Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
I'm not so sure about the "gas guzzling". Sure, small generators are fuel conserving, but generators only use fuel based on load. No load, little fuel consumption; full load ... well, if you sized it right, you probably need the capacity.
volumetric efficiency and all that... ideally one would be at 60-80% of max load with your typical gas engine. The "crude" ones run at 3600 RPM to make 60 cycle power so you have the drag of the fan and whatnot.
Kill-a-Watt meters are telling, particularly about duty cycles of refrigerators. My fridge does way more than turn on and off-- it has a sub-200 watt consumption mode that I'm not sure how it works.