When this thread started out, there was a lot of discussion of heating mat failure, so I thought I'd provide an update of my first post a year ago on my heating mats... I have three of the 48" X 20" Hydrofarm mats which I have been using since spring of 2007. All three are functioning just fine. They are all sitting on 1" thick styrofoam, and are connected to a thermostat that is plugged into a surge protector. I not only use them for seed starting, but leave them on all winter to provide bottom heat to sensitive, potted plants. That way I keep my energy bills down since I can put my electic heater on the low setting and only heat my GH to about 40F, but the plants that need it warmer get supplemental heat from the heating mats (which only use about 100W each). In the late spring to late fall, I turn the mats off. For me, so far, so good. Your mileage may vary...

Hi out there fellow generator people, trysquie in South West Pennsylvania here. I have a Coleman Powermate 5000W 6250W peak generator with the Tecumseh 10 HP motor (after reading the site I wish it was a B&S motor). I have talked to a teck who works on these units and he told me that I should use straight 30 W oil. He said that when people use multi grade they blow up. I asked him what he thought about Castrol straight 30 weight. He said that is the good stuf. He also said the exhaust has female threads for npt pipe, if you remove the factory muffler you can get to the threads, and I could add my own muffler on this type of pipe. He also said to be sure to use a flexable conection on the pipe. I went on "McMaster Carr" site and found flexable stainless pipe (the lower cost unit is discontinued but if you order it they give you the higher cost higher quality unit at the lower cost). You will require some straight threaded pipe and some right angles. I found a small muffler with a heat shield at the local auto parts store (advance auto parts her in PA there part no. from the side of this muffler 18677 9 245 ) and used PC7 epoxt puty to temporally hold the corect mounting angles with respect to the muffler heat shield attaching to U shaped steel bent from 1 inch flat steel that I purched from home depo and bent into two big U shapes to mount to the bolts on the alternator (I had to put longer bolts on that side of the generator, and extend and move the ground wire to the other side of the generator). I used very long flexable hose clamps from NAPA, (two sets, each made of two of the longest they sell) to hold the muffler to the steel while the PC7 epoxy putty dried. After the epoxy cured I had a local auto shop weld the steel to the heat shield (make sure to ask them to be careful not to burn through the muffler when welding to the heat shield). I have a lathe so I was able to turn a piece of steel to make the cup shaped piece that I had welded to the end of the pipe and provide fit to the inside of the input pipe for the muffler. I now have a home made auto muffler adapted to this generator. It did reduce the noise considerably but the valve train, piston, and air intake still make quite a racket. Before it was louder than a gas lawn mower. Now it is not as loud as a gas lawn mower. The way I added this muffler it moves with the generator and motor but still has the flex pipe for extra give. I am now going to add a heat shield between the heat shield of the muffler and the generator for added protection of the generator. I e-mailed Amsoil about oil for these air cooled motors and they e-mailed me back and said that regular multi grade oil will break down and not provide protection in these motors. They said full synthetic multigrade can handle these motors and will not break down. They make a multi-grade 10 W30 SAE 30 specifically for small air cooled motors (and no, I am not an Amsoil dealer or in any way conected to them, or to McMaster Carr, NAPA or advance auto parts). You still have to change the oil every 25 hours of use. I have learned some things from your web site, and just wanted to pass on some of the things I have learned regarding generators. I use to be around boats and saw many ways that people can blow things up or make mistakes that cause big problems. I hope to learn enough from this site and others to keep my generator runing when required. Signed, trysqqire in S.W. PA

Ah, another thread on religion. My vote for the best and most rational conclusion? "When making fuel decisions, one has to consider his/her own situation." Exactly. If you're on a farm and you have a 1,000 gal tank of diesel fuel for your heavy equipment, diesel is a no brainer. If you have a townhouse with natural gas and you're petrified at the prospect that all 2400 of your tropical fish would die if there was a five-day ice storm, then get a natural gas standby genset. If you're me (translate: cheap as hell), you get a cheap gasoline-powered genset, two 5-gal jerry cans, a transfer switch (all for $1000) and try to keep both your cars filled up to the brim with gas when bad weather threatens. Footnote: I can live without air conditioning for a couple of days every three or four years. Honestly, I can.

I was in a similar situation. Old home from the 60's. Installed a new woodstove, fixed chimney etc to keep my baseboard heating costs low. Whats the most efficient depends on the times. Natural gas if available, Propane, and oil prices fluctuate. It's a roll of the dice. Wood is always the cheapest but labor intensive. Coal if its easily available. Pellet is an option too, but you need to store enough, wood, coal, or pellets somewhere easily accessible. You need to either hire, or clean your chimney and stove yourself. Here's a tip. You ain't getting' any younger. Choose your battles wisely. What if you throw your back out? Then what... Mini splits. Here's what I found. Efficient? To a degree. -20? Nonsense. More like 36. Real world numbers here. You have to run an electric heating element to the coils so when they freeze, you can melt the ice. $$ Then if you're smart, you make sure you build or have built, a shield of sorts to keep the elements off it. If there's a snow drift, you better get out there and clear it by hand. Some will bolt it to the walls to keep it off the floor, but you can't go that high and awnings only do so much. Think about it. The machines need to be serviced. Lets talk a 10 year ROI here. Warranties, such as offered by Mitsubishi, require a licensed professional to come out and service it once a year. $$. If you don't pay, you lose the warranty. How nice. You could gamble and risk it all...There goes my savings over a 10 year period. You either need to buy, or clean the filters. Anywhere form 1 to 3 of em annually depending on model. Replaced eventually if you clean them yourself. Cost of installation? Ridiculous. Run electric, upgrade your panel, run ugly line sets and condensate pipes all over the place? Bah. THE ONLY WAY you could save money is if you knew someone in the biz to cut you an install deal. Other than that you'll pay 10K on average. I got quoted $5k for a single 18K unit. $10K on a split system running off a 36K unit. Run the numbers and you'll see its just not worth it. How much money can you save over a 10 year period will yield an ROI that just about equals out. Clearly a waste of time and effort. That's whats its about. Peace of mind. Baseboards = zero maintenance other than a vacuum cleaner or a coat of paint. Heck. My wife can do that. Companies/Businesses/People can and will say ANYTHING to convince you to empty your pockets. Its unethical yes, against the law, no. Leave the baseboard and have some peace of mind. You'll pay inflated costs over time or drop thousands at once and HOPE that you found a contractor worth his spit. Mini Splits. BAH. You can't escape paying. No one can. One way or the other they're gonna get you. The smartest guys in the world have run the numbers. The system has been set up. Its the working class that pays. Not the poor, Not the rich. Remember that. Choose the path of least resistance and don't' let these jerks fool you. Everybody hates math. You just have to do it. When was the last time you heard someone say they love math...That's how they get you. "Coil size, amperage, etc will fall on sadly deaf ears - with math involved I won't follow it. If possible, please, descriptions are better such as 'the coils are now bigger' or 'they use a different metal so it does x'."