Thats interesting Linda that you hear the pump turning on and off. I don't hear anything from mine. Are they done with everything and is it all cemented in? You should have a decent holding area with them driling down 445 feet. I can tell when the pump is coming on with my well only when I am watering cause the pressure of the water coming out changes. My well is about 280 feet deep and I think it takes about 15 minutes for me to go through that 280 foot storage area at which time the pump comes on. On a related subject, my mom, sister and I were playing around on the computer last night and we tried googling our names. I came up with various threads on gardenweb. One of them was in connection with my new well that had been drilled and advice I was seeking. It was interesting to read that thread again. I am linking the thread in case you might be interested in reading it. Adele Here is a link that might be useful: new well

The older style LP tanks do use an internal left handed thread. The new tanks all have the "OPD" (overfill protection device) and they also have an external right handed "worm" type thread. You have two options: get an adapter at Walmart for about $10.00 or, check the date on the old LP tank you have, if it is twelve years or older, then when you have it refilled they will require you to have it re-certified. It is probably cheaper for you in the long run just to do a tank exchange for about $16-$18 bucks. That way you are good for another twelve years. As far as your question about running the bbq on NG, it won't work without a conversion. LP gas is at a much greater pressure than NG so, consequently the orifices are smaller for LP than NG. You can check with Aussie and see if they offer an NG conversion kit. If not, you can attempt to drill out the orifices by hand. There are some places on this discussion board as well as others on the net that talk about how to do this. If you do that, you can also get a 12' Natural Gas hose with a quick disconnect on the end that would fit (maybe without an adapter) on your existing stub from your house and the bbq. I just picked one up from Home Depot. It was made by Char Broil in the accessory area. In either case good luck and happy grilling. bsbbq

Hi TD and thanks. We do have other gas appliances, and still are considering the gas generator backup so I feel that the dual fuel system is still of most interest. At present, one major dilemma is replacement of all of the ductwork, which was suggested by the Carrier dealer with the high prices, and the Trane dealer who miscalculated, waited weeks to give an estimate and did so only after I called them numerous times. They also have not yet gotten back to me with the corrected estimate. Also the latter really did not want to give me the equipment specs. The Lennox dealer has been very responsive. He initially recommended replacing only some of the ductwork, but thought we could leave the trunk lines alone for the most part. So one of the elements, which adds quite alot of expense, is whether or not to replace all of the ductwork. The Lennox dealer would be willing to do that, but it would add over 4k to the cost. Any thoughts on that? All the dealers commented on the adequacy of the duct system after a rather cursory inspection. When I questioned the Carrier rep. further he indicated that he could tell just by looking at a few spots that the ductwork was "too big in some lines and too small in others), and the branching from the main duct was not done properly. Also any thoughts on a good Lennox package? Is the package suggested by their bid adequate? It has I think a single speed (coil? compressor?) paired with a 15 SEER unit. He calculated that would give a 14 SEER used together. I have tried to find another Carrier dealer who services my area with no luck. The only other Carrier dealer is a national chain store. I had scheduled a visit for them to give me an estimate at the very beginning of this process; however, the appointment was cancelled with no follow-up. I called them back to reschedule and the earliest appointment that they have would be mid-June--I hoped to have installation complete by then! THe Lennox dealer said that had previously offered Carrier, but that the distribution center for our area was so unresponsive that they had many concerns about dealing with them because they had problems obtaining parts in a timely manner. The Carrier dealer also said that the distribution center did not carry some equipment such as the Carrier 14 SEER heat pump. Unfortunately, we live in a small town, and even the dealers from whom I am receiving estimates are in other surrounding towns--no one competent in our community! Thanks again for all of your help. Regards, Beth

I have a gas range top. It will light with a match when the power is out. I think its an important feature for people living in certain areas, ie hurricane prone areas or frequent electrical outages. When hurricane Charlie hit us, we had no power or water for over a week. It's a long time if you haven't experienced that kind of event. All of our friends had ranges and gas ovens that could not be lit with a match. We all had tons of food in the freezer thawing so everyone came to our house to cook. It was fun having everyone bring their food and cook it on my 6 burner stove top but I would never have a stove top without the ability to light it with a match. The oven is electric but I can live without that. My husband went on a long distance kayak trip many moons ago. One fellow was a professional baker who made an oven from a cardboard box. I wasn't there so can't give the details but stories are they ate well with everything he baked from bread to breakfast pastries etc he was the hit of the trip. How one can construct an oven from cardboard and use it to bake over a camp fire leaves me wondering. But...it's a true story Inga