any suggestions on what to purchase

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well this is my situation... i would like to buy an engine powered welder, either lincoln or miller. just a few questions... besides longer engine life and a whole lot more wieght, is there any advantage to going diesel?i dont have any experience with tig welding using an engine driven machine, is the arc still as smooth as a plug in the wall setup? ive also only used high frequency start, is the touch start highly recomended vs. just the scratch? i plan on doing quite a bit of tig welding but would like the portability. im also assuming that neither of the brand's machines come stock with any high frequency features, you have to buy the seperate tig box?on a 3 phase machine does the welder always use 3 phase input, i dont have any other 3 phase equiptment so is there any other benefit to having it? also do any of the engine driven machines have an auxilary inlet to use a wall outlet instead of the engine?i appertiate any feedback and thankyou for reading this.
Reply:I rarely GTAW from my Trailblazer, but I can tell you that for SMAW, the rectified 3-phase arc is far superior to ANY single-phase, non-inverter machine I've ever used.  Those who do GTAW often from the Trailblazer have said it is an excellent arc for that process as well.  In AC welding, it is a 120 Hz output, twice that of a shop non-inverter machine.  I know of no engine drives with a built-in high-freq start, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there.Just because a machine uses a rectified 3-phase for welding output, does not mean it will even offer 3-phase for auxiliary power.  The Trailblazer, for example, does not.Diesels are usually half the RPM, though not all, and are usually much quieter when they are.  Another advantage might be in carrying the same fuel if your truck is also diesel.The only engine drive I know of that allows you to plug it in instead of run the engine is the Pipe Pro 304 from Miller.  This is because it's not a true engine-driven welder.  It is a high-speed diesel generator supplying power to a Pipe Pro XMT 304 inverter-based welding power source in the same cabinet.  It has an excellent reputation as a welder, but a poor reputation for expensive repairs when something breaks.  It has a lot of electronics.