> > Dear Ken: > That is very kind of you. I would really appreciate the info. > Thanks: Bill I hope those three discussion strings I sent you in those three e-mails help you decide what type of gen set to get. Here are some more hints: cheapo ($500) one cylinder gasoline generators can run about 100 hours before they need a tune-up or rebuild. These always run at 3,600 RPM are noisy and chug themselves to death. Serious generators run at 1,600 RPM are usually multiple cylinders and run on diesel, propane, or natural gas and will run for 1,000s of hours before rebuilding. Gasoline is dangerous, toxic, and explosive. It doesn't store all that well, you'ld need to store it in a cool place with stabilizers. It has been said that you can re-add the stabilizer every year or two to keep the gas from breaking down. Diesel is not flamable. If you have a bowl of diesel fuel you can extinguish a match in it. It still needs stabilizers but can last longer. It also needs to be kept water free and have anti-fungals put into it. It is said that you can run most diesels on kerosene in a pinch, long term effects? - I can't guess. Best storage fuel is propane, will last forever, starts engines easily in winter, safe, cheap. etc. Natural gas - wonderful IF the pipeline keeps working......... :( There are multiple fuel engines that can run on nat.gas, propane, and gasoline. You have to swap out the carburators of course. Please note that reliable generators aren't cheap. My best friend just bought a 15kW propane Winco set (like my brother in-law's) for around $6,500, beautiful unit comes complete with auto start, transfer switch, maintance run, etc. It is 4 cylinder and runs at 3,600 RPM in a highly sound dampened cabinet (weighs 1,000#) and we mounted it on a trailer. I don't know what your financial resources are, or if you live rural, are going to relocate, are going to bug-out to a friend's place, own a retreat location or whatever, or even what part of the country you live in. Hint: solar and certain parts of Oregon = no-way. If you are straped for cash, here is a poor man's system, one automobile + stored gasoline + plus big (or small) bank of slow discharge type batteries + lots of heavy cables + a good inverter = run car to charge battery bank about 15 minutes each day at idle. Might want to alter the pulley size on the car's alternator/generator to get full output while idling the engine,being darn careful not to rev the engine and overspeed the generator! Check with the alternator manufacturer for what speed is needed for full output. If you vehicle has a generator rather than a rectified alternator, you most definately need higher shaft speed, this is why car marker changed to alternators since generators don't put out much at lower speed. You can do this at different levels. You can get cheapo inverters for $40 and could run it right off the car battery for emergency lighting or radios, not the best but for $40.... If you plan to run refrigerators or sump pumps you need to go heavier duty. Additional notes: On the poorman's. An automobile should be run once every week preferably or at minimum once per month. Otherwise many of the engine bearing seals will fail and you'll have an expensive oil sieve. When running an engine, it might take just a short time to flex and lubricate the seals, but running the engine for just a short time is bad for it due to condensation of combustion by-products. This is why short trips are harder on a car than long trips. You should get the engine up to operating temerature every time you turn it on. Therefore, if you have three cars at your survival retreat, running one each week to charge batteries will keep you in power and maintain the engines. If you place cardboard in front of the radiator or remove the fan to bring up engine temperature faster you'll have to monitor the engine temperature manually, not recommended with a car that does not have a temperature guage. I would think that most cars would heat up in 15 minutes of running. All precautions to muffle sound apply.