Your Briggs model number seems to be missing a "digit". Is the number actually maybe 446070, or maybe 46x070 (x being unknown numeral). Or even some other 6 digit number. Briggs model numbers are 6 digit numbers, except for the very smallest displacement engine families. I would certainly hope any rider cutting 42" will have more than 4 cubic inches of engine displacement. :^) Anyhow, I will surmise that the engine has actually broken a connecting rod. To determine this you would need to remove the spark plugs and WATCH the piston by looking into the spark plug holes with a flash light. Crank the engine (or turn by hand) and watch each piston for motion. One of the pistons may not be moving. If a piston is not moving, but the engine crankshaft is turning.................that connecting rod is broken. Only a tear down and look see will disclose the extent of the damage. Oil is cheap.......even if it's $10 per quart, compared to the lack of oil. This post was edited by mownie on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 12:23

Over the years I think my planning has devolved :o) I used to plan beds out in full detail. Now, I plan only the largest anchor plants and other key elements, with vague ideas of what the fillers will be. Otherwise my plan for a is more of a theme, which could be a focus on plant type (either a genus I'd like to showcase or plants that need shelter vs. bulletproof plants for more exposed sites), or a focus on colors or textures (or contrasts), vantage point, etc. In practice, my approach involves obtaining at least three times as many plants as I need for a bed. By now, they've been obtained long in advance and live on in containers. The largest plants (the "anchors") are easy because they comprise the plan. They get planted first. Everything else, I need to lay the pots out on top of the bed to actually see how things look with each other, finalize placement, while keeping in mind the overall conception of the bed. If something doesn't look right, try something else. After the bed is completed, I maintain all the extra plants in containers until I'm ready for the next bed. They may become the future anchor plants. Or they can be used to fill in for plants that die. This approach is not well-suited for most, since the container plants do require more care. Truth be told, I love having a collection of container plants (in spite of the extra work), so maybe my "philosophy" is just a rationalization for more aquisitions than are strictly needed. Alex

This is a duplicate of this thread. Try to keep it to one thread so we can get all the questions and ansers in one place.

Sorry for a late follow-up here (been traveling) but I found a picture, without too much more information, of the transfer switch which you have. It appears it has wired cords on the two "hard-wired" connections and is basically designed for RV/marine applications where this type of connection is common. I'd simply put a plug and outlet connector on the appropriate cords and make this a plug-in device. Not sure about the 300 watts being able to power the pellet stove (fans, igniter, and auger) as pointed out above, and an alternative power-source to recharge the battery during an outage. Just had our first storm last night (early in the season) and while I do have a pretty good portable generator/hard-wired transfer switch setup, I wasn't quite ready for 11 hours of it... however, the gas cans are now full!