Hey, Tom. I have a Kirby under the hood, well I guess thereās no hood on the hotrod. I have a Kirby that I use for starting and Iāve been using The same one on all my previous builds. And yes I do use an inverter. I find it works very well and it is very reliable. I generally run two batteries which seems to provide plenty of stamina for getting the fire going. Also I have been able to run the engine on gasoline to power up the inverter while idling in the morning.
This woodrat Rod build will not have a gasoline tank. Same as my first build in the Mitsubishi pick up, I took the gasoline tank out of that one too. I love Kirbys! Of course, in this application I will only be running one Kirby at a time. As I mentioned I put a dimmer switch on the Kirby so when the inverter starts to whistle I can turn down the amps. The Kirby keeps running at a little slower speed and it works fine.
I have carried a small generator along for security in the past, but two batteries with the inverter is more elegant.
Hopefully, if my untested cooling system works, the valve will hold up. I have used other plastic valves very successfuly in the past. I belive Mike LaRosa uses these blade valves as well.