Danman1 - most things you power with a generator have 2 power requirements. 1 is running load, the other is starting load. I run a fridge, an air-conditioner, some lights, and a few fans. Occasionally we run a TV or radio and a computer for news and information pertinent after a major disaster (hurricane). Depending on what you choose to run, in practice you will realize it is likely not possible to draw 100% power all the time. The air-conditioner draws 1,500 watts running, but draws 2,400 when the compressor cycles ON. The fridge draws 850 running and 2,475 when starting. So here I am running the AC and the load is 1,500 watts I have a few lights on using 200 watts, and the TV is on drawing 150 watts. I have on 4 fans circulating the air in the rooms I am cooling keeping the temperature even using an additional 400 total watts. This is 2,250watts and easily handled by the generator. Suddenly the fridge turns on. This draws an additonal 2,475 watts during starting. I am now drawing 4,725 watts and that is below the 5,000 rated and 6,250 surge rating so I am good. I could turn on a few more lights, maybe turn on the radio too. But the point is the maximum I can really run has to be the start-up surges + what is running and this must not exceed the nameplate max surge. Since there is a very real possibility of the AC and the Fridge cycling together occasionally I need to make sure I am subtracting the total surge that would produce from the surge rating of the generator. That leaves me with 1,375 watts to power "non surge loads" such as lights and the radio etc. So If I max out the non surge loads and the AC and Fridge are running at their running loads I am using 3,725 watts. I also have the overhead surge for when and if the AC and the fridge cycle together. If you run exclusively non-surge loads (like all incandescant light bulbs) then I could run (50) 100-watt lights, or 50 miles of electric fencing. But it is impossible to run my generator at FULL LOAD continually given what I choose to run. The only exception to that is when we turn off the fridge and the AC, and run the water heater 4,500 watts along with the bath and shower lights, and the humidity fan. It draws a total of 4,750 watts but the water heater only heats for 20-30 minutes then it cycles off when the water reaches temp again. (Yes it is very noticable listening to the generator when the 4,500 watt load ceases and I am only drawing 250 now for a fan and a few lights.) If I had the water heater on drawing 4,500 watts, and I left the fridge breaker on, that would be 5,350 watts and not good for the generator, but what would be worse is the fridge being off, but the breaker on, and the hot water heater drawing 4,500 watts... suddenly the fridge tries to start. I say tries, because that would need 6,975 watts The max surge rating is 6,250. I do not want to try this and find out, but I think there may be a bright flash from the generator, and then everything plugged in would shut off. Everyones needs differ. I use my genset for emergency power during likely a widespread long term power outage. Fuel use is a factor so I do not load my generator up to the max running load less the surge requirements because it DOES require more fuel to operate at 3,500 running watts than it does at 2,475 running watts. How can we know this is true? Well, simply it requires more energy input to get more energy output. As to my using say a 5hp generator instead of a 10hp unit.. the 5hp unit may handle all the running loads, but it does not handle the surge requirement of the fridge and AC cycling, so it was ruled out. Hey, I would love a 5hp generator that could handle the surge loads AND run for 24 hours on 5-gallons. Nobody offers one though. If you find one, please post it here. Until then I am stuck with the larger engine running at part power normally, with the balance there for the starting loads that happen on and off.

"It just is not wide enough to retain optimal heat." My earlier post "Also you must not have read my post as mine is right now 160-165 depending on where I stick the thermometer. Like I said the bin isn't even 1/2 filled and it's at that temperature so your theory of needing that size bin to provide that temperature is just plain wrong." PK's earlier post PK, I do not concede the point. In the beginning of November, I made two side-by-side mesh bins and filled them with exactly the same ingredients in one day. One was 30" in diameter, and one was 40" in diameter. I kept daily records on these two piles as I have on all my piles. The core temp was slightly higher on the 40" bin; but more importantly, kept the temp. up for a longer period of time. I'll give the exact numbers next time I'm on line. I don't think I said the core temps would be higher on a wider pile, but rather the heat would be retained longer. Val - I don't have a problem with racoons, but my dog takes no interest in my piles when smelly day old fish scraps have been put in the middle. Keep in mind that I only add fish when the core temp is 130F or more. This dissolves the fish scraps (mainly bluegill or small) in less than ten days. People who have odor issues often add smelly items when their core temp is not this high. My next door neighbor is adding whole banana peels to a 30F core and wonders why they don't break down as quickly as mine.

I also just purchased the "morgan" set tonight. I have been looking at it for months. And actually the couch I got on clearance, it was $100 less than normal because it is the floor model. Let me say, given the color, if its the couch that has been there since they displayed it(many months ago), it has held up just like new. There are a couple of marks, took damp washcloth and patted them AWAY! Rarely do they if ever sell the floor model until they are all gone. Of course, the true test will be time in my house. I have girls and they are pretty neat, so I think it will be OK. I looked everywhere for a review or another person that has purchased it and this is the first time I have seen anything. Thanks! On a side note about the fabric. The woman I work for has a microfiber couch that is the same color, not well taken care of, (they have a great dane that has full use of it) and I took some mild cleaner on a cloth the other day and worked in a circular motion,it took the black (dirt) back to almost the original color. Now I did not work too hard at it, but was encouraged and is mainly what made me go with this set. I hope yours enjoy yours and I know that I asked what if I am not happy with how it holds up, and at my sams they said bring it back no matter what, 1 day or 1 year, it did not matter. Just bring it back. Thats impressive!

Hi Susan, I guess it depends on what is in the food you feed now. See which one best matches the criteria that The Whole Dog Journal uses to judge foods. I know that the foods that meet these criteria are more expensive. Here is a portion of an article that Patches123 posted in the Iams thread: We look for foods that contain a lot of high-quality animal proteins. We like manufacturers to disclose the approximate percentage of meat, poultry, or fish in their food, but they rarely will, so we look for foods that appear to have lots of animal protein. Ingredients are listed in order or their weight, so ideally a food will have one or two animal proteins in the first few ingredients. Understand that whole meat (chicken, beef, lamb, etc.) contains a lot of water weight. If a food list starts out with chicken, and there is no other animal protein listed until 7th or 8th on the list, the food does not actually contain a lot of animal protein. But if it starts out with chicken, and chicken (or another animal) "meal" (essentially dehydrated chicken) is number two or three on the list, chances are the product contains an admirable amount of animal protein. Animal proteins tend to be more digestible and palatable than plant proteins and offer a wider array of essential and nonessential amino acids. We reject any food containing meat by-products or poultry by-products. ItÂs just about impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products used by a food manufacturer. WeÂve spoken to representatives who swore they used only the finest sources of by-products, but when asked, they all say that! The fact is, there is a much wider range of quality in the by-products available for pet food manufacturing than there is for whole meats. Whole meats are expensive, and because they are expensive, dog food makers insist on their quality to an extent that is unreasonable when buying bargain-basement by-products. So, because the quality cannot be confirmed, we advise that you just avoid foods that contain by-products. NOTE: Some of our past selections do contain meat and/or poultry by-products. To winnow down our list to the very best foods possible, we no longer select products that contain meat or poultry by-products.  We reject foods containing fat or protein not identified by species. "Animal fat" is a euphemism for a low-quality, low-priced mix of fats of uncertain origin. "Meat meal" could be anything. We shudder.  We look for the use of whole grains and vegetables. That said, some grains and vegetables have valuable constituents that accomplish specific tasks in a dog food formula. We donÂt think itÂs worth getting too excited about one vegetable fragment and one grain by-product on the ingredients panel. Our tolerance diminishes in direct proportion to the number of fragments and by-products contained in a food and the prominence on a label; the more there are, and/or the higher they appear on the ingredients list, the lower-quality the food.  We eliminate all foods with artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives listed on their ingredients panels. NOTE: Some ingredients  usually fats, and some fish products  arrive at the pet food factory containing artificial preservatives; these do not have to be disclosed on the ingredient list, since the maker did not add them.  We eliminate all foods with added sweeteners. Dogs, like people, enjoy sweet foods. Like people, they can develop a taste for these nutritionally empty calories. To meet our approval, food need not offer the following. But we like it when they do.  We really appreciate it when the date-code or production code is easy to find, read, and interpret.  The more items listed on a product labelÂs "guaranteed analysis," the better.  We like to see the caloric content of the food listed on the label.  It makes things so much easier when all of the food makerÂs contact information (address, phone, Web address) is listed on its product labels.  We feel better when a food has passed an AAFCO feeding trial.  We appreciate organic ingredients. WDJÂs Dry Dog Food Selection Criteria 8:FEBRUARY 2005 Copyright © 2005, Belvoir Media Group, LLC