I used to have a 6500/7800 watt portable that could be plugged directly into the house and it worked well and ran the basics, but I had to be here to fire it up and transfer the power which isn't always bad but I have a high water table here in the spring with the snow melt and my sump runs pretty well continuously until the melt is all gone. If I was away for a couple days it could have been bad.
It was electric start and I'd fire it up once a month and run it for 15 minutes.
I switched over to a permanent unit a couple years back and now as Cliff said it's all automatic and I don't need to be anywhere around. When the power goes out it fires up, runs my house and then shuts itself off when power is restored and goes back to sleep till needed next time.
It has a built in trickle charger with power from the house to keep the battery ready and the battery has an electric blanket to keep it warm.
It's an expensive investment but to me well worth the $$$$ just for the peace of mind knowing I'm good to go whenever it's needed.
I went with Generac because alot of my neighbors use the same unit and the fact that the dealer is local and has a very good reputation and if I have an issue their here very quickly.
Lots of good choices around Will and it's just a matter of figuring out what will work best for you.
The generator at the back of the house tucked neatly out of the way.
It's wired into a seperate panel off the main and automatically transfers over.
And runs off a 1500 litre propane tank