What size generator

[SHOOTALL]

I use a 5500 watt gen to run a freezer , water pump , ref, a few lights and a eye on the stove. In some cases a water heater. I have a welder (gas) and often use it for the hot water and sometimes the pump. We limit lights on , only heat water when on the 5500 gen at night . The freezer and ref stay on . We limit cooking also and make sure pump is off while cooking.
 We find a 5 gal tank full will last almost 8 hrs depending on use . If you do get a gen. Make sure youknow starting amps and run amps along with other consumption . Make a chart and avoid over loads . When only using heating elements or lights you may find the gen will hunt ( rev up and down ) plug a drill in and lock it to runon low speed and it will regulate the gen. I have seen this on older sets.
 I looked into PTO sets and my neighbor got one , he ran his heat pumps on it along with other stuff. He had to do something to regulate it also but no big deal.
 The longest we have lived off the 5500 is 13 days , it was not the best of times but was better than nothing and for the money spent on the gen. cost effective. BTW it was before the new TV's so we watched a battry tv run off my jumper box. Our TV was not so good on the gen.

[Drilling Man]

  The only adjustment on my pto genset is the rpm's of the tractor.  You put the pto in gear, and increase the rpm's to put the voltage guage where it needs to be....that's it.

  When i have it hooked to my house, you can use everything in the house just like you always would.  In fact if you didn't hear the faint noise of the tractor, you would never know you was on a generator.  The tractor govenor takes care of the extra loads as things start up or stop.  The tractor just sits there humming along at 1,950 rpms.

  When my mother was alive, she was on oxygen and we had a wind storm that knocked out the power for a week.  I ran a generator for that week, that's the longest i've ever ran one.

  I don't use a lot of electricity, but if i want to, i can.

  DM

[SHOOTALL]

He set the RPM's but had a box hooked up to keep things from fluctuating . I have seen large chicken operations hooked up like you do. Maybe it the brand equipment that requires the box/regulator.

[jager]

  Up until a year ago, the only generator I had was a 1800 Watt Coleman I bought from Northern. During many of our storm season power outages (ice, and tornado) it kept a freezer and a few lights going for several days. While I would have preferred  a Honda 2000, it was a bit too expensive when I made my purchase (looking back on it, I would have spent the extra money).
  The benefit of the smaller generator (as has been mentioned elsewhere) is that it burns little fuel and is lightweight enough to transport for other chores (camping, running saws, work sites, etc.)  Last year I found a need for a bigger generator with a 220 volt outlet to power a deep water well pump. After talking to several electricians, I settled on a 6000 Watt (7000 surge) generator that was designed to run on LPG (longer fuel storage and another source for operations in a SHTF scenario).  Although not a particularly quiet unit, I can insulate some of the noise with wood shielding. I had the house wired with a transfer switch to run most of my utilities, and some of the more specific "big" electrical users by selectively turning off other switches. I did not buy an expensive electrical transfer box, but had an electrician friend route my existing box to an outside plug connected to a "transfer" switch. I labeled all the household equipment he said it would operate safely (I am barely electrically literate and take every precaution not to get shocked! ).
    Realizing that during a total "grid down" situation, fuel of any kind will be in short supply or impossible to replenish, I constructed a "solar" generator that should have enough juice to run a small "apartment" size refrigerator, some lights, and a few small (selected) hand tools. I certainly don't have every possible situation covered, but I won't be living in the dark. (I do like the idea of a diesel generator; for they are more fuel efficient and offer more power options.)

[Bugflipper]

For long term sustainability 4-strokes can be converted to a gasifier systems. Wood is burnt in a container, piped to the intake and reburned through the engine. It works on small and large engines. This was very popular in Germany after WWII when times were hard economically.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN5GEBbaf7Y&feature=related

[dpe.ahoy]

Now, that I'm very interested in, got plenty of wood to burn, just have to get it in the right size.  The wood pellets would be cheaper than gas as well.  Need to find out more about this.  DP

[Rex in OTZ]

you coud go one of two ways either way just get set up for it, get the trasnsfer switch and cord a gen set and 20 hp+ tractor with a PTO (power take off)
My folks had one for years... still have that old winco and a Farmall H to run it.
 
 
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/442/442-067/442-067.html  gen use graph (Pto gen's)
http://www.swdistributing.com/red/winpower.html
http://www.ampsrs.com/ptogen.htm
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?p=1851352 Forum discussion of gen selection.
 
http://youtu.be/kXX2GBHoeuo this is a Indian mfg Lister engine midified to burn wood gas (smoke)
 
http://youtu.be/JPSWapPIwDw the syn gas (wood gas to some) generator
 
 http://gekgasifier.com/        one the woodgas sites

[charles p]

Since Hurricane Irene last month, the island(s) I live on have been without power until about a week ago.  FEMA or the military brought in several very large generators to supply our power to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.  A lot of people evacuated and couldn't return, so power needs were lower than normal.  With no temp bridge ove our new inlet, we still don't have any tourist.
My personal generator is a 11.8 Kw Honda two cylinder that runs on gasoline (which I must store and keep fresh during hurricane season)
The government generators were running a little over 60 cycles per second, because everyone'c clocks gained at least 10 minutes per day.
In the south, it is good to have enough power to run some of your AC.  It is hot and muggy after a hurricane.
 
 

[Bugflipper]

Now, that I'm very interested in, got plenty of wood to burn, just have to get it in the right size.  The wood pellets would be cheaper than gas as well.  Need to find out more about this.  DP

The smaller the media, the less heat needed underneath. Sawdust could be used with very little flame. It's usually pretty cheap by the truck load from the mill. When I was little we would just pick up limbs out in the woods and split them into firestick size pieces. Now I just have the county drop off their free mulch every now and then.