tclynx- Look into float valves as they might help you out when tanks start to get low. I'm working on a simple design for building an automated float valve system to replenish hydro-nutrient tanks. I'm still in the design/build/test phase, but if/when it works, I'll post details like a parts list and instructions. I know you can buy commercial units, but i think many home hydro growers enjoy designing and building stuff as much as they enjoy the growing its self. greystoke lol. I think sarcasm is often lost in text based communications. I knew what you were talking about, i was just messing with you. If there is a local college near you, and you can access their library, you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about how and why roots work. I think we spent 4-5 weeks on nothing but roots when i was working on my horticulture degree. I would not recomend these college level reference books to the casual gardener becasue they are very dry, scientific data that has not been dumbed-down for the masses the way the books @ the book store have. you seem like you have a deeper interest in really understanding things so you might enjoy scientific type books though. darthhelmut I realized my previous post sounds really mean. i did not intend to make fun of your design, i just don't understand the function of the seperate resivior if the regular resivoir never drains? If/when you get it built we want pictures!

Fill the tank. Check the mileage reading on the odometer. Run it till it's about out. Fill tank again. Subtract previous mileage reading from current one. Divide that by how many gallons you put in the car. Then post that number. Your 15 gallon tank and car wasting gas discriptions are meaningless. If it's leaking fuel, you'll smell it even if it's just a little. If you don't feel a misfire, the plugs and wires are doing their jobs so leave them alone. If it's burning gas as fast as you suspect it is, there ought to be visible emmissions...cloud of black smoke following you around. If you're going by what the gas guage says without checking, the problem could just be the gas guage. I've seen them read full for 200 miles then drop quickly to 1/4 tank, or drop quickly from full and stay at a quarter tank. If you're going to try to figure this kind of thing out on your own, you got to at least do the math for starters.

Mark. If there is one thing that annoys me more than anything else in this trade, it's the never ending line of people who tell the customers want they want to hear whether its accurate or not. Reminds me of the service manager that told one old lady that the fog that she kept finding on the inside of her car windows was a small coolant leak and we simply had to tighten a hose clamp, instead of telling her that as the vinyl interior cures it will give off chemicals that can fog the glass and it will go away completely by the end of the summer all by itself. I think I saw that car in to get the windows cleaned every week all summer long. What the service manager did was tell her what she wanted to hear, that something got fixed. You wrote "I just fixed an intermittent electrical issue for customer that spent a small fortune with 3 different garages that failed to fix the problem. " It takes four things to be able to fix a car. The right person, the right tools, sufficient training, and a broken car. Intermittent by nature are a car that isn't broken all of the time. If it happens to not be broken at the time that any of the other three shops saw the car, then they had no chance. Now keeping in mind what I started off with, people in this trade wanting to tell the customers what they want to hear, instead of the way it really is, you can go right ahead and fault the shops as you did, and play the hero card here. The facts are the forces at work inside of this industry that you allude to are going to hurt the consumer until we all learn how to be professional. Quote" The flat economy has effectively forced many employment/income/savings/credit challenged people to become self sufficient electrical/emissions troubleshooters and/or forced them to use the services of unemployed/under-employed mechanics that work from home, or on-site" Side work is stealing, pure and simple. Someone doing side work has no insurance, which a shop has to pay in order to protect the customer as well as themselves. They don't pay taxes which short changes everyone else that does. They operate in the street, or in a garage not zoned for the business, the list goes on and on. It's the classic apples to oranges kind of a comparison. You cannot compare what happens in someones back yard to what a real shop does today. Quote "Having a little knowledge also helps prevent customers from being taken advantage of by dealerships, independents, tire/brake/inspection outfits etc" Now where does one get this knowledge? In some back alley? Here on the Internet? You can find videos of people unlocking a door on the Internet with a tennis ball that has a hole cut in it. Its fake, but people want to believe it. Your response is IMO another tennis ball trick that unfortunately I don't have all day to debunk. Plus I have the disadvantage of having to tell it like it really is, not the sugar coated version that people want to hear as you did. Yes it costs money, and sometimes you might consider it "big bucks" for something that may seem relatively easy. Did you see Jerry's response just now? Quote " and the Security fault. My truck is a basic model, manual windows and locks, no electronic security. The dealer shop was successful in getting the SES Icon off, and in applying two "silent" recalls (not happy I didn't get a notice), but the Security fault did not result in any action... I'm concerned it is a computer problem, expensive to repair. The problem may be that the Security fault isn't on all the time, so if I had a reader I could look when it is on. The reality of that paragraph is first that Jerry contradicts himself in saying that the vehicle has a Security issue, but at one point says that its a base model with no electronic security. Not blaming him of anything here, but in a way that's a classic perception, and not an uncommon description that a customer might give to a shop. The security issue is likely real, plus it's intermittent. Tell me Mark are you trained and equipped to service that system? If so what scan tool are you using? (brand and software updated to 20XX model year)?? Sadly this is going to end up rhetorical, because I have to give the answer to make my point. Real techs today, understand that the ONLY tool to service that system correctly is the GM tech II, and the shop has to have a subscription to SPS. What tool would you use if Jerry would happen to own a Ford with a similar reported problem? How about a Toyota; or a Mazda; a Honda, an Acura, a Lexus, a Nissan, an Infinity, a VW, a BMW, Mercedes, Kia, Hyundai? Or any one of the other manufacturers currently available in the US market? The reality is techs and shops need vehicle specific training, and specific O.E. tooling for each one of the manufacturers or else they are working with a handicap, and potentially will find themselves unable to actually complete a given repair without sending the car back to the dealer, or having a mobile diagnostic technician come to their shop, or in fact they could come to a shop like mine for about 90% of the most common vehicles on the road. I ask you Mark are you genuinely equipped and trained to service the security system on Jerrys Truck? Would you be for all of the other manufactures that the readers here are likely to own? By taking on that expense, uncommon in the industry, it impacts what a shop like mine has to charge for even the things that are indeed easy. You attempted to make that look as if it is dishonest with your response and I take extreme exception to that. Dealerships, by their franchise agreement, have to be equipped for, and employ techs who are capable and trained to service things like Jerry's Security system. Only shops and techs who "get it" in the aftermarket step up to the plate and make the required investment in the tools, training and equipment required to do the complete job. Customers who understand this, realize that there are many ways to undercut the real professionals, but understand doing so causes either the professionals to charge even more for what they do, or else they have to dial back the services for which they are going to be able to perform for the customers. Or worse yet, simply shut down and no-longer be a viable option for the public. Think that's an exaggeration? Look at how many dealers are being forcibly shut down. If your above average, your still not trained and equipped to fill the void caused by a dealer that closes. I can't do that simply because of the volume of work that could be displaced. (There are only so many hours in a day). Back yard Bob isn't going to do it, because he wont go to any updated schools, and he darn sure won't buy the tools. Auto repair isn't cheap, it's actually under priced for what it really takes to do it correctly, and armed with the knowledge that is based in reality, a customer has a chance to find a real shop that will repair their car. That's my goal here Mark, exactly what was yours?

I like the idea of the craigslist stove and swap later. I tend to get very frustrated on things like this. But alas I'm trying to work the system properly to succeed. I will happily let you know the town, just give me a few weeks to get it all resolved. I don't want us to be bad mouthing my inspector while I'm still trying to get it done. It's a suburban Boston town just on 128 near rt 2. Thing about the inspector is that I respect the guy for trying to make sure all is safe but auto ons and grease clear outs on ductwork and the wanting my MUA install validated by building sciences energy raters has all come back ok, but at the end of the day he just has a nasty gut reaction I think to a really big btu stove in a residence and all the conundrums that come with it. Trevor I will give you a call, you and Eurostoves have been great but I haven't engaged you with this issue yet because I didn't want to be too much of a bother, but seems like it's time to get some reinforcements.