Portable vs Standby Generators: Which Is Right for Your Sandpoint Cabin?

August 10, 2026 · Family-owned electricians in North Idaho

If your cabin is a weekend or seasonal place, a portable generator is usually the right call. If people live there full time, or you rent it out, or it has a well pump and septic system that need to keep running when you're not there, a standby generator is worth the extra money. That's the short version. Here's the reasoning behind it.

What a portable generator actually gives you

A decent portable generator in the 5,000 to 8,500 watt range runs $600 to $1,500. That's enough to keep a fridge, some lights, a space heater, and a well pump going, but not the whole cabin at once. You'll be making choices about what to plug in.

• You have to be there to start it, refuel it, and shut it down.
• Most run 8 to 10 hours on a full tank of gasoline, so during a multi-day outage you're refueling in the middle of the night.
• It needs to sit at least 20 feet from the cabin, vented away from windows and doors, because of carbon monoxide.
• Gas stations in Sagle, Sandpoint, and Priest River can lose power too during a bad ice storm, so the gas you have on hand is the gas you get.
• Without a manual transfer switch, you're running extension cords through a window or door, which is a fire and trip hazard if it's done wrong.

A manual transfer switch installed by an electrician runs $400 to $800 and is worth every penny if you're going to use a portable regularly. It lets you plug the generator into a dedicated inlet and power select circuits through your panel instead of running cords everywhere.

What a standby generator gives you

A standby unit sized for a cabin, usually 14kW to 24kW, installed with an automatic transfer switch, runs $8,000 to $15,000 including the propane tank if you don't already have one. That's a real number, not a starting-at price. It's a bigger commitment.

What you get for that money:

• It starts on its own within about 10 seconds of losing power, whether you're standing there or 400 miles away.
• It runs on propane, usually from a 250 or 500 gallon tank, so you're not driving around in a storm looking for gasoline.
• It exercises itself automatically once a week for a few minutes to keep the engine and battery healthy.
• It can run for days without you touching it, as long as the propane holds out. A 500 gallon tank at roughly half capacity available will run a mid-size standby unit for several days to a couple weeks depending on load.
• Annual maintenance, an oil change and inspection, costs $200 to $350 a year, which most owners hire out.

The well pump problem

A lot of cabins around Sagle and out toward Priest Lake are on private wells. Well pumps draw a surge of power when they kick on, often 2 to 3 times their running wattage for a second or two. A pump that runs at 1,500 watts might need a 3,500 to 4,000 watt surge to start. This catches people off guard when they buy a portable generator based on running watts alone and then can't get the pump to start. If water matters at your place, size for the starting surge, not just the running load.

Think about who's actually there

If the cabin sits empty most weekdays and only sees people on weekends, a portable generator is fine. Nobody's counting on it to run unattended. If you're renting the place out on Airbnb, or family stays there through the winter, or there's livestock or a greenhouse depending on power, that's a different situation. Nobody wants a phone call from a renter standing in the dark trying to figure out how to start a generator they've never touched.

Cost over time, not just upfront

A portable generator is cheaper to buy but has real recurring cost and hassle: gasoline, extension cords wearing out, engine maintenance, and your own time and gas cans. A standby generator costs more upfront but the ongoing cost is mostly the propane and one annual service call. Over 10 years the gap between the two narrows more than people expect, especially if you value your own time during a storm.

Our take

For most weekend cabins in Bonner and Kootenai counties, a portable generator with a proper transfer switch covers the need without overspending. For full-time cabins, rentals, or places with a well and septic system that can't go without power, a standby system pays for itself in peace of mind. Sageland Electric can walk through your panel, your well pump specs, and your actual usage pattern and help you size either option correctly, including the transfer switch and any code requirements for your county.