regarding generators...Being a hurricane katrina victim we were without power for about a week...during this entire week we ran 2 Wall unit a/c's, a television, a freezer, a refrigerator, a playstaion 2, a couple fans, and cell phone chargers. and i beleive its only like a 5 or 6 KW generator. We had absolutly no trouble with it and ran it 24/7. a full tank of fuel lasted about 8-10 hours. I believe it was about 700 hundred USD at a home depot.

hope this helps your decision someway.