Generator suggestions

Be sure the generator is a standard brand not Chinese. Sooner or later you will need parts. Kubota, Cummins, Perkins all large support systems. Yes water cooled are quieter. The enclosures are very important to noise control. Ideally you want it slight distance from house. It will smell bad on still days even if running perfect, particularly just after starting. If just a little wind it will be fine. Be sure you want an automatic transfer switch. If your wife can throw manual you save about $1000. and a lot of electronics that can go bad. You can easily turn it on and off remotely. You want extra power because when the power is off you want to turn on gen power and when it comes on you may have to "catch up" on things like water pressure, refrigeration, and these motors have surge draws 2-3 times maintenance. On the other hand if you had automatic you would have less of this problem. Usually there is 1/2 to one hour delay starting generator an switching. You want some brief delay if outage is just a glitch.