Quote Originally Posted by Xaila View Post
I have two of the hydrofarm on/off thermostats that I can use for that purpose probably... I read on this forum awhile back that pulse/dimming stats don't work with a generator? We had no power for 2 weeks after hurricane Sandy but had intermittent generator power so it'd be good to have an on/off backup if that's true...

ETA: I guess I should mention that the generator we used isn't a whole-house generator.
Proportional Thermostats do not work on generator power due to most generators making dirty power (the sine wave they produce isn't good enough) Proportional thermostats rely on the 60 cycle sine wave to work properly. The thermostat will turn on, and level appear to work, but it won't regulate temperatures properly (which is worse in my opinion than not working at all)

Herpstats have enough safety features that a backup on/off thermostat really isn't necessary, and isn't possible with a dual or quad zone thermostats.