Hurricane Irene

One word folks. Generac. :-) My neighbors thought I was crazy when I installed a transfer switch and generator 10 years ago at a cost of around $3000. Now, almost every house has one. It doesn't solve everything but at least I can shower with hot water, keep food cold, and watch 150 channels on DirecTv. Here in New Hampshire it pays for itself quickly.

Dan_ed, What is the source for power? Diesel?

How do you keep fuel from going stale or is it natural gas powered?

Albert-

If Dan_ed doesn't mind, A Generac unit runs either on propane or natural gas, and the transfer switch senses load or lack thereof, and adjusts accordingly. I am looking at a 20Kwh unit myself.

That makes sense, there would not be the issue of stale gasoline or Diesel.

Natural gas would be great for generator, I've never seen gas shut off unless they were working on our hot water heater.

I don't suppose it would be cheaper to generate your own power with gas as opposed to buying from the utility.

I have a Generac 17k model and they are amazing. Fully automatic operation, kicks on within 15 seconds and waits a few minutes to monitor voltage srability before auto shut off. It has digital screen to monitor all functions and service issues, runs at your selected time 15min weekly to lube, charge battery and check for any potential issues. I have my entire home on it aswell as 220 line for my barn. I even had electric stove and dryer plus normal activity on it before with no hicup. If you have everything on you may see it brown down but I mean a big load. You can have an entire home normal power on with zero hassle.
Factor $5k for unit and install then enjoy, money very well spent!