Compression is the secret of the internal combustion engine. The fuel/air mixture in the cylinder must be compressed to be powerful when ignited. Compression occurs when the piston rises against the closed intake and exhaust valves. It's measured in psi and every engine has a normal range in it's specs that can be measured. The problem with measuring it on lawn mower engines is they all have a compression release mechanism for easier pulling of the starter cord which obviously would give a false, lower reading. I actually don't know how the mechanics get around this to find the true compression. Anyway, engines can lose compression from wear and faulty valve timing. Usually a lawn mower engine with low compression would indicate a new mower needed, but in a few cases low compression can be caused by hard carbon in the piston rings which doesn't allow them to expand and seal the cylinder. There are several brands of solvents for internal engine cleaning. The best in my opinion is 'KREEN' by Kano Labs, the makers of 'KROIL', a well-liked penetrant. I would use 'KREEN' as-directed in any engine I suspected of low compression. If it doesn't help, repair/replacement is indicated, because lawn mowers are basically cheap, and you can't justify spending hundreds on engine repair or replacement. The exception would be if you had a premium mower with a good deck and drive system that you really like. An aluminum-deck Super Recycler could be in this category - it all depends on how much you want to spend on it. I think your mower should have lasted longer. Cutting only a tad over one tenth acre every other time would constitute light use in my book, and most any mower should last almost indefinitely under those conditions WITH THE PROPER CARE. However, you can't overlook the possibility of a bad engine from the factory that may have a problem that just took some time to show up.

I have both the raspberry bushes you would like, the Royalty and the Fall Gold, growing in my garden. Email me privately and see if we can work something out. Brenda

I hadn't seen this thread when it appeared in Oct. I actually find it kinda odd. The OP has never posted again. Maybe it was indeed spam? Either way, I have really found the original Range Hood FAQ very helpful, and have emailed the link to friends cause it's such a good summary. I don't think the OP has added anything helpful to the hood FAQ, and his additions might confuse someone new to the Appliances Forum, or someone struggling with hood choices (the hardest choice for me in my kitchen!). As others have pointed out, it's odd he chose a 36" hood for a 48" range. Odd that he doesn't mention Wolf hoods in his discussion of high-end hoods, even though that's the range brand he chose. Why does he say baffles are not standard in high-end hoods - that's incorrect. And indeed, despite his contention, the greater component of noise in a hood is the airflow. You can have two identical hoods in two homes - the home with the problematic ductwork (i.e. more bends, longer, or narrower) will be noisier despite the identical motors. I think the Futuro hoods are a good brand, judging by what others have enthusiastically written on the Gardenweb about them. But I hope that people looking for helpful info on hoods in general will look at the original Hood FAQ rather than the OP's additions.

OK so new update. 1) I removed Solonoid. Hooked it straight to the battery to test it. It clicked and had continuity between the large poles. Then I re hooked up the solenoid back where it was. The positive is orange coming from the ignition switch and the negative is green. When I turn the key to start I do not get 12v or anything for that matter. Concerning the ignition. I don't think its original because the letters on it where the wires hook up don't match the wiring diagram. Here are the letters and the corresponding wires hooked to them and where they go. on the ignition the letter G -- HAs a yellow wire on it leading to no where it just hangs there. S -- also has a yellow wire Which leads to the positive side of the solenoid. this wire is also painted orange lol R -- has a Red wire leading to one fuse, then splits out to the other fuse and to one of the large poles on the solenoid, Same side as the positive battery cable M -- Is also a yellow wire that leads to a short black wire that disappears into the side of the engine. also I noticed when you short across the two large poles on solenoid id tried to turn over. But I stopped touching that right away in fear of what it might do to it.