I don't know much about engines or trannys, but what he said does make sense to me. According to JD, the 300 and 304 are both designed for light duty residential use ... ie relatively flat terrain. If your needs meet those conditions, and you want 4 wheel steering, you get the 304 ... if not, the 300 will perform as well and last as long. But if you need a more robust tractor, you move up to the tractor that matches up ... 320, 340, 500, etc. Spending $400 more for a 4 wheel steering when what you need is a heavier duty tractor is spending money in the wrong direction... you still end up with a light duty tractor. From a logic standpoint, this doesen't make sense to me "... can't see how your mechanic would consider the K58 a requisite tranny for the X304 b/c of the AWS." If it's not necessary for the 304, why is JD using it? If the K46 is insufficient for the 300, why use it? Why would JD take the risk of making the 300 under engineered for it's intended use ... basically making the 300 a lemon. Both tractors are designed for the same purpose\conditions .... the 304 isn't marketed as a "heavier duty" 300, or a step between the 300 and 320. So to me, the logical reason for using the K58 in the 304 is because it needs it due to the one diffence between the two tractors: 4 wheel steering.

I may be mistaken as to what you are really looking for but what I think you want is a traditional 2 stage heat pump thermostat, you can buy them just about anywhere. It will control the heat pump. When the heat pump is not doing the job and more heat is needed or, when in defrost mode, the second stage kicks in the oil burner and hydronic system. This is a traditional heat pump thermostat however in a lot of cases heat strips are engaged only because that is the backup heat. There will be times when the heat pump and the oil burner are working at the same time, depending on the heating demand. To just automatically switch to the oil system at 35 degree outdoor temperature would not be energy efficient. Heat pumps do their job very well at 35 degrees. If your hydronic system supplies heat only and not hot water for bathing etc., then I understand your concern about the waiting period for the water to heat up to temperature and supply the supplementary heat but I suspect that not to be the case. If, with the 2 stage thermostat, you decide you do want the heat pump off and the hydronic system to supply all the heat, you merely switch the thermostat to emergency heat. That will disengage the heat pump and your heat will be supplied by your backup source, this case being the oil fired system.

In fact, I just finished talking to him. I mainly just asked him about the Hybrid pump with just a couple of questions about the VF versus X2. John stated that there is no pump on the market that can move close to the same amount of water for the same energy consumed. For 2 inch pipe with a Sta-rite system3 DE filter, he estimates that at their default 1500 rpm filtering speed, the Hybrid pump would move 60 to 80 GPM using 1.8 amps. This equates to 230V X 1.8 amps = 414 watts. I searched TFP and found chemgeek listed a slew of speeds and wattage readings from his VF (60 GPM, 2710 rpm = 1305 watts). That's a little below what John estimated the VF would consume with my setup. If I drop the rpm to 1000 on the Hybrid, the amps would drop to 0.5 = 115 watts. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him the GPM estimate. But it's obvious that he believes the hybrid to be the most efficient variable on the market. Using the 1.8 amps for 1500 rpm moving 60 GPM (low end of his estimate for GPM), to turnover 32K gallons 1 time would consume 3.68kwh in 8.9 hours. According to your spreadsheet using Curve A, the VF at 1000 rpm would take 3.15 kwh running for 24.24 hours. Getting the VF to turnover in 8.98 hours requires 10.4kwh (using chem geek's numbers, it would be 11.6 kwh). Unfortunately, no CEC data to perform apples to apples comparison via the spreadsheet. But given that another X2 user on the forum reports using 2.2 amps using solar and running his waterfall, the efficiency could be close to what John states. Replacement cost is another consideration I asked John about. Since the drive is the most expensive aspect of the VF with its custom application, the availability of an off the shelf driver for the Hybrid that they customize the programming on makes the cost much more reasonable - in the $300 range. The pump motor is custom made to their specs and they have not had a single failure in 3 years. John stated that the drive's job is to keep the motor safe so it won't allow it to run outside of pre-set parameters or it will shut it down. I also found out that I won't need an automation system to run the X2. The drive has an internal timer which will allow me to run X time at vacuum speed and the rest at filter speed. My intermatic clock would control on/off like it currently does for the single speed. Hybrid also has a 2 year warranty on everything. The only question left is longevity of the company itself. Can they sell enough and get PBs to start using their product to stay in business? I'm really impressed after running the numbers.

Hi Everyone, I have an old (10/95) craftsman opener that works fine #139.663956 / S.N. 4935A00718 In the past year I have bought 3-4 remotes that I was told would work. But did not ,and since my unit does NOT have a learn button,I am lost as to what to do. The #'s on my remote are in places worn out so I can not see all the model #'s. My wall switch (power) is model 139.53755 . Can anyone offer suggestions? I am disabled and may need someone to help me so if I can explain to them what to do,I may be able to get this new remote programed or find a suitable replacement. I recently purchased a craftsman #139.53778, but with out the learn feature on my unit and not knowing what 9 # code to use ,it to is of no help to me. Any ideas?? Thank you .