Hello all,

I'm thinking about a portable generator for household use. It is primarily intended to be my power outage/disaster power source and might see occasional duty on the road when we go somewhere we need standalone power. I don't have any plans or illusions about a transfer switch and powering my entire house. I just want something to be able to power up the refrigerator to keep food from spoiling, some lights, fans, and other small appliances. (I don't plan on running the refrigerator constantly. I would probably fire it up for about an hour here and there to keep it cool.) I am looking at something at least 1000W and around $400 or less. I know Honda generators are considered the best but they are priced accordingly and are out of my price range. There are many brands that I am unfamiliar with, such as Generac, ETQ, All Power America, and many others. I also need one that is CARB compliant since I am in California.

There are a bunch that meet my requirements but as usual, come here to see what the real poop is.

Any input appreciated.

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