[Freespirit]

Looking for some guidance please on makes of fairly quiet generators operated using fuel, we are buying a smallholding and should the electrics fail we would need to keep going house lights , fridges , freezers and cooker.

All advise really appreciated.

Thanks
Jacqui

[paddy1200]

Without doubt the Honda 'suitcase' style generator is the best on the market. They are expensive though.
Running most things you mention would not take a lot of power but the cooker will have a high drain and you will be looking at 3KW or more. The higher the output the higher the cost.
I would suggest getting a small gas cooker that will run off a cylinder. Also some appliances do not like the 'Dirty' power of the cheaper genny's you may need to get one that has pure sine wave output. Without the cooker i would suggest 1.5KW would be enough.

[chrismahon]

Bottle gas hobs are absolutely essential in the Dordogne with so many long power cuts. We are all electric here though and have two Honda EU2.0's, which we can couple up together with a special synchronising kit. This gives us 3.6 KW, enough for  everything. We can lift EU2.0's but could never lift a 3.6 Kw unit. Something quiet is important if you have no background noise. Freezers are the problem for us. A camping stove will suffice for occasional cooking though.