I can see what you mean by cheap testers giving wrong meaning because it seems to be the moister areas are giving even some as low as 5.5. This is good that I didn't put down any lime or sulfur until I got an accurate reading. I'm not going to even attempt at changing ph balance. I'll just get better watering schedules. I watered this morning, but areas without ground cover are dry as a bone, but those shaded by their own plant and above ground cover are doing fine. I tested my potted soil dirt with this tester when I got it before I tested my yard, I tested yesterday and again today, both potted dirt and my dirt, the potted dirt still says it's 6.0. There was a variation in the number until I put it in deep enough, but then steadily it read 6.0. My potted soil is moist, so I wonder if a dry patch will be higher in ph balance? I'll have to read the back of the directions or write the manufacturer to see if there are rules as to when to check the dirt to get better accuracy in ph numbers. That is why so many people by the test strips instead. I'm starting to think ph isn't my problem. Would a dying tree put the ph balance off? We have a big one in they yard, and it's decomposing could be throwing the dirt off. The more it dies, the better everything grows. It's one of those trees with white bark or almost no bark, but light colored, Beech or Birch? I can't remember. There is a walnut tree in the yard that is definitely trouble for my plants and it did not do well this year, but my garden did a little better. I think it's poisoning the dirt.

Wow! Thank you for your generosity and interesting discussion. (1) My fridge is a ABB2227. The manual does not say anything about the "normal" variation. "If the fridge is too warm, set the control down; if it is too cold, set it up"... Dah... (2) I typed my model number on the Web. I did not know there was a Amana community that has as a hobby the periodic thawing of our fridge... how fun... (3) A precision: I remove from my readings all the meal time since my vegetables and nuts are in there (the service guy told me that a fridge cannot hold a normal temperature if it is empty). No kids in the house to screw up my readings. My readings' variations cannot be explained by the door opening. This I am sure. (4) The board and sensor were changed when the fridge once again went up over 50 degrees last week. I got fed up and instead of doing the thawing routine all over again, I called the service guy. This is where our opinions go into different directions; he says that my fridge is now normal, but I think that something is still wrong because of the large temperature variation (but one good thing though, the temperature never went back to 50 degrees with the new board; the problem is that I don't have anymore the readings before the last problematic episode... this is where I kick myself; I should have kept them). Since the new board, the highest reading I got is around 45 degrees. (5) Tonight I opened the door and put an instant 3-sec thermometer in everything liquid that had spent a couple of days in the fridge and was not in the door (yes I also have one of those... I know; I may sound like a crazy thermometer woman by now...). The cup of water I put in yesterday night, the water the radishes were in, the 1-liter of milk, the water the celery was in... were all showing 40 degree readings. (6) I went through the study that was linked to. Very informative. They seem to think that 5 degrees is an acceptable upper limit and 5 C is 41 F. So maybe my stuff showing 40 degrees is all right despite the very large air temp variation. (I will go on and calculate my average and median over several days... I think that the median is more telling than the average... my stat husband reminded me that on average everybody is normal...). Where do I go from here: - Tonight before going to bed, I will put the control to 5 to see the impact it will impact. (I am just a bit afraid it will freeze my tender vegetables; I have periodic readings between 31 and 32 F, so I hope that it will get the upper limit down, but not the lower limit). - Since there is nothing in the manual, tomorrow I will call Amana and ask them what they consider a normal variation (but I have to admit that my hopes for a meaningful answer are not high). - In the next weeks (we do not live in the same city), I will go to my sister's home and test her "perfectly functioning" fridge, just to see if she has the same variation as I now have. It may just show that this fridge has never been able to keep a stable temperature. Thanks again, Lynn This post was edited by l_mtl on Wed, Jun 25, 14 at 22:05

Posted by deeageaux The appliance engineer I talked when I visited the Capital Factory in Santa Fe Springs Ca. It is very surprising that someone of that level of education would say that. Engineers always seem to be into the specifics. There are so many differences between types of open and sealed burners, I can't imagine someone making such a broad generalization. At low and moderate heat there is almost no difference between open and sealed burners. If you have the burners wide open, you will get some additional flare on the sealed burners due to the burner cap but this varies widely depending on how they are engineered. It is true in most situations according to him unless the pan is extremely large and able to capture the heat shooting off the sides. I am amazed that he hasn't considered that the flames are adjustable. Maybe he doesn't cook so doesn't realize one of the first things you learn in cooking is to adjust the heat so the flame is under the pan. Open or sealed, the flame can be too big for the pan. This is one reason that CC has come up with the simmer/small pan burner as Wolf has. Other manufacturers vary the size of burners allowing the user to match pan to burner a little better. You might find some of the bigger open burners have a flame bigger in diameter than some sealed burners. I have seen people that do just turn the burner on high but that is user error and would apply on both open and sealed burners. Even the height of the grates can affect the efficiency of the burners. It helps to talk in generalities and what most types of pans people use. Not some extreme outlier. You need specifics. What does he mean by "extremely large" What do you mean by "extreme outlier"? I can use a ten inch frying pan on my sealed burner, on high heat and the flame is under the pan base which is 8 inches across. I actually consider the ten inch pan small. To make a statement as he did you would need to have some supporting data obtained from measuring heat loss or maybe measuring heat utilized. It would be a massive, expensive study and have to consider a lot of variables. If you read any threads about cookware, I would hate to guess what most people use. You would have to guess size, shape, material, weight, etc. All these factors then contribute to the efficiency of heat to food. Your idea of an outlier might be what I use everyday and vice versa.

Oh, no problem newgen! Glad you're getting some good rains (hope you're not in an area at risk for mud slides.) Our drought here has been going on for years, so I really sympathize about the drought in CA. Some folks are saying we will have a wetter than normal winter, down here. I hesitate to believe it...but that would be so wonderful; maybe we can see some wildflowers in the spring! May all your rains be slow, gentle, and helpful...with no more rough winds.