Need portable generator help

1- They usually have a ground lug on them, ground to a cold water copper pipe system or drive a rod and ground to it.
2-I'd rather have it on something stable with or without electrical dangers.
3- They will tell you if they are rated for "sensitive" equipment, if it's not proceed at your own risk.
What size generator?
The above is coming from what I've read by the way.

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You're taking a risk with any sensitive electronics. That being said we watch tv and charge iPhones with our cheap little generator with no problems so far.

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Cheapo TV I am not concerned about, I assume you use a surge protector?

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3. If I am running "sensitive electronics" (aka a TV) will I need more protection than a surge protector to prevent damage to my electronics?

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Honda 1000 or 2000 is the answer. Inverter is how they market it....use a surge protector, and your electronics should be fine.

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1. With a small portable generator with rubber pads for feet, will I have to ground the generator? If so, how would you recommend doing so?

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Already answered

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2. If the grass is damp or wet, what can I set the generator up on that won't kill me? Or am I overstating the danger of moisture on the ground here.

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Already answered

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3. If I am running "sensitive electronics" (aka a TV) will I need more protection than a surge protector to prevent damage to my electronics?

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Portable reciprocating generators produce very "dirty" power. There are many ways to clean up the sine wave. Honda uses an inverter (converts from AC to DC then back to AC again). Very effective, but pricey

UPS's have a power conditioner. This helps, but a lot of garbage gets through a cheap conditioner and you're likely to have a notched power signal. Generator power is so dirty that a high-end UPS like an APC SmartUps will not even accept power from a generator (learned this from Hurricane Ike).

An in-between is a generator with an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR). Far more economical than an inverter (Honda), but gives clean enough power that a commercial-grade UPS will accept the power. Rigid has some good deals on AVR generators.

But if you're not too concerned about a shorter life on your TV, then the cheap UPS will certainly be an improvement over nothing at all.

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You could also use a Line Conditioner.

Tripp Lite Line Conditioner = $150

LINK

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I tested that exact product. It does not work as well as AVR, and nowhere near an inverter. That particular TrippLite power conditioner failed to clean reciprocating generator power enough for an APC SmartUps to accept it.

Now I successfully used that product on a dirty power problem with a turbine generator, but it's only good for 1200 watts, regardless of what the literature says.