6 CHEAP Generators Electricians Keep at Home — All Under $1,000

Six generators under a thousand dollars, and only one reason an electrician trusts any of them: the number printed on the box. I start with the Predator 2000's running and starting watts, then move to a plain open-frame unit, a matched pair run as two sources, a dual-fuel machine for a long outage, an old generator kept ready, and the panel hookup that keeps a lineman alive. Each pick gets a plain buy or skip, cheapest first, with the fuel and wiring habits that decide whether it runs on night four.