I transformed virgin yellow/blue clay into what looks like coffee grounds/potting soil in one year using wood chip compost. I could get woodchip mulch from my county composting site for free, but I cleared land and had my own trees/brush chipped (November-December). I watered the compost and mixed in a couple of pounds of high nitrogen lawn fertilizer per cubic yard of wood chips and let it cook for a few months over winter. It was a large pile so it stayed hot all winter. I then mixed this "young" compost into the clay soil as best I could (elbow grease and a shovel since I don't have a tiller). I used about 6" layer of compost mixed into 10" of clay soil (spade depth). The first year the soil was lumpy and rough, some things grew very well (tomatoes), some things did not (onions). I mulched heavily so that the soil did not dry out, and as a result the chips broke down almost completely by the end of the season. The roots from the plants penetrated the clay clods causing them to break up. At the start of the second year the soil quality was amazing down to the depth I originally mixed the soil and I had no trouble growing anything. At this point it is a good idea for me to keep adding compost every year to maintain the soil. I have a cover crop of rye this winter hoping to break up the last of the clay clods. You really need compost humus to build good soil. This consists of bulk partially decomposed plant fibers and chemical humics (humin and humic acid). I add a good bit of charcoal to the garden because I burn brush and quench the coals rather than letting them burn down, but this just results in charcoal lumps in the clay soil when I mix it in. Ground charcoal will act (chemically) like humics, but getting humus is alot easier than getting ground charcoal. Humus (humin, humic acid) is the chemical end product of lignin breakdown from woody material. Fad additives might have a short term benefit, but if you see a benefit it should tell you that your basic soil structure could be improved. Garden and kitchen waste compost (non-woody material) adds bulk (cellulosic) organics (but little in the way of humics), which help the soil for a couple of years until the are respired away by soil microbes. Wood chip based compost is heavy in the lignin organics (humics) as well as bulk organics, and will benefit your soil for decades. I see no reason to buy one of the "active ingredients" of good compost in a bottle (humic acid, or whatever they are calling it on the lable).

As many of you, I have been drooling over this grill for over a year. Your postings have confirmed my thoughts and I have already received financial approval. I will be getting this grill within the next 2 weeks. The question I have, and also saw that someone else asked but have not seen a response, has anyone done a "permanent" or "semi-permanent" installation with an LP heated house? My house is only a year old and is heated by LP. We have a 1000 gallon tank buried in the yard. All of the discussions of plumbing type and size encourage me to offer some detail as to our setup. There is a regulator on the side of the house that drops the pressure to 2 PSI. Inside there is a regulator attached to a manafold that provides individual taps for every appliance (2 furnaces, water heater, stove, dryer, and a dedicated run to the deck for a "future grill") All of this is done with a somewhat flexible 1/2" yellow (I guess vinyl) coated copper. That main regulator is supposed to be able to support all of the appliances and maintain the 14" of pressure. Outside is a stub of 1/2" black pipe to which I need to connect. My plan is a temporary connection (soft hose) upon purchase and a permanent one when I can build this unit in. I agree with the concerns of leaks and will obviously put a shut-off valve before any soft hose. I saw mention of a hose kit from HD for $35. This is listed as an NG hose but at roughly 1/2 PSI I assume it will work for LP? Any thoughts or input would be appreciated. Thanks, Lee

I just assembled my Char-broil Red and I can't identify three parts: 1. The chain on the left side 2. The chain on the right side 3. The large wrench-like object What are these things for? Photos of the mystery objects are here: http://frontporch.no-ip.com/heydan/charbroil/

AniaWin, That's why I love GW. You can talk to people that actually have an use the appliances you're considering. I'm personally pretty sensitive to noise. For example, our Kenmore induction range has no fan to cool the oven after use. The induction cooktop fan only turns on when using high heat, and is quiet / unobtrusive enough that I only notice it when it turns on and quickly forget about it. You'd never hear it over a range hood (and if you do, tell me who made your range hood). The convection fan in the oven, on the other hand, is relatively loud and annoying. It turns on when pre-heating the oven and when using any convection settings, and is one of my main dislikes about our range. It doesn't keep me from using the convection settings, but I will turn the oven on using regular Bake so that I don't have to hear the fan once the oven's pre-heated while I finish my prep work, and switch the oven over to Convection Bake once everything's done and ready to go in. I am, admittedly, sensitive to noise. For example, I switched all our bathroom fans out for the quietest I could find, and while they no longer bother me they're still not quiet enough for my tastes.