It really depends what you want to power with it...
'simple' tools without any speed control- just 'on/off' switch?
Doesn't really matter... fine on a 'cheap' non-inverter genny
'expensive' tools with variable speed controls?
Inverter genny...
With electronics...
Older electronics with linear transformers (usually marked as a 'single' voltage eg 240v/50hz)???
inverter genny or pure sine wave inverter...
Newer electronics with switchmode PSU (100-240vAc,50/60Hz label)- any genny, any inverter... (modified sinewave inverter is fine)
[ATTACH=full]194991[/ATTACH]
The main reasoning that the old 'generators are electronics killers' or that 'you need a pure sine wave inverter for electronics' no longer really applies is because almost all modern electronics has switchmode PSU's in them- and the very first thing they do to the incoming mains voltage is rectify it to DC!!!
[ATTACH=full]194992[/ATTACH]
The above circuit diagram, the incoming mains comes in the left, goes through the commonmode filter (which is often left out in 'cheap andnasty' switchmodes unfortunately- it supresses noise from the PSU from being injected back into the mains...)and is then rectified to high voltage DC (depending on the incoming mains voltage, could be from about 170v to up over 360v!!!) which is then regulated by the switching circuits to whatever voltage is needed (in this case 12v at 5A maximum- regardless of the mains voltage!!!)
This is 'ye old linear' switching power supply- really became obsolete in the 1990's, and very rarely seen these days... (this is the one that gave rise to 'generators are electronics killers')
[ATTACH=full]194993[/ATTACH]
That transformer at the beginning of the chain is the issue... the slightest variation in input voltage is reflected into the whole system (so hook a '110v' 12v PSU into the UK's '230v' mains,and you will effectively get 24v out instead of 12v!!!! (or more likely- bits blow up...)
