Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After Hurricane Sandy, I decided I wanted to get a generator for future emergencies. I did my research and decided to purchase the Goal Zero Yeti Generator with wheel cart attachments and twin solar panels. I decided on the Yeti for several reasons: One, I live in an apartment and although I have a terrace, I couldn't deal with possible carbon monoxide fumes. Two, gas stations rely on electricity to pump gas in NYC, so a regular gas fuel generator wouldn't be feasible. Three, I wanted a silent generator. Four, simplicity. I'm not an electrical engineer so I didn't want to link marine deep cell batteries in my apartment. I tested the generator out as soon as I received it so I fully charged the battery and plugged in my single door, full sized refrigerator to see how long it would power it. My expectations were probably a little too high so I was a little disappointed with the results. My fridge was only able to be powered by the Yeti for 12 hours. Now...that said, I don't believe an equal sized gas generator would be able to power my fridge for that long without periodic additional gas refills. Also, I probably could have powered my fridge for longer but I didn't' want to drain the battery more than 50%. One of the things that isn't mentioned in a lot of the descriptions of the Yeti online is that the manufacture suggests to maximize the life of the battery; you shouldn't deplete the stored charge by more than 50%. Since everyone who invests in this pricy device wants it to last as long as possible, this is pretty much the most you are going to get from this generator. Another tip: do not purchase this generator without the wheel accessory attachment. This device is HEAVY. I'm an adult male, 6'2" and 220lbs and its tough for me to move. Unless you transport beer kegs or 5 gal. bottled water containers for a living, do yourself a favor and get the wheels if you do decide to purchase. I purchased the generator as winter was approaching so I didn't get a chance to test out the solar power panels yet. I will try them out next summer when the sun output is at its peak for the northeast. Although the handles don't telescope down and collapse into the battery when not in use, they do detach and reattach easily when you need to move it. I have lived in this same apartment for over 20 yrs and have experienced 3 blackouts, including Sandy. Sandy was exceptional since the power was out for several days. I don't know if I would remain sheltered again for that many days if power was expected to be out for that long again, I would probably bug out to a hotel next time. Since the duration of the other two blackouts were less than a day, I think the Yeti would be able to get me through should I expect to be without power for less than 24 hours. All that said I am still glad I purchased the Yeti, although it isn't a perfect solution, it does cover some of the particular issues I was looking to address when purchasing an emergency power generator for emergency power outages.