All,
Sorry about the delay answering.  I'll try to reply to all the questions in
one message.

First, my generator is a 4KW model, a Sportsman GEN4000LP.  It was available
in a Labor Day Home Depot sale, internet only.  UPS delivered it right to my
door.

Second, a 20 pound propane tank will run it for about 10 hours.  As I ran
mine for about 8 hours a day, I got a little over a day from each tank.  I
have several tanks.

Yes, it has to be located outside and you have to run extension cords into
the house through the door or window.  I ran it on the patio outside my
kitchen door.

As was pointed out in other messages, 4KW will not run the whole house.  I
ran the heat and sump pumps as the priority but did turn them off and then
run the refrigerator too.  I have FIOS telephone/internet service and that
fiber service requires power at home.  The home fiber interface box has a
jell cell battery for short power outages but that only lasts 6 or 8 hours.
So, the generator also powered the phone/internet and my Wi-Fi router.  One
of the advantages of being blind with a blind XYL is that you don't need to
expend Watts on lighting and can allocate the whole power budget to heat,
refrigeration, and communications.  We used a battery lantern to give our
dogs some light when needed.

As for here at The Seeing Eye, we have three large diesel generators, two
for the main campus and one for the breeding station.  These are really
large, 12 cylinder machines and they can power everything on the two
campuses.  We did have some uncertainty about fuel delivery but worked
through that.  We scheduled intentional blackouts at the breeding station to
conserve fuel and two litters were born on consecutive nights by flashlights
while we had the generator powered off.

The current class of students continued training with their new dogs without
interruption except for the actual day of the storm.  They all completed
training and are going home on schedule.

73,
Jim, KY2D