@arcteryx, glad to be of assistance.
The WAF is huge. A large propane tank, with an automatic transfer switch, and a Generac air cooled would be close to turnkey. A used, low hour, standby diesel with auto start and a manual transfer switch would be a close second. However, both would need either some intelligent load shedding, or be sized large enough to start and power all the loads at once.
I would not do a PTO generator in this day and age as we all have a lot of high value items that are much more sensitive to power quality than a toaster or fan motor. It would certainly
not have my wife's seal of approval as "simple".
You don't mention where you are in Texas, but if you need/want your AC/heat pump to function, especially post hurricane/winter storm, I would be sure to factor that in, as that can be a substantial power load over the course of a day, and is likely to substantially increase the amount of fuel that you would want on site. (I tend to look at past electrical bills to get a sense of at least "average" power consumption, I.e. minimum loads without "user load shedding", and then add in the cushion you need for your well startup.
For your application, I would be looking more at an MEP-804; while an MEP-803 might do it, it would probably need some user load monitoring, which takes it out of the KISS arena, and potentially without the WAF, ditto paralleling two generators. I have looked at the MEPs on and off over the years, and I have come to the conclusion that they have pros and cons. They are well/overbuilt, generally well maintained, and run well. However, parts are a challenge, and often not cheap if you stick with OEM, and if you don't you need to be a creative mechanical/electrical person. They are also designed with a dedicated operator in mind, so not exactly autostart at two am when a tree falls in a storm. My other takeaway is that Govplanet deals aren't common, so it is better to regard the "real" price as something more like the upper end of recent sales. There was a big slug of post Deserat Storm units that went cheaply (large supply/fixed buying demand), but that is not usually the case anymore.
I would also bear in mind that while diesel stores longer than gasoline, diesel needs to be either turned over regularly (annually in many areas), or treated with algicide regularly and filtered regularly (e.g. continually). Propane is storage stable, but around here, not available for backup power usage during times of stress, as propane companies here prioritize heat over power in their post storm refueling. (That is, get a propane tank large enough to get you through several times the worst storm you have had.) Definitely a YMMV item.
At some point, a battery bank and solar starts to get competitive, and definitely they have the simple factor, but if your target use is an end of year, two week snowstorm, they aren't the answer, either. Enphase and Generac have battery solutions compatible with generator charging.
I think at some point backup power tends towards the "pick two items out of cheap, easy to use, reliable"... Here we are on the one and a half of three; reliable, and mostly easy to use.
We have solar+batteries due to wildfires and earthquakes, but with redundant backup generators for those winter storms, and for when the smoke is so thick that there isn't much solar power. But we don't have enough generator power to run our AC, which is ancient, and an energy hog. Then again the AC gets run about a week or so every other year, so the ROI on putting a new one in before it dies is zero.
All the best,
Peter
