"Since the life span of these bacteria is around 30 days that means that any N they do consume will again be available in a fairly short time." This must be a typo, for the normal lifespan for bacteria in compost is about 20-30 minutes. I wish I could get each heat generating bacteria to live 30 days; we could have ready compost in about a week, and cured compost in about a month. As it relates to the leaf-mould, I really enjoy finding a pile lying around the community doing nothing. As either mulch or an addition to a compost pile leaf-mould is hard to beat in either situation. IMO, I wouldnÂt worry about the shrubs unless the plants show signs of stress, or as a precaution you could do as suggested above and add a nitrogen source to the soil to aid in decomposition. Always good to check and make sure though Blutranes

I am so excited! I received 3 cards today! HECK YEAH! I spent another full day preparing my cards and seeds for others and am still going! :) Thank you to debby_1 for the cute santa cat card and the seeds! I got Oat Grass (never have tried that before! looking forward to sowing them!), red canna (I am starting a bulb farm this spring, so I am very excited to have new varieties!), and California Wonder Pepper (so happy you send these because I didn't get seeds from the ones I grew last year.) Thanks so much! I'm planting everything you sent this spring - love it all! Xiangirl sent an amazing handmade card loaded with seeds! She sent gaillardia Punchella (I only have one variety of blanket flower so I am super excited to try this new one!), Reed Grass (a grass I haven't tried or have heard of, and am very excited about!), Goldenrod (have never grown them but I've been wanting to try this!), Autumn Joy Sedum (I don't have this sedum yet! It looks gorgeous!), Milkweed (I LOVE this!) and Butterfly Weed (I have never grown this before but it looks gorgeous!). Thank you SO MUCH Heidi! You sent varieties that I didn't have but wanted to try and I am super excited to plant them all this spring! Last but certainly not least, I received a cute snowman/winter scene card from Ruby_dog! She included Ruby Star Echinacea (I only have purple and white, so I am EXTREMELY excited about this one!), Scabiosa 'Summer Berries Mix' (I LOVE LOVE LOVE these flowers. Can't wait to see what colors I get from the mix!), Jalapeno M Peppers (I love jalapenos - I pickle them, dry them, use them in endless recipes!), Watermelon 'Blacktail Mountain (have never grown these or have heard of them - extremely excited!), Butternut Squash 'Waltham' (I have so many uses for these as well!), and Okra 'Bowling Red' (I didn't even realize there was more than 2 varieties of okra. This is so cool!) Thank you so so so much ruby_dog! I love everything and you are so generous! Here is a link that might be useful: Secret Santa Swap 2012 continuation thread This post was edited by redthreaddiy on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 16:44

If you have run a load and it is working fine, you have verified that Bosch will honor the warranty, you are getting a 5 year extended warranty, and what you really want new is beyond your budget, it sounds like it's worth a shot to me. I'm more willing to hand wash dishes while I wait for a service call than I am clothes. One thing that might change my willingness to try it would be if you have wood floors. Does that model have a water sensor/shutoff? If not, you could add one. Might be something to consider anyway. You know (from what I read on your other post) that a builder ordered it and never took delivery, so it has probably sat in that same storage area the whole time. Maybe moved over or further back against the wall and out of the way, but not like it's been trucked around, maybe dropped and such. Sounds like a better bet that one that's been used and abused for years by an unknown family sold without any warranty -- which is what I got with the last couple of houses I've bought. ;-) Do look at the terms of the extended warranty. At what point would they stop repairs or give you a replacement? Do they give you a replacement or an allowance towards a new unit and are there limitations or restrictions on the replacement (brand, style etc.). I would also see if the door panel sizes for the Bosch have changed over the years. If you do have to replace it, will the same panel fit a new one? Those are the type of issues that could make things more or less costly if you run into problems. I suspected from the model number that it was top of the line at the time -- or possibly one model below. Yours is one above mine in cycles and features. If you decide that you aren't willing to risk problems with it, look at the Thermador. Mine was $150 less than the similar Bosch. Thermador runs more in stainless, but tends to run a bit lower in the panel ready. Good luck either way. :-)

Hello, You did very good in keeping the condenser for 20 years. It sounds like your system was installed correctly and did not work too hard during the hot months. This is important in helping equipment last longer. Todays Hype by highly advertized brands comes with a hidden cost. Lower quality equipment. Peace of mind may dictate you replacing the system now, but keep an open mind towards repair. IMO, the older equipment from the early 1980's is probably a better machine because this was before all of the cheapening of parts. Capacitors are not oil filled, which means they have a shorter life. Condenser motors are not built as well. Stuff that was originally designed for 20 years is now lasting 5-10 years. And needs repair every 2 years or so. Electronics in the system is expensive to repair. Once again IMO the older HVAC is less efficient but cheaper to operate. Newer equipment, to maintain the quoted ratings, requires larger line sets. Although fluid mechanics design has not changed in a hundred years, the newer systems need larger lines. What this means is the lines can deliver more fluid to the evaporator, and produce more cooling. Not a larger evaporator but more flow. This is a cost vs performance decision made by marketing. Shifting part of the cost of efficiency to the consumer installation rather than larger coil area and basic equipment costs. Kinda cheating on the price quoted to consumers. TRANE and other tier 1 companies are following in MAYTAG's footsteps in designing for shorter equipment life. Maytag eventally was forced to sell. They could not keep up with warrantee repairs. Typical marketing is still claiming 20 year life to explain the payback, but in reality the calculations are skewed. Rheem, York, ICP and all of the other second tier level manufacturers probably produce equipment closer to what TRANE claims they offer, but with a lower cost. Rheem has really cornered the gas modulating furnace market. The AC side is easily serviced. The units look good. Traditionally Goodman was a product that had zero quality control. Many units I installed in the 1980-1990's had a small problem. Never the same problem, but always a problem. This added time to installations. Very frusterating on a hot summer day. Goodman is the #2 manufacturer of HVAC in America. Goodman has much better Quality control today. One recent discussion was about how Goodman could meet 13 SEER without a TXV valve. No other company regularly does this. This means fewer mechanical parts that will go bad on a hot day. This $20 OEM cost part equates to about $100 less to the consumer. Adding a TXV valve increases AC efficiency and Goodman sells the upgrade part. The size of the condenser coil is larger than normal which allows this exceptionally good design. Kinda neat. I had a repair last summer on a air handler made by a small company in Dallas. 'First company" The unit did not have a schematic so I called them, hoping to get some help. They not only had a schematic, but it was tthe same design and even wire colors for more than 20 years. I was impressed. Then they told me they made product for York. I yawned on that claim. They then told ne they were a 100 million dollar company. This is not a billion dollar business, but something to be proud of. I would highly recommend thier airhandlers. They also make several models that also have hydronic and Freon coils built into the air handler, along with strip heat. The prices are very reasonable. This can allow preheating of hot water or hydronic floor heat. This is a sleeper product. The heating of floors in your climate area is very popular. Very neat IMO.