I bought a portable (122-lbs) generator post-Omaha snow storm/power outage and pre-Y2K. I did the reasearch, and found the perfect generator for my needs at the time. It's a Generac (Sears label) 4200watt (4500W peak) 120/240VAC and 12VDC unit. What sold me on this generator over all the other brands and models at the time is it runs 11-hours at half load (8-hours full load) on 2.5-gal of gas. The other nice things this generator has is an idle down feature that conserves fuel when there's no load. It also has an oil filter, that spins on/off just like a car engine. The one and only down-side to this generator is it doesn't have the brushless motor like many of the more modern generators now have standard.

Since purchasing the generator, all my power outages have been short lived, mostly an hour here or hour there, with the longest being 5-hours. Honestly these brief outages don't warrant the hassle of getting the generator out of the shed, fueled, connected, etc. I have a wood burner stove, battery powered flash lights and radio's, and can handle a long period without electricity.

One thing no one has mentioned so far, that is fuel. Gasoline today has a limited shelf life due to all the additives and pollution reducing products added to it. The longest that todays gasoline will last, even with Stabile, or other similar products is about a year. I personnaly don't use any gasoline older then 6-months unless it's already in the fuel tank of something like my lawn mower.

One thing that you folks living in the big city need to be aware of, if you have a power outage during difficult times, and you're the only house on the block with lights on, and the sound of a generator running, you are now a target for those willing to take what you have. At a minimum, chain your generator to something so it doesn't get stolen.