Thanks for all the follow ups. Wildboar, you're right. It indeed does take me 3-4 hrs/mowing. That's a lot of time & I'm pretty much done in by the time I finish. The deck btw, is only a 20". The reason the grass is growing so well, is it is new sod, laid last fall, and fertilized as soon as the snow was off. Since then, the weather has been unsettled, with temps going from 50s to 90s in a week, then back to the 50s, with rain. (rain here is a sprinkle, compared to back east or the nrth west) It's rained mored in the last two months than it did in the 1st 9 months of last year. The new grass loves this weather (night temp this morning was 43). Frost got some of my roses. Now, on to the engine and blade. I too, thought for sure the blade is on upside down. Especially when I saw the universal replacement blades have their cutting edge on opposite sides from my blade. Not being able to find a blade among any of the double edge blades that had the cutting edges as mine does, I ordered a very pricey, OEM. And guess what. It's cutting edges are the same as mine. However, that makes sense, since the engine rotation is clockwise and not counter-clockwise as Metal suggests it should be. All the blades I saw seem to be set for that kind of rotation. The way I have the blade on now is that the sharp sides are on the right, front, bottom and left, back, bottom. If I flip it over, it will be the thick, non-sharp side that always hits the grass. I thought the sharp side should be in the direction of the rotation and come into contact with the grass as it rotates. Is that wrong? Years ago, I did flip it over a couple of times because I couldn't believe how it was throwing the grass out. There wasn't much difference, other than the grass was being pushed down. That doesn't make sense to me either. How is the grass getting cut if the sharp edge is not hitting it? Wildboar, what you said about the Craftsman is exactly what this mower is doing. The exception being, the grass is not wet==at least not wet as in being from rain (I'm cutting at late afternoon, after the sun has had a chance to dry off the grass.) It is wet in that it is alive, and grass juice comes out when it is cut. This mower makes a great mulcher if I move at about an inch every ten seconds. But any faster, and in no time the side discharge is clogged or if I try to use the rear bag, as soon as there is about 2" of grass in the bag, the mower doesn't have enough power to push it any further & I have to stop and pull the grass to the top of the bag, then cut another 10' feet, stop and do it all over. It sucks. I still want to think the blade is on upside down. That'd be an easy fix. Should the dull side hit the grass or the sharp side? With the clockwise rotation, it sure is strange, but that's how it is. The new OEM blade cost 4x as much as the other double edged blades, whether universal or brand. So, I'm ignorant on the rotation and blade. Should it be set so the sharp side is at the front of the direction of rotation or turned over so the dull side is what 1st comes into contact with the grass? I'm frustrated & tired. This is a lot of mowing, stop/start, and going through lots of fuel. I do appreciate the help. Right now I'm trying to decided whether to replace the broken 14" back wheel or try to glue the spokes back together (or get a new or preferably ($$$wise) Good quality, used mower. Anyone know what kind of glue will work on plastic? Regular super glue doesn't set. --this is one of situations where the glue instruction's say, "works on most plastics" [but not on this plastic]. I did find that if I use the super glue that has to be mixed, it will make a collar around the break and the strength of the glue alone, will hold the spokes in place. hey, that gives me an idea--I wonder if some large, hose clamps, if wide enough, would clamp the breaks together as you would if clamping two pieces of hose? First preference though is to use a glue that works. -- a new wheel is around $30 and money is tight. The $30 would go better toward another, but this time, quality, high-wheel mower. And finally, yes the gas mileage really stinks. Radio, and others I hear what you are saying. Something is definitely wrong (and there is no fuel leak). I got better mileage from my '69 Camaro RS, running at 120 mph, than I do from this mower at 1'/30 sec.

Andrelaplume2, a few comments. You do not state where you live. I have a similar situation. I have a 20 year-old, 1700 square-foot, all-electric, split foyer home in Baltimore. I have been in the house for 5 years. The heat pump is original Trane (we should count our blessings that they have lasted 20-plus years). I have a masonry fireplace in the below-grade family room. I have allergies (dust, pollen, grass, weeds, cats, etc - I get an allergy shot every 3 weeks and have been doing so since childhood). I have been using my fireplace w/one-of-a-kind wood-burning insert to suppliment the heat pump. The insert raises the temperature of the family room from 65 to 72 degrees. The thermostat is in the living room and set at 68. The layout of the house is not open so the heat does not directly go to the second floor living area (where the thermosat is located) and bedrooms, but it does add BTU's to the house and heats the floor of the living room. The fireplace does not affect my allergies. Neither does mowing the lawn. Are you so sure of the effects of wood-burners on your allergies that you write-off the best sources of heat from your masonry fireplace (wood/pellet insert or stoves)? Propane and electric resistance heat are the most expensive sources of heat - and by a large margin as compared to other sources of heat. I run the house fan in the summer only. This does 2 things. First, it helps to move air in the summer (I have ceiling fans also). Second, the wife doesn't know when the A/C compressor cycles off so there is less of a chance that she is playing with the thermostat. You can run your house fan in the winter with your new heat source and see how it works. I find that there is cold-feeling air blowing out of the vents in the winter time when the firepace is going in the family room (there are no return vents in the family room in the ceiling). Is there a return vent in the ceiling near your fireplace? I agree with Bob Brown from the HVAC Forum that your basement heating should be done with your current HVAC system. When you replace your current heat pump, you can increase it's capacity if needed and add ductwork to your basement. My opinions.

For some reason it is raining in my fireplace where my insert is. The stove appears to be rusting. I do have a cap on top of my fireplace but the days with driving rain, it rains on top of the stove and also pours out under the stove. Is this dangerous? I also think I need to put some type of liner in and am looking for someone in RI that is trustworthy. I assume that man who usually does the cleaning is good but I would like to hear from you all as to who you use.

might be able to, might need a larger pipe or need to move to different hieght depending on how it comes off of insert. can you get pellets cheap enough to make it worth while? i love mine and get pellets cheap but know of a lot of people who pay more for pellets then natural gas