...

Our Honda portable generators (1000w & 2000W) weigh a ton and we have to carry them from a small tool shed down a steep dirt slope about 30 yards to the house. They are well taken care of, but the first start of the season (pulling on the starter cords) is worse than starting my old Stihl chainsaw. We only drag them out if it is approaching a day without power. Around here, we often lose power for a week or more, once or twice each winter.

 

we have a 12kw kohler automatic, about 8 years old now. replaced a 12 year old onan that the mother board died on.
that had replaced a umongous diesel that came with the house

 

I cetainly don't miss that PNW ritual -- buying a generator big enough to heat and power your home, because you can't cut down trees until they're already causing problems -- which take days to fix. And windstorms every winter make it near-guaranteed that if you don't, you'll be sleeping w/ an indoor temp of 42F (like I did in 2008). No such issues now