Mrs G: I do add extra shading during chill cycle. That helps keep it cooler during the day. Also I run the evaporative cooler. These together allow me to keep it 5-12F cooler inside than outside during the day. Pollination is by hand or mostly bumblebees. Patty: There is another relationship published by A&M that relates chill hrs to mean temp during the two coldest months. Using that gives estimates of: Vista 66/46 = 56F mean = ~500 chill hours Modesto 54/40 = 47F mean = ~1050 chill hours greenhouse 55/37 = 46F = ~1100 chill hours Greenhouse was only 56 days rather than 60 but that should still equate to ~1,000 chill hrs more like I was thinking. Maybe I'm not short on chilling but I've tried working through other ideas and keep coming up short. Here is a link that might be useful: A&M temperature vs chilling in figure 1

Siam glad you enjoyed todays message lol Barb man you made me go back and look for my toes lol. You got good eyes!! Oh yippeeeeeeeeeee. I get so exited when I see plants emerge from the soil that was shared with me. Now it is to dark to run out and look at the name lol. But I stuck a stick in there thinking NO way this one will come back this year. WOW it DID and I will take a picture and name that plant later lol So Barb you surely got a lot going on then with sending all the RR things out. Thanks again. You are just the sweetest. Lucy

baymee, Thanks for the response, I appreciate it. I thought that the coil might potentially need cleaned, so I asked the HVAC tech about this. He said that by looking at it, there are no signs of calcium or any build up. He said something about being able to tell either at the joints, or one other way which I forget...but said it looked to be in good shape and wouldn't recommend cleaning it yet...mainly b/c of the cost to do so...something in the $200 range. The mixing valve is brand new (3 weeks old) so I don't think it will need cleaned yet. You're right about the efficiency, I was told is was mid 80's. I will adjust the lo limit back up to 160 and see if this helps. It's funny b/c he actually told me the opposite of what you said. He said by adjusting it to 150 on the lo, it wouldn't run as long. It's possible he meant it wouldn't stop and start as much. If the problem persists, would you recommend going against the word of the first HVAC tech and having the coil cleaned anyway? Also, we do plan on having some new windows installed...actually getting an estimate later today. In addition, would it help out if I better insulated the basement around the boiler? There are two doors leading to the outside and a crawl space under the porch where the oil tank is located, neither is insulated well and as such, the basement isn't very warm. If I insulate those doors, and can keep the basement warmer, will the boiler have an easier time keeping the water temperature up? Thanks.

Not as good a deal as they make it out to be, but a good deal. I mean really, $625 regular price?! I put two in my kitchen remodel two years ago. The one at my main sink died about 14 months after installation. The motor worked but one of the bolts that held the grinding plates in place sheared off and chewed up the interior. Insinkerator was great about handling it. Sent out a repairman pretty promptly and, based on my description of what happened, brought out a replacement GD so it was replaced same day. The tech that replaced it said he'd seen a problem like it before. The other one has been problem free as has the replacement.