ok, now we're getting into alot of specifics here. The North Pole has not always been covered in ice, even in recent history. Also, where did the name Greenland come from? or Vinland, for that matter ? These are very northern areas, yet in (relatively) modern times appear to have been quite a bit warmer. Again, I want to reiterate that I am absolutely NOT for pollution, but I just don't think that we are causing significant climate change. Another sticky point: there is no way to measure "average" temperature. In fact, there really is no such thing. I have a friend who is a biochemist who has a company that makes viral cultures in a "large" reactor. Large meaning about 50 gallons. He tells me that there is absolutely no way for him to measure the temperature of the solution to an accuracy of better than 2 degrees fahrenheit. HE'S A SCIENTIST. And we're supposed to believe that we can measure the "average" temperature of the earth, a much more chaotic system, to accuracies of 0.2 degrees? This is ridiculous in the extreme. My sincere hope is that this whole climate change fad is really a masterful way to convince people to switch to nuclear power instead of burning hydrocarbons for electricity generation. Perhaps that's all it is -- get the environmentalists to start backing nuclear power. And that would be a very good thing for the world. Wayne

I finally just read all of these posts and noticed Martin's saga of the Yellow W55. I'm sure that everybody sees through his cr*p, but I'm going to have to call bullsh*t on at least part of his story. Martin hints that credit cannot go to Dr. Raabe in the catalog blurb because this might somehow tarnish his image. Yet Martin clearly identifies respected emeritus professor Dr. Robert Raabe in an earlier post. He seems to believe that long lost journals are going to note the missing seeds from this precious tomato (a tomato so precious that it was never released). Martin said that Raabe took some seeds, not that he ripped the entire plant out of the ground. And if some reputation tarnish will develop, we all know who took those seeds now, don't we? Thanks, Martin. Martin, if you want to be the great savior of all things Wisconsin, have at it. Just have a little honesty in the process. I like WI cheese as much as the next guy, but yours really stinks. Now back to more important things. My wife made it worth my while to take the Dubya bumber sticker out of my truck before the election. I am willing to compromise for peace.

The 25kBTU burners are nice. They are more powerful than the 22kBTU that you ahve right now, so they are sought after as upgrades. But they are supposed to be paired with larger jes orifices. No big deal, third-party gas orifices only cost less than $10 and are easy to change if you have access to a deep socket driver. Afterwards, you might have to adjust the shutters and the low simmer set point. Youtube can show you how to do that. But if you don't want to go this route then I think guaranteedparts dot com has a 22/18kBTU burner head in stock. Of course, if it was me, I'd just drill a new hole and squeeze in a new screw. Cast iron is pretty easy to work with. You probably won't even need to tap any threads. I have actually done this a couple of times over the years. We have had our Bluestar for more than 10 years now. I think I only ever managed to actually break an ignitor while cooking once (spilled some liquid on the hot ignitor). But I have damaged them when upgrading from 22kBTU to 25kBTU burner heads, and also when replacing venturi tubes. It happens. Honestly, no big deal if you are handy with an electric drill. Even better, if you have access to a drill press.

>>>I guess there is concern that if the floor flexes during the spin cycle, the stackable unit could topple over. From what I was told, sandiego_steve, the old ATE50s banged around something awful and would not maintain SQ's super-fast spin in many upstairs installs. My dealer said they'd had several returned because they couldn't be stabilized. (Oddly, when he sold me the ATE50, knowing it was for 2nd floor installation, he didn't mention this.) I went ballistic when I was told I was getting the new model because I'd planned the timing of my reno project specifically to avoid the new electronic controls. I ordered -- and paid in full -- for the ATE50 in late Nov. or early Dec. Because I was so pissed, my dealer then offered to sell me one of the returned units if I "insisted" but maintained he was doing me a favor by switching out the washers because the new one he was bringing me had dynamic stability. I tried to download the manuals right then, but no one had them uploaded yet, not even SQ. Then you guys here talked me down, and I felt better. THEN they hauled it up the stairs -- 800 pounds! -- installed it, ran a test load, handed me the manuals, and left. After I read the manuals and exploded, my dealer said he had been unaware it was for a second floor install, but those words all over our email chain, and I had specifically asked more than once about the ATE50's stability upstairs. He was my contractor's vendor of choice, and they worked hand in glove on the whole project, so while he may have "forgotten," he certainly knew. And if he had "forgotten" then why the hoo-ha about switching out the units to avoid stability issues? But like I said, the thing does not so much as twitch. It is more stable than the 20-year old convention kenmore TLs it replaced. They may have needed those weasel words for the ATE50, but IMHO, they don't need them for this new version. I hope I never come to regret keeping it, but I do love it. It is an amazing machine. But now I have hijacked the OP's post, and told her more than she need to know about SQ. And I do thank you, sandiego_steve, for the help you have given all of us in making our SQ choices -- you possess a wealth of knowledge on the topic. I think the OP could not choose a better machine in any version.