I had different experience with Mons Tillier here. I actually tried it twice, first one got BS that weakened it to the point that it died in its first winter, second one I sprayed for two years and it was fine and then I stopped spraying and it declined too. Caldwell pink is definetely good one for me too. I forgot this one. Fields of the Wood, still feel guilty about this one. I read so many good reviews on this one from southern people that I decided to try, and also convinced several of my friends (that is where my guilt is coming). Three of us each bought FoW. I actually even bought two, FoW and Rode Island Red, which I heard could be the same rose. Well to make story short, they are not the same, but both got BS badly. Two of my friends (experienced rosarians, not newbies) also didn't have good luck. One was lost during its first winter, it was weak and diseased in the fall. Another one in different garden got BS similar to my and is dragging its feet now. My friend wants to give it three years, but so far it is looking bad. Vettin, I will post a list of my favorite oncebloomers a little later, have to run now. Olga

trying to grow pure Changsha in zone 7a would be a stretch, most likely it's not going to work out, but you may have a chance in zone 7b (especially the warmer half of zone 7b) if you live in the South. I have tasted the fruit of what I believe was a Morton citrange. The fruit entirely looked like a delicious orange, very inviting, but biting into it it had an awful flavor that I can only describe as putrid, and it made me want to immediately spit it out. I was told there was one other person who tasted it that found it to taste acceptably edible and could eat it. From what I have researched, I think many other Poncirus hybrids don't taste as bad as this Morton citrange, though they usually do tend to have a similar flavor. As for the US 852 hybrid, I have seen a video where a guy said he was even able to manage to enjoy eating them. Though I suspect he probably had more "adventurous" tastes that many people.

I have 4 returns, MBR, hallway ceiling upstairs, on the stairs on the main floor and in the basement on the wall between the utility room and the living space. The guys quoting said they looked like good locations, as well as the location of the thermostat being good. The wifi thermostat is the carrier infinity thermostat with wifi support. Lets you set it up or adjust remotely, but either way it is the infinity one. I asked about the 95% and they said that based on the cost (1.06 per ccf) that there would be no payoff. Do you think otherwise? The unit cost is about a grand more and requires a more complex install with cost. I am not against it, but the people quoting certainly were. Do you know how I can get some numbers that would help me make the decision? what makes you like #2 more than the amana? Would the carrier be significantly quieter/better? The labor warranty would be much more than the amana from my understanding. (1200 vs 400 for 10yr) Basement tends to be cold by a few degrees in the winter. Load calc will definitely be in hand before I allow anything to be installed.

12" return is almost definitely too large for the basement. I have a 6" return in my basement, and I have actually found it to draw ~200-240 cfm (using a barometer) -- plenty in my case with just a few supply outlets. In your case, I have no way of knowing for sure, but I assume it's piped directly (or near) to the inlet of the furnace blower compartment, in which case there is a lot of pressure and it's sucking in a lot of air and making the basement quite negative (not a good thing). So your basement return in that state may have been drawing close to, if not more than, half of the return air the entire system requires. Is the basement floorplan open to the rest of the home or closed off? If typically closed off, I wouldn't be surprised if the basement door had a tendency to close itself when the system was operating. I suppose putting cardboard over half of the grille is one way to reduce its intake capacity. Your older furnace does not (presumably) have a variable speed blower that will vary its RPM in order to maintain a specific CFM setting. That means that while you are noticing more airflow from the rest of the returns throughout the home, in totality your system is receiving less airflow -- no, not a good thing considering your ductwork is likely undersized to begin with. You have decreased its return capacity. To get the SAME (total) airflow from the rest of the returns throughout the home that were not previously drawing as much air generally requires the system to operate at an increased static; with older PSC type blower motors (non variable-speed), this results in decreased airflow. Hence variable speed motors are often termed "constant CFM" as they can adjust (increase) their speed to maintain a constant airflow (cfm) when subjected to as much as 0.8-1.0" of external static pressure (vs. conventional blowers max. of 0.5", which many duct systems are nowhere close to achieving despite it being the standard "design" figure). You can think of the ESP number as a measure of resistance to airflow, in a sense. The fact that you say the (supply?) ductwork is now much warmer is both concerning and telling. It is unwise for me to say much more than that as I am not there to evaluate your system design and give an accurate assessment of the ductwork design/layout, etc. But it suffices to say, with the info you've provided us, your return ductwork is now more restrictive, which would exacerbate any existing airflow issues. You do say it met the set point without tripping the high limit. Please let us know how the system performs as it gets colder out and the system runs more often in its present state. I would like to ask what made you consider replacing the systems (and proceeding to get 8 proposals) in the first place? Are there functional problems with the existing equipment (besides most likely being oversized) or other comfort issues? By now we have at least established that it is likely the existing equipment is a bit oversized and the existing ductwork is marginal -- but that is (unfortunately) exceedingly common on most residential construction. Are you after more efficiency, better comfort, both? It helps us to help you when we know more about your current system's performance. Lastly, I would not factor online reviews into your decision too much. An air conditioner or furnace is not like most appliances (such as a refrigerator) in that the installation practices and quality can make or break even the best equipment selection. There is a good chance that many (but not all) of the negative reviews you read were due to installation errors. This post was edited by ryanhughes on Fri, Nov 22, 13 at 9:51