Oliver Hayes

Living in a small home means every square inch matters. I learned this the hard way after my 40-gallon tank water heater swallowed an entire closet in my 900-square-foot cottage. After three weeks of research and a weekend of installation planning, I switched to a gas tankless water heater, and the floor space I reclaimed … Read more

Finding the best gas grills for families used to be a headache for me. I spent my first three summers burning chicken on a tiny two-burner from a big-box store, feeding my kids gray burgers while my neighbor laughed at his shiny Weber. After upgrading and helping my brother-in-law shop for his own setup, I … Read more

When your family gathers for a backyard cookout, the last thing you want is a grill that can’t keep up. I’ve been testing and reviewing grills for over a decade, and nothing separates a great family grill from a mediocre one faster than cooking capacity and heat consistency across a large surface. Finding the best … Read more

I tested 8 of the most popular compact gas grills on my apartment balcony for 60 days, and I can tell you that finding the best gas grills for small balconies is not as simple as picking the smallest one. Space, BTU output, weight, and most importantly your building’s fire code all factor into whether … Read more

If you live in an area with hard water, your water heater takes a beating that most models were never designed to handle. Calcium and magnesium minerals settle at the bottom of tanks, coat heating elements, and eat away at anode rods. Over the past three months, our team installed and tested 8 gas water … Read more

After spending three autumns testing backpack blowers on my own 3-acre property, I can tell you this: when it comes to the best gas leaf blowers for large properties, the difference between a great weekend and a wasted one lives in the CFM and the harness. Battery models run out of juice halfway through the … Read more

I live in Minnesota, and finding a gas tankless water heater that actually survives subzero winters tested my patience for two winters running. After my first electric unit buckled at 5°F, I upgraded to gas and started testing models side by side in our home and three neighboring houses. We ran 10 units through real … Read more

If your family runs out of hot water halfway through two simultaneous showers, the issue is almost always your heater’s capacity, not your water pressure. For homes with 3 or more bathrooms, 3,000+ square feet, or 5+ occupants, traditional 40-gallon tanks simply cannot keep up. After testing and comparing the top models on the market, … Read more

I tested eight gas tankless water heaters in real homes over the past four months, running showers, dishwashers, and laundry simultaneously to see which ones actually deliver. The best gas tankless water heaters for whole house use keep up with busy mornings without dropping temperature or running out of hot water halfway through a shower. … Read more

Last winter, my neighbor Dave called me at 7 AM in a panic because his basement was flooded with 40 gallons of rusty water from a failed tank heater. That morning turned into a 14-hour installation marathon with our contractor friend, and we ended up installing a tankless unit that had been on his wishlist … Read more