We live off grid, new house with new appliances and fairly sensitive electronics. We started with a Honda EB3000 running 4-8 hours per day depending on season & amount of daylight. After many-many thousands of hours [with proper maintainance, the genny needed servicing. We were without a generator for all of six hours, we bought a Champion 4000 from tractor supply for $299. In the first six hours of running we figured out running that Champion produced different power than the Honda. Our 1 year old front-load washing machine was fried, two PC's lost their power-supplies, and our 32" LCD flat-screen was TOAST! So, we borrowed another brand 5000 watt to run what was left, pump-lights-etc...
We have since bought the Honda EU3000 (and replaced most of the electronics thanks to add-on service plans and warranties), now using the old EB3000 for a spare/back-up. Turns out the frequency was WAY OFF (supposed to be 60 cycles) on the cheaper genny's from 40 to 90 cps.
If you wish to run the newer appliances and electronics without killing them with the generator, you should find a way to get cleaner power by buying a generator with a built in inverter or run the genny-power through a pure-sine-wave inverter/charge controller.
ANY generator can run a Skil-saw and lights! It's amazing the number of house-hold items have circuit boards in them and the damage that can be caused by a "cheap" generator!
Also, if a generator will produce the majority of power (running most of the time you're on location) you should consider propane fuel. You will use less fuel, have less carbon deposits and longer engine life. Not to mention the propane guy can fill a 100 or 250 gallon tank [pig] about twice per year and you don't have to "fill & spill" those 5 gallon gas/diesel cans!
Well first you could try plying it with alcohol, soft music and low lighting.
