Oops, sorry, let's try that again. If the load is 240v and you try to power it from two breakers on the same leg of the mains, it most certainly will "affect" the meter - because the load won't receive any power! Kate, you can't really read the heat er's actual load from the hoome's kWh meter readings. There are too many other loads mucking up the numbers. I think you need to put an ammeter right on that heeter. You could also measure the element's resistance with an ohmmeter and calculate the current with Ohm's Law. Ohm's Law : power = voltage squared, divided by resistance in Ohms. Don't just go changing parts willy-nilly; do some diagnostic work first. A cheap multimeter from the local harware store will serve you well and probably svave you money in the long run. All that said, I'm concered about your installation there. You say this machine is connected to a 30 amp supply. For sustained loads that supply should be limited to 24 amps, or 5760 watts. The 5.5kW heatr alone, even at rated power, would just about max out that circuit. Motor loads are different and I'm not an expert on them, so I'll defer to others if they say it's OK. But it seems to me that if the nameplate rating on that motor is really 5hp, it shouldn't be connected to a 30 amp supply along with a 5.5kW heatr. Anybody else here want to correct or amplify this?

Thanks Eric & HandyMac! Both are good ideas & will be remembered. Since DH is no longer able to do things I've become the maintenance person. Minor (and I do mean minor) electrical & plumbing, caulking, painting, changing oil in lawn tractor, and gutters are no longer a problem for me, but really on a learning curve as far as carpentry. Bought an electric brad nailer today that shoots one & a quarter inch brads. Thought it would help hold all 4 pcs of this "box" together just long enough for me to get screws into it & can also use it on baseboards & other small trim. I will add 2x2's to I/S corners for stability. These small, old, arthritic hands sometimes hinder me. I'm building a lil' patio doghouse for "Wrench," our doxie, and needed to get that first corner made. Suzi

Just thinking, depending on the dent, could one of the auto dent-remover guys fix it? It might be worth taking a photo of it and talking to someone. As for being magnetic, there are several types of SS and they don't all have the same properties. 300 series SS are not magnetic, but resist moisture and exposure to chemicals (acids, etc) better than some of the others, so they tend to be used in kitchen appliances and equipment. You've probably seen SS cookware advertised as "18/10" or something similar. This is 300 series stainless and the numbers denote the chromium and nickel content of the steel. Some of the higher strength stainless steels ARE magnetic, but don't hold up quite as well to some of the sources of corrosion that are common in kitchens. They are used more for equipment, aerospace, and military applications where it is critical for the material to withstand certain loads or forces. The high strength of these steels is not necessary for appliance exteriors, so the extra cost and more difficult manufacturing processes needed to use them are probably not cost effective. I did a quick check on my stainless appliances which are from different manufacturers. The range, range hood, and refrigerator are not magnetic. The front of the dishwasher is, but the handle and inside are not. Just thought you might want to cheer DH up! Let us know if you go for the fridge or not.

Four - I just received notification by email that you had responded to my last post. I clicked on the link in the email. This has become my least frustrating way to access Garden web, without having a problem signing in. I was already signed in to Houzz.com because after reading your previous post in order to respond I had to sign out of gardenweb and sign in to Houzz. Here is the address of the page I am now reading your post on…. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6336081/is-there-any-way-to-bring-gw-back-to-life#28276093 I am signed into Houzz. Now I will sign out by going to the upper right corner of this page and going down to the bottom of the list and clicking on sign out. It throws me back to a page asking me to join Houzz and describing itself as the best place to find professionals. I’m ignoring it and going to type in the address window - www.gardenweb.com It doesn't include the rest of the address indicating the discussion I am reading. The address bar only includes, www.gardenweb.com If I click on Your Houzz in the upper right corner again, after just having navigated to gardenweb, I see I must b signed into Houzz, because it gives me the option to ‘sign out’. I have one message notifying me of your comment. I click on that to navigate back to this thread. I read your comment, starting…. >”I just signed in” In the meantime I am composing this response on my laptop - I type in Hello into the space provided to comment just to see what happens and hit submit and it knocks me back to the Houzz pop up saying sign up to post your comment…or I can go down the bottom and sign in. But I don’t. I just cancel it and go back to the thread. And now the address in the window is https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6336081/is-there-any-way-to-bring-gw-back-to-life#28276093 It has knocked me out of gardenweb. And until I sign into Houzz, I can’t post my comment. Which I am now doing, then I am copy and pasting my response to this thread. I just pasted my response and now the address window has....this in it....a Houzz address. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6336081/is-there-any-way-to-bring-gw-back-to-life#28276093 It’s a loop. I can’t get out of and stopped trying a long time ago.