Looking for the best LP electric start, auto choke, 240v back up generator

[showme]

I'm veering away from using my Miller 250 Bobcat lp welder/11kw generator (if I can't figure out how to get an auto choke on it), and looking for a good 240v capable generator to back up our system. I'd rather get a good American or at least a brand I've used on industrial Ironworking jobs. Cheap, Chinese tools scare me. In the Ironworkers, they can kill you. So, like the title says, the first thing I want is to make sure I can wire it up from my Trace SW5548 inverter, which runs off a 2 wire start/run system. Next, it has to be LP, and it doesn't have to be any other fuel, but can be. Electric start, of course, and auto choke, absolutely. I'd like something built like a tank, so it will outlive me. I'm not worried about it being super quiet. It's a generator, and will be in an insulated shed anyway. Thanks in advance for any ideas and opinions. Lee

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Kohler
I do not believe propane uses a choke as it doesn’t like to ignite at anything less than or more than its ~5% air ratio.

 

[Samsonite801]

Kohler
I do not believe propane uses a choke as it doesn’t like to ignite at anything less than or more than its ~5% air ratio.

Yeah you're correct. I own two Onan propane generators and neither one has a choke on them.

 

[showme]

I've found a few that seem to fit. Since we'll have a large propane tank on sight, I want to plumb it and my welder into that supply. Plus, my Miller welder is propane, has a manual choke and starts everytime even in the coldest weather.

https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse...ic+start,+auto+choke+generator,aps,166&sr=8-3

 

[fpgt72]

I have a 10kw propane on my house, before this one I had a 5kw that had been there roughly 20 years before it started using oil at about a quart every two months.

We lost power during an ice storm several years ago, and it was what kept the food fresh and the furnace on for two weeks that we did not have power.

The one we have now is a briggs and we got it back last summer, so far so good. It is much more quiet over the old one.

 

[showme]

Thanks, fpgt, that's reassuring to hear. I've worked with lots of welders over the years as an Ironworker, and a lot of them were LP, but we started them all manually, so self starting welder/generators are a new thing to me. I've been reading my welder's manual trying to figure out how to wire it for an auto start, but one guy (1) on the Miller welding forum said he had tried to use his for his back up generator but he said the power produced by his was "too dirty" to align with the system's set up. Didn't say what system he had. Probably wasn't a Trace/Xantrex, I would guess. But that's the only reason I haven't pushed on with that. But I sure wouldn't think they'd sell auto choke kits for propane if you couldn't use them.

 

[Hedges]

Even if power is too dirty to be qualified by inverter as in-spec grid, you should be able to power a separate battery charger. Your inverter is then an on-line UPS.
Of course, this battery charge function must be shut off before exceeding allowed battery voltage.

Unless you add some sort of timer, it will have the disadvantage of immediately being loaded by the charger, and being shut off without cool-down period. Those are features built into better inverters with generator control.

 

[showme]

I'll be using a dual Trace SW5548 inverter system. Its charger is programmable.