Neal and all who live in this "special" weather area: Stay safe.
@ Neal: has the power returned? Which generator do you use?
If we get a power-out here we really have a problem. Chimney for the installed oven not ready yet, all pumps and ignition of the heater/boiler done by electricity. At -15 degrees celsius it may be the heater pipes might freeze, and this would be real fun ...
I wanted to convert the old canola Elsbett engine of the VW to a power generator, but it is way too much hazzle - the dynamo alone would cost as much as a whole Diesel generator. So i am thinking about a Diesel/fuel driven one. Should be 220 Volts and around 5 kilowatts for emergency, and last for at least three days
A combined heat and power unit would be better of course (exhaust gases heating the water via heat exchanger as a by-product while producing electricity), but those are really expensive, and i would have to integrate this into the house heating system.