As many of you, I have been drooling over this grill for over a year. Your postings have confirmed my thoughts and I have already received financial approval. I will be getting this grill within the next 2 weeks. The question I have, and also saw that someone else asked but have not seen a response, has anyone done a "permanent" or "semi-permanent" installation with an LP heated house? My house is only a year old and is heated by LP. We have a 1000 gallon tank buried in the yard. All of the discussions of plumbing type and size encourage me to offer some detail as to our setup. There is a regulator on the side of the house that drops the pressure to 2 PSI. Inside there is a regulator attached to a manafold that provides individual taps for every appliance (2 furnaces, water heater, stove, dryer, and a dedicated run to the deck for a "future grill") All of this is done with a somewhat flexible 1/2" yellow (I guess vinyl) coated copper. That main regulator is supposed to be able to support all of the appliances and maintain the 14" of pressure. Outside is a stub of 1/2" black pipe to which I need to connect. My plan is a temporary connection (soft hose) upon purchase and a permanent one when I can build this unit in. I agree with the concerns of leaks and will obviously put a shut-off valve before any soft hose. I saw mention of a hose kit from HD for $35. This is listed as an NG hose but at roughly 1/2 PSI I assume it will work for LP? Any thoughts or input would be appreciated. Thanks, Lee

In Canada, Costco sells the Bluestars for just over $2000 ($Can). On this side of the border, it is the NXR (the one that Nunyabiz has) that Costco sells for a little under $2000 ($US). The choice between gas and induction is something that has been (and, here, it still is) being discussed. To me, it comes down to picking trade-offs. I see the advantages of both the NXR/BlueStars and induction ranges, and go back and forth on all of them. For me, picking a stove comes down to a mix of trade-offs, one of them being budgetary. The induction stove that most appeals to me is the Viking induction range. (You've seen Luv2putt's long thread on his racing red induction rnage?) I really like the set-up, the ability to get it with colors, the knob controls down front, the wide-open cooking surface. But, the cost strikes me as absurd. I likewise find the Wolf AG & DF stoves very appealing but the price puts my wallet into constricting budgetary spasm. Nunyabiz makes an interesting point about energy costs. I can say that the energy savings trade-off is variable by region as well as by how much cooking and what kind of cooking you do. Right now, and for the next few years, at least, natural gas prices are low. That may or may not translate into operating cost saving. If you feel like you have not yet done enough research, yet-- ;>) --- check out the link below. When I say that the savings are highly variable, I am speaking about direct experience in my small mountain community. I live in town where utlities are supplied by a regional corporate utility of some size. I do a lot of cooking, so gas will have some cost advantage for me. Using the calculator from the linked site below, with electrical rates here being are a little over $0.10//kwh, I guestimated that a gas stove would save me about $60 per year over an electrical one. Folks a couple of miles away in the county, served by a rural electrical coop (which is economically raped by deregulation and Enron type manipulations that our legislature foolishly thought would be "competition") have been suffering with in the $0.27 to $0.49/kwh range. They will have an entirely different persepctive on the gas vs electricity thing. I like the Bluestar/NXR type of stove's wide-open cook-space on top and the ability to put an array of big pots and being able to put any pot anywhere. (I do six large events here plus holiday dinners for crowds so I find the wide space appealing and useful where it might not matter to others.) You can get something like that with the induction slide-ins (specifically the GE that alkvdb is considering and the Electrolux/Kenmores that stuck-out too far), but the cook-tops project out on the sides. This can make for issues of fitting and supporting the edges, and may add to the expense of putting in a new stove. (How's that for looping back to the original question?) All of the foregoing being said, I'm still very interested in induction. The paper-trick mentioned by herring_maven is a minor but appealing aspect of the easier clean up of induction. For me, the "cleaning" appeal of induction is not so much stove-top cleaning but that gas produces more vaporous goo which means more and more frequent cleaning of the range hood, the walls, cabinets and etc. Another appealing factor for me, living and cooking at an altitude of 6000 feet, is that electrical stoves are not affected by altitude the way gas stoves are. All of the considerations go into a mix that can make one's head trying to sort out all the choices. A friend of mine said she was thinking of just buying buy a Vita-Mix blender, making smooties out of raw food, and just skipping "the whole stove thing." Here is a link that might be useful: Info on guestimating electrical vs. gas appliance operating costs

SLC, sorry I didn't get get your message until tonight. Here's a couple of cajun shrimp dishes. Sounds like you're adding some great stuff to your repertoire. I really don't mind cooking as long as I don't have to deal with leftovers, so it is actually fun planning and cooking for company once in a while. Shrimp is my favorite seafood and I love creole-cajun dishes. CAJUN STYLE BROILED SHRIMP Serves 2 as an appetizer 5-6 uncooked shrimp ¼ cup butter, melted (½ stick) 1 Tbsp. Louisiana hot sauce (Franks Red Hot or Crystal are good) 2 cloves garlic, pressed ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp coarsely ground or cracked black pepper ½ tsp finely chopped fresh parsley Pinch dried rosemary Lemon wedges Prepare the oven to 400 degrees F. Shell and de-vein the shrimp. In a small baking dish, combine the melted butter with the hot sauce, garlic, salt, cracked pepper, parsley, and rosemary. Stir. Arrange the shrimp side by side in the baking dish and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately broil the shrimp for 2-4 minutes or until the shrimp are done, but not chewy. Squeeze some lemon juice over the shrimp. Serve the shrimp sizzling hot in the baking dish This is from Ruths Chris Steak House and in keeping with their New Orleans flavor of many of their dishes. CREAMY CAJUN SHRIMP LINGUINE From Cooking Light Magazine Serves 4 1 cup water 1 can (14 oz) fat-free, less sodium, chicken broth 6 oz. uncooked linguine 1 pound med. Shrimp, peeled & de-veined 1 ½ Tbsp. butter 1 large red bell pepper, ½" slices ¼ tsp. salt ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 8-oz pkg. pre-sliced mushrooms 2 tsp. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning 2/3 cup half-&-half Combine 1 cup water & broth in Dutch oven; bring to boil. Break pasta in half, add to pan. Boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 8 minutes. Add shrimp to pan. Cover and simmer 3 more minutes or until shrimp are done; drain. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sliced red pepper; saute 4 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Add flour, seasoning and salt to pan; saute 30 seconds. Stir in half-&-half; cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add pasta mixture and parsley to pan. Toss. I like this with steamed broccoli, fresh French bread, and glass of red wine.

Igloochic, I don't in fact work for an induction distributor. I was deliberately non provocative in my post because I know, if I do not understand why, that many people are sensitive to the subject. I DID try to go out of my way to point out that my opinion is not shared by everyone and to include links to sources, such as the EPA that are generally considered credible. I find it dismaying that my remarks were were linked to a "terrible issue" and that I am accused of shilling for some corporation. Rocks and gas HAVE been killing us for years. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US per the National Cancer Institute. It is associated with "15,000 - 22,000 lung cancer deaths each year". Please see the link to the National Cancer Institute for more information. http://www.cancer.gov/cancerTopics/factsheet/Risk/radon One of the reasons that indoor gas appliance use is now affecting asthmatics and allergy sufferers in a way that is showing increasing attention over the years is because houses are now being built to be more energy efficient. In other words, are newly "air tight" homes don't have the air exchange the older homes did so air quality issues in the home are much more prevelant. Please see this link by the United States Enviromental Protection Agency. It will provide several links to other articles by the same governmental agency explaining that the process of "weather" proofing your home can decrease interior air quality as well and additional mechanical means of bringing in the new air to flush the old affected air should be instally. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html It's possible that you can match my links to the Eviromental Protection Agency with some more "silly links" that say induction use will give you cancer. I was never making a statement about induction. I was only speaking about statements our own goverment is making about gas appliances in the home. As for having sex on the countertops I doubt that would be an issue. But if you were having a good time on the countertop for about a few hours a day (the average time spent standing at that same countertop for prep/cooking/clean up for several meals) then I might be worried. I am NOT telling you not to buy gas. Nor am I telling you to buy induction. What I am saying is that the phrase "I have asthma and I live in a house with gas so it must be fine" in nonsensical. If you are perfectly well and live in a superinsulated house with gas appliances that would mean something.