That's a LOT of fuel. I think the problem is with people's perception
of "needs" vs. "comforts". For example, a fridge, sump pump, well
pump, and gas furnace can be run from a single 5500W Coleman as long as
they're not running all at the same time. In most cases, there isn't
much else in the house that a person NEEDS, at least in the short term.
I know for a fact that the 5500W genny didn't use 25 gallons of fuel
over a 3 day period. It was actually closer to 10 gallons. The genny
was not running continuously, and actually was borrowed for a while by
a neighbor too. It's true we didn't have a humongus stereo and
big-screen TV running, with electric heaters and all the lights on in
the house while we were microwaving TV dinners and surfing the web, but
we were warm enough, had running water, a dry basement, and food that
wasn't spoiled in the fridge.