Portable generator watts and 50a breaker

[KyawaComm]

I'm looking to have an interlock installed in my panel with a 50a breaker. I'm a little confused about the outputs of the generators with respect to 50a. I read that the max wattage for 50a is 12k and the recommended wattage is 80% or 9600. I was originally looking at a generator (NG) with surge/running outputs of 14400/11600. I'm now thinking that may be too large. Other articles say to oversize the generator. Also, the generator itself has a 50a breaker and if you run it on gas the outputs are 18000/14500, higher than the 12k. Can someone educate me? Thanks

 

[hillbilly1]

You can put as large of a generator you want, you are still limited to 50 amps. The advantage of having a larger generator is when heavy loads start up, voltage is kept at a more stable level.