During Hurricane Rita I got a 5600w portable generator. Now I also have a Generac 22KW and a propane tank, the propane supplier won't refill the tank unless it is at 20% or lower. All the houses where I live are Electric only, no gas service at all. Power failures are common, lasting from a few seconds to several hours. Almost every house in my suburb has a whole home generator. The generator automatically starts after about a minute. The longest power loss we had was about 10 days. During that period, I switched to the 5600w running the few "necessary" appliances for a few hours or longer to let the 22KW cool down & check the oil, which I usually had to top off. The propane company doesn't have vehicles available to refill all the tanks quickly, some customers waited a couple of days. Getting fuel for the 5600W was easier, and actually less expensive than propane.