Solar’s definitely my first pick too, mostly for the quiet and lack of fumes, but you’re right—cloudy stretches can really mess with your plans. I keep a medium battery bank topped up, but had to rethink when a weeklong storm left me scrambling. After that, I picked up a dual-fuel generator (runs propane or gas), just for the fridge and some lights when it’s really needed. It’s noisy, but propane stores way cleaner and forever compared to gasoline, so it feels safer for long-term prepping.
For medical gear, I’d say having a dedicated inverter and small, quiet gas generator on backup makes sense if your solar won’t cut it. Ran mine once just for a neighbor’s oxygen concentrator during an outage, and it was a lifesaver.
If you do go propane, just double-check you’ve got extra hoses and adapters and store tanks safely outside. Curious if anyone’s tried those solar battery “expanders”—the
