The small couple of KW generators you get or a few hundred dollars are not made to be run for days at a time. Not only do they need an oil change every 12 hours or so they also need a full servicing about every 24 or 36 hours. I know... I learned this the hard way by burning out a small gas (and then a diesel that replaced it) generator running it continuously for a few days a few times.
You really can't leave gas in a tank for a long time for intermittent use... it will go bad. Diesel can be let sitting in a tank for a really long time without going bad but it is really smelly and messy to use. Once you fill up a diesel generator it will take at least two showers get rid of the smell.
Unless there is something that prevents it for a whole house generator you want natural gas or propane. Whole house generators usually self test themselves automatically... Generacs do this, which is what we finally got once I got tired of having to pull out the generator and keep it running every time we has a "weather event".
Btw never run a generator inside, only outside....
The is no more pleasurable task than going outside and filling a diesel generator in a raging blizzard every 8 or 10 hours for 5 days. That was the "weather event" that pushed me over the edge and get a "real" whole house generator.
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