My car's job is to get me from here to there, and back, without a lot of hassle: as long as it does that, it stays. Plus ... without it costing an arm and a leg to do it: I have other important places to use my money. For those of you who like the small ones and have a yearning for a bit sporty and with some get-up-and-go ... ... have you considered Mazda? They have had some performance qualifications, and, lacking the rep of the Hondas, Toyotas, etc., can often be obtained ("used", that is) for a much lower price for the same level of car. Mine is over a quarter my age ... and I'm no spring chicken: it's 24, has cost me some money, lately, and may be about to cost me some more, so I'm wondering how much longer that it may go, with something over 180,000 mi. on its odometer. I'd like to get a standard tranny, as, being scarce and undesirable, they're cheaper - and use something like 6 - 10% less gas than automatics (which is a concern, not only for scarcity of the resource and pocketbook, but environmental reasons). Plus, unless someone is ready to crawl up my tailpipe, I not only shut off the engine and coast to signal lights that just turned yellow ... but am inclined to do it when travelling downhill, as well. As some of you know ... over seven years ago when I was travelling in my little Dodge "Colt" out from my townhouse in town to sleep in uncle's house prior to its sale after his death, to make the place look lived-in, often it was late at night and the road untravelled ... and I found that I could coast for over 16 of the 20 km. going out there (but the return journey was usually during the day, with more traffic, and coasting was much reduced). After the Mazda got hit enough to crookedify a wheel a few years ago, not too long after I got it ... I spent more to repair it than I'd paid ... but it takes a lot of resources to dig ore, smelt and manufacture a new vehicle, along with the petroleum-sourced plastic that they put into them ... ... and repairing requires few scarce resources and fuel/energy, is mostly work-related. ole joyful

houses14, my Imperial range hood is not an insert, rather an under cabinet ss hood. However, the materials used, and the quality of construction, the fan motors, are the same with minor variances to allow for space restrictions within the smaller size of my hood. Construction wise, it is all that I had hoped for, was easy to install, and has functioned beautifully. Packaging and shipping were excellent. The ss is marine grade. This means that the amount of chromium in the ss will prevent rust from forming in the interior of the hood over time. The electrician informed me that their fan motors and switches appeared to be top quality. The warranty for my hood is 7 years, which is almost unheard of in the industry. Their specifications and installation instructions are right on to allow for optimal operation. For example, my duct is 8" from hood to roof jack and had to have a certain rise in height from the hood before the first angle in the duct work. Baffles remove and reinstall easily for cleaning. It was a joy to call Imperial direct with technical questions at their manufacturing headquarters in California. Someone was always immediately available to answer my questions regarding their vent hoods or recommended installation. My installer was promptly referred to their engineer for technical assistance as I requested that the wiring that would automatically turn on my hood once a certain temperature below the hood was reached be disconnected as I did not want that feature. To me, having that level of service available when answers are needed means a great deal. I found that the folks at headquarters were always honest even if it wasn't the answer I wanted and that they knew their stuff. Their light and fan switches are continuously variable which is rare on vent hoods. This means that they both function like a rheostat with a continuous increase, or decrease, rather than clicking up or down discreet notches, such as level 1 to 4. Also, I liked having the option of installing the switches wherever I wanted remotely, rather than being mounted to the underside of the hood. The hood easily handles removal of odors, steam or grease beneath it's surface. I've found that if the hood is allowed to run for about 10 minutes prior to cooking that it can be operated at a lower level and do a good job. The hood on low is fairly quiet but is noisier than I had anticipated at higher levels with having dual fans and baffles. Also, highest cfm level is 1000 which is a factor. However, I used a different size led bulb than Imperial recommended. I now have a gap around the bulb that needs to be filled with a rubber gasket. Also, the temporary roof jack is too large, and the correct one is waiting to be installed so the jury is still out on the noise issue. Noise level was quite an issue for me, but even if it remains unchanged, I would still buy the same hood given how pleased I am with the overall operation and that I can easily live with the noise that I now have. I'll have to look up the name of the online vendor I used and will add that information tonight.

The vent pipe itself needs to be wrapped with insulation. The fact that the attic itself is insulated is immaterial. The attic insulation only insulates the living space from the exterior temperature, not objects in the attic. A properly ventilated attic is pretty much "outdoor" temperature, and when you have warm moist air traveling through a metal duct, it cools and condenses pretty rapidly, thus producing the "indoor rain" that you're experiencing. Insulate the duct itself and the problem should go away.

The roofers (reputedly the best n my area) did the installation last week which turned out to be a less than 2 minute job. I poked a hole through the membrane where I wanted the hole and the roofers found a suitable spot close by. The 8" flange fit right between two battens (what holds up the roof tiles and what they hang from) and two adjacent tiles. Overlays enough so the roofers think it shouldn't leak. Easy enough to close up by replacing the tile if it does. The 1" flange is rather short so screwing in the elbow was a PITA. The roof vent may actually be stainless steel the more I look at it. Looks more like the stainless steel used in the VaH warming shelf than the galvanised ducting I used.