I think enginetech is wrong about the 300 series and split brakes. My 317, an '82 if I recall correctly, had farm tractor style brakes with two pedels for the rear brakes on each side. Stomping the brake on one side would make the tractor spin around... handy if you are going down the very next row of crops. In general enginetech has very high quality advice... LOL we are talking machines from 25 years ago! The 325,335,345, and diesel 355 were 850lb light duty garden tractors from the 90's. The heavy duty 4xx series followed the same progression of engines from air cooled gas to diesel. Higer numbers had hydraulics and water cooled engines. The 3xx series did not seem designed for a 3pt/pto operation. Excellent quality decks were belt driven. The 345 I still have is liquid cooled gas, hydraulic lift, power steering, with 54" deck (150lbs). The heavy duty 4xx series probably had pto/3pt and shaft drive but I did not actually own one of those. They could be had with a bucket and my dealer commented he had warrenty problems with those due to abuse (ramming into packed dirt). I recommend that series over the older 318/430 because the brakes work and the engines don't leak a river of oil. In the 80's some oil leakage was still not a big deal. Most engines leaked so it was not remarkable. The 90's saw recognition of the oil spot as a bad thing. My 317 stopped by pulling back on the hydraulic lever and nothing else. The brakes were for turning and not much else. I also find the foot controls on the newer machines to be of considerable use. A note that I am a christmas tree farmer and not a yard mower! I beat on machines and ask for things these machines were not really designed for. Many times I've run a mower 12-14 hours trying to catch up with the rainbow. My latest is an X-series, x485 that would have replaced the 445. It is liquid cooled gas, with a 3pt(pto available), and a 62" shaft drive deck(200lbs). Nice heavy duty garden tractor with some ability to run a back blade and cultivator. Not sold on the locking diff or the shaft drive. Putting the deck back on today after garden work was a 20 minute cuss fest as I worked on getting the shaft into the collar. I love the forked lift bars that eliminated a set of snap pins. I'm getting to old to lay on the ground lining things up while shoving a 200lb chunk of metal around. I use the locking diff some when pushing snow with the back blade. Probably needed if you want to pull the plow. Nowdays the 300 size has become a 500 and the 400 has become a 700. Some 400 size were numbered x500 just to make it easy to figure out. Some you have to get the deal in front of you. A great 430 probably beats an abused x-series. Not many great shape or abused to death to make the decision easy.

Hi Julie, the task force website is very informative. I still wasn't sure if it was spring sickness or bugs. After reading that it seems it could go hand in hand. Upon further inspection I found a spider web at the base of that fan. Wonder if he set up camp there for a reason? In that link it seems that it starts as a fungal which leaves an opening for mites to enter. Not sure if spiders eat mites, but whatever he is eating he can call it home for as long as he likes. I've had a few others but they outgrew it MUCH quicker than this one. I wonder if it isn't caused by digging & dividing which allows a fungus to enter. They say it isn't as prevalent in the south & although they have tried to come to a conclusion on spraying for rust to see if that was a factor & apparently still spring sickness. BUT the folks I purchased plants from down there did a fungal soak before shipping them to me. Dakar I bought in the north where rust isn't an issue & know they wouldn't have soaked it in a fungicide. Since I've never dealt with rust I can't say whether the fungicide is used a systemic or not or if it could actually penetrate to the core of the crown. I kept records of where I got all my dls & will check when it gets light out to see which ones got it & where I got it from. I think the weirdest part about spring sickness is that it happens in sporadic years on the same plant. Now for those proliferations! I am so excited to try this & apparently both techniques work. From the AHS website you can link off to a Lee Pickles article describing both methods. Since I have 2 plants like the 1st pic, I will try 1 on the scape & 1 in water. Thanks for your help!

You just need a thermometer that you can get on the return pipe and that will go up to 180 degrees or so. This could be a cooking thermometer or whatever. Just so long as it is reasonably accurate. You should be able to get one at a hardware store or in the housewares section of Target. Be sure to place the thermometer probe tightly against the pipe and wrap it so that you are getting an accurate reading (you can place the probe against the pipe, cover that with a terrycloth rag and then wrap it with duct tape a couple of times). There may be insulation on the pipe already, in which case be sure to get the probe in contact with the pipe by sliding in alongside the pipe under the insulation. Then power up the heat and let it run for a while. You will get a good idea of your water return temps. Here is a link that might be useful: Oven Thermometer

Thanks for the nice comments on my guys. I wanted to call Rex, " Blaze", because of the white streak up his head, but hubby named him Rex, as in "wrecks" the house" LOL!! He is the one they are pretty sure has liver cancer, but he is still here at 4 months after they told me that he probably had 3 months. So we just keep on going. I think all the good thoughts I have received for them here keep them healthy and happy!! Thanks again! Rita