Hi Robert, Everyone,
Well, here is my $0.02. I've owned a Jkson 6-1 for ~4 years, burns diesel only. It is a reliable workhorse, but I haven't yet used it to its' potential. It sits out by my sawmill, still waiting to be finished. The set-up time was years, but now it provides power for building the sawmill. It took a while to mount it and work out the bugs. I wouldn't want to rely on it for immediate power though.
I have a trunk 20,000 volt grid line running ~100' feet from my house - my electric bill is typically ~$40 US or so because I'm careful. Every 3-4 years, the power goes down - sometimes for a week, more often for a day or three. For backup for my home, I'm re-building and installing a 4000W Onan CCK. Bought it fairly cheap, a RV take-out. I'm converting it to propane from my 280 gal. tank. Don't need it often, but it will be really handy when I do. For as little as I will use it, it should outlast me.
So, for immediate power, I would seriously consider a shorter term project, a turn key gen that will let you set up a longer term solution. As usual, it is all about the $. Listeroids are an investment, certainly will pay their way, but sometimes short term needs trump longer term investments. Time spent calculating your needs for electricity is time well spent.
Ray