satellite_chris wrote:
That is what I was thinking in the back of my head. All the cons that
people mentioned would also apply if I were using a locking 30amp
extension cord set that breaks that down to four female extension cord
ends.

Exactly right.

I will be mindful of what I plug in to each outlet and do my
best to ensure that there is no overload just as I would if I were
running this type of extension cord set through an open window.

Some folks mentioned balancing the load and that the neutral carries
the difference. There is no perfect way of exactly balancing the load
to say 4 different appliances. No matter how well I divide the 4
appliances amoung the 2 circuits, I am certain it will not be exactly
divided. I don't see how this could be a major issue since the
generator manufacturer must know that home consumers are going to use
their product in such a configuration.

My understanding of the problem goes like this:

If you were to use only one pole, for example, at the full 20-amps, the
neutral wire would carry the load just fine. If you were then to plug
into the other pole, any current that you drew would then cancel out on
the neutral wire since the two poles are 180 degrees out of phase. If
you actually used 20-amps on both polls, the current on the neutral
would (theoretically) go to zero. So, in other words, the more current
you use after the initial 20-amps, the less current there will be on
the neutral wire.

In practice, however, some loads are reactive and not purely resistive.
Reactance (XL,XC), produces a phase shift between current and voltage,
so in practice you won't get perfect cancellation. However, it will be
close enough unless you are doing something highly unusual. If you were
to power two 20-amp motors, for instance, there would be a real
possibility that you could overload the neutral. In practice, though,
this is something people don't normally worry about.

wrote:

There's no difference, that I can see, between doing that and running
some 20 amp extension cords directly from the generator. I would use 20
amp outlets -- the best ones you can buy. I, personally, don't ever use
cheap outlets. I like the ones where you shove the wire in a hole and
then tighten the screw.