Yeah, I know it's against code, but so is owning certain types of weapons..
I'm the only one who operates it, so it can never backfeed. I have clear typeset warning labels on the generator breaker that say "turn off main breaker before turning on this breaker" and another on the main that says "turn off generator breaker before turning on this breaker" as reminders.
I don't have to worry about resale.. the house has been a major eyesore for decades and new neighbors that moved in the the 1980s complained about it. We never got a C of O, we just moved in after the tax foreclosure (sewer assessment) on our Bethel house forced us into an apartment, until we got evicted for falling too far behind on the rent. So we moved in here with no well, septic or central heating and had one extention cord from a temp power hookup/meter box outside. Slowly we got the well put in and I finished the plumbing and got the septic fields dug and the perf pipes put in with crushed stone, all by hand. Took me 3 years to get the well and septic functioning, despite the town sanitarian threatening to arrest me if I hooked it up--but I did it anyway. The electric power feed never got finalized.. due to lack of money. Last January, a neighbor had a fire and the fire inspector from the adjoining town noticed my 'unsafe' electric service temporary feed that was falling off a rotten tree and called the power company. That was a month of hell.. still couldn't find anyone willing to do the work cheap. $7400 was the best estimate. After a few months, the electric company gave up. Couldn't get a building permit to do the work due to.. back taxes unpaid. Having a building inspector on the property would be very dangerous anyway, due to the smorgasbord of code violations of a makeshift self-built house. But it's a moot point, so I'm working on bringing the rest of the house to completion and code-compliant. I figure another 8-10 years, if I live that long, to finish the major work. Then I can revisit the electric service. All I can do is shore it up so it doesn't cause a short.
Generator transfer switches that work for the whole house cost 6X as much as the generator. Outrageously expensive. If they were more reasonably priced, more people would use them. I certainly would--but not at four grand.
With the coming collapse of the country's socio-economic system, I have to come up with some means of providing electricity to the house for at least six months, or preferably a year. Solar is out--too many trees and too expensive for too little power. A diesel genny makes sense. Fuel obtainance is a possible issue in times of upheaval, so diesel that can run off my 2000 gallon oil tank that I use for heating may get us through.
While smaller weather-related outages are a frequent problem up here, my real concern is what to do when there's no power for six or more months and no way to obtain fuel.
My wife's liquidating her 401K in January to make up for the increased medical premiums for her health insurance. I told her to invest that chunk in gold. When TSHTF, gold is about the only thing, besides bartering essential items, that will buy stuff. Studying Ferfal's blog on survival in Argentina, post collapse, has been enlightening. Having a generator is essential, as part of securing your premises is having lighting to see intruders.
Aurora makes good gennies that are inexpensive, relatively..
http://www.auroragenerators.com/products/standby-home-generators/20-kva-standby-generator-quiet
The above model would be a minimal level. Noise is a concern, as you don't want the neighbors and passers-by to know you've got one, else someone will try to steal it.
