I have a Bosch 30 induction. I don't remember which hobs have which power, but, I do boil a small serving of pasta in my 2 qt. saucepot in the blink of an eye, almost. I cannot lift heavy expensive cookware and my relatively low cost stuff works perfectly. No buzz. I lift and swirl and it doesn't shut off. It is true that folks just have their preferences. Some just like flames. Maybe they appreciate their cooking more if they are sweating. (Food Network chefs sweat a lot) I have a new gas stove, 2003, at our vacation cottage -there is no comparison. But, we don't cook much at the cottage. The only advantage to gas would be to char a pepper, wok or cook during an outtage. My Shanghai born dil is a superb cook and uses large skillets, no woks. In my case, having a zip-zip cleanup, without soaking or scrubbing grates, would overwhelm any gas advantage. I prefer not to sweat during cooking or cleanup. And not smell gas.

andre 12,000 BTUs= 1 ton for a three ton system, you want both 36,000 BTUs in both cooling and heating. many HPs depending on brand, mdl, system configuration shortchange the homeowner on the heating side and sometimes both. how can you tell? check the AHRI HP Directory. and I would recommend anyone considering any new HVAC system to wait and see the standards to qualify for the tax credit which reportedly will be included in the expected Federal Govt stimulus package. Don't you love how our government spends taxpayer money? and as I recall from your past threads, you should request a load calc because I suspect a 2 1/2 ton is borderline undersized for you and the extra 1/2 ton would certainly help you on your heating costs. ryan is steering you in the right direction. I have the XL14i(R-410a) dual fuel system and while it is a nice HP, I would have gotten the XL15i but it had not been introduced at the time of my install some four yrs ago. IMO

Love - You said "He said fine, he would have to leave work early, didn't want to "inconvenience me" yada yada." and "I asked him what made him say that and he just said "well, I can't leave work early today." WOW. So I guess in his MAN MIND that is his way of acknowleding that I wouldn't do it." The way I see it is this was his way of making you feel guilty for being a SAHM, but unwilling to help him out with his kid. Don't give in!!!! Be strong in that HE needs to do what HE needs to do for HIS kid, and it wouldn't have to be this way if the (in the words of Sweeby) bat-sh*t crazy b*tch hadn't come in your home and punched you. Pseudo said "....I guess my point was if he puts BM before you ... if you had a child with him where would he draw the line ...." This is totally what I have been thinking for a few months now, but could never get the courage up to say anything. Where will he draw the line? Your DD has already been subjected to so much from this woman, and he's not even her father! How much would he put a child of his own through? Example: my friend has a DD with her DH who has 2 DDs with a crazy BM. The DH is a SAHD to the little one (DD with my friend) and would take her with him to pick up the other DDs on his weekend. It became a habit that the BM wouldn't be home at p/u time and wouldn't answer her phone. He would wait around for them to return (afraid that if he left he wouldn't get to see his DDs). One time, the little DD was in the car and carseat for 4 hours while he tried to track them down and waited for them. 4 hours! My friend finally said "You can wait around for 4 hours if you want, but you will not have MY daughter sitting in a carseat for 4 hours while you sit in your car outside their home." Basically, he had no problems putting BM ahead of his new DD. Remember...the squeaky wheel gets the grease. You just have to start squeaking louder than her. Jupiter said "I think that they need to see their ex's as good mothers (even when they clearly are not) maybe to somehow reassure themselves for when they are with her." So, so, so, true. My DH knows BM is a back-stabbing liar. But then he says stuff like "well, BM says it's SD's decision and she asks her all the time if she wants to visit". So why would he believe that one statement when he's caught her in so may lies before? The only thing that makes sense is he NEEDS to believe she's a good mother. Jupiter also said "I too run into arguments where he lets her slide on things that he wouldn't with me..I try to give him the example that if it was anyone else in his life he would have told them to go to h#$% because normally in life you don't do favors for people who don't do for you let alone someone who puts him down as a father..." and Love said "But it just totally goes against DH's overall nature, which is so frustrating." This is the issue. Which personality is the REAL one? I have this same problem with DH and I'm starting to think the way he is with HER is his personality when he's vulnerable and that scares the crap out of me because I guess I rarely ever see him vulnerable. I agree with FD. When I am flexible and accommodating with X, it is usually in the best interest of DS, and I do the work. I rarely (if ever) ask DH to do anything for DS, although he would be willing, because I feel like DS is my sole responsibility since I am the parent.

I think alot of it depends on you and where you are. We are in the south, have fairly mild temps and a heat pump is wonderful for us. Hubby and I are also pretty warm natured. I have never cared for gas heat. To me it can be too warm and it is also drying. The price of heating with gas has also risen. We have a heat pump - and no gas back-up. On the rare occasion the house feels chilly, we simply use the fireplace as a bit of additional heat. Our electric bills are not bad, we usually have a couple of summer months that are higher than our winter bills. We have 3 heat pumps, one for the main house, one for our very large garage (4 car plus hobby/workspace) and a small unit for our sunroom (this was a screened - in porch at first and not heated/cooled). I should point out that while we personally do not need back-up heat, our house is super insulated. We also have a nice warm basement and I do think that helps the main floor.