Great. I think I'll go out and purchase one! Especially since it seems that every time I pull out the paper filter after mulch mowing, a good bit of dust comes out after tapping it. Couldn't find any info from Briggs on washing the pre-cleaner...just regular soap and water, just water or something else to clean it? And I guess no oil (not sure if a 675 series is horizontal or not)...just let it dry and put back in? Thanks

I recently purchased a large quantity of cleaned, Coccoloba uvifera-"SEA GRAPE" seed. I carefully cracked a few open and found that the three-sided kernel was dried out and not at all fleshy. The seeds looked dry, and if I were to guess, I would say that the seeds were not harvested recently, but stored. How long....who knows? This is just a guess on my part. I do not know what a fresh seed looks like when cracked open, but I expected to see something like the fleshy, moist, kernel of a Ginkgo nut, or an acorn, but instead, the kernels had the texture like a Almond, and easily crumbled. The thin shells could be cracked very easily and I was able to remove all the little 1/4" kernels intact. I then soaked them in warm water for 24 hours, and they swelled up to twice the original size. I plan on sowing them in damp coconut coir, with some bottom heat. I've read all the information I could find for growing these seeds, but no sources ever mention what the fresh seeds look like when the thin shells are cracked open, and none mention cracking the thin shells to expose the inside kernels to moisture. They say to "scarify" the seeds, and sow. Scarification just gets moisture to the seed kernels quicker. I bypassed this step by removing the seed kernels first. I guess the germinated seeds would just push open the outer capsule, and strike roots. My concern is that I have seeds that are no longer viable because they were dried out. If this is the case, all my efforts were for nothing, because the seeds were delivered dead. Has anyone had extensive experiences growing this plant from seed? I know they grow all over Florida, and the seeds spring up where they drop. But that's in Florida, and that's fresh seed. I live in NYC, and must rely on mail order for tropical seeds, so my sowing/growing conditions are a bit different from the native habitat...to say the least. If anyone can give me their opinions, suggestions, I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks. BronxFigs

Often "Factory Authorized or Factory Certified" means nothing more than someone from the company sat through a 2 hour training course or watched a training video that told them what they already knew. In some cases, it means nothing more than the factory authorized/certified the dealer to sell their products based on the fact he was able to pay for them. The only certification that means anything IMO is the AAMA Installation Masters Certification. But, even that doesn't guarantee a good install nor does it mean that someone who isn't certified won't do an excellent job. It always comes down to the same thing, get recent references and call them. If you can, go by the job and see for yourself if it looks like quality work. Don't rely on certificates or time in business to be too much of an influence. I don't mean ignore them, but don't assign them too much weight. I'd rather have an enthusiastic installer with a great work ethic and a ton of experience who just started his own business working on my house than an old established company who views me as just another customer.

Dont have sinks delivered to customers, unless they’re the ones buying them. All sinks purchased by the business must be delivered to the business address. I suspect Joseph knows his business well enough to run it. However, I will note that drop shipping is incredibly common because it moves the risk of loss and damage to the distributor and off the retailer. In the end, the question for Joseph is: does a customer steal a sink more often than it gets damaged while in Joseph's possession? Even if that answer is in his favor there is still a cost of handling and storage that may well exceed the rare cases of this happening. Good businesses mitigate net expenditures and losses not just losses. ---- ETA: This also wouldn't happen if Joseph only accepted Cash. Sure he would be a lot poorer, but he wouldn't get screwed over like this...