Amy L wrote:
I have a couple of questions for those who went down this path.

I am interested in purchasing a generator for "emergency" situations. I am
looking for something that is strong enough that could power the heater,
sump pump, Fridge, etc (also, it does not need to do this all at once). I
am also looking for something that has 240 out in addition to 120 so I can
backfeed the house.
.. . .

I don't think you need a 240V generator to backfeed the house. All you
would need to do is connect the 120V output to both legs of the breaker
box and make sure you turn off your 240V appliances. You would also
need to make sure the neutral wire in the house is large enough to
carry the current, but I doubt if that would be a problem since 120V
generators don't put out much current anyway.