Joepyeweed, omg you just reminded me of a disaster I had one day. I was on a cleaning frenzy. I even polished the glass panes in the French Doors that lead into the computer room, just off the fireplace area. I finished vacuuming the carpets, cleaned the wood (laminate) flooring and was now onto the fireplace ashes. Got out my little shop vac, plugged the hose into the suction hole, or so I thought, and turned it on. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had the hose plugged into the BLOW AIR OUT part. Holy Crap! Ashes went everywhere. And I mean everywhere. All over the glass panes, the flooring, the carpet, the furniture I had just dusted. Nothing I could do except cry. So that's what I did. Then I cleaned again. I like that tray idea but with my luck, I'd trip over the cat and drop it or a big wind would come and blow it all over me.

Hi there. I'm the OP of this thread and we've had our F400 for 3-4 years now. We are outside of Philly so not as cold as you. This year has been a real test of the stove, because our downstairs furnace has been broken since thanksgiving so the woodstove has been basically heating our entire house and it was a colder-than-normal winter. It does very well til the temps get down into the teens and twenties - then it's a little more than the stove can keep up with. Anyhow, our house is about 3000 sq ft, 2 stories, with an open floor plan. The f400 definitely heats the whole house - the upstairs much more so than the downstairs - the rooms downstairs that are farthest from the stove can be a good 5-10 degrees colder than the rest of the house and the upstairs is usually about 6-8 degrees warmer than the room where the stove is. I would think that how well the heat travels through your house probably depends a lot on how open your floorplan is -- the room where we have the stove is open to most of the downstairs and has a 2 story area that is open to an upstairs balcony, so heat can dissipate very well. We don't turn on our furnace fans or anything to circulate the heat - when I do that, the house just ends up feeling drafty and the heat circulates just fine without the fans so I don't bother. Also, I've learned a couple things with the Jotul. The wood has to be VERY dry and VERY seasoned in order to burn well. I find that wood that's been seasoned for at least 2 years burns great - anything less than that, and I've got to futz with it. And gosh-help-me if I'm bringing in wood that is damp from snow or drizzle - it burns (with a lot of futzing - keep the door cracked, open the ashpan door, add lots of kindling, etc.), but the stove doesn't get up to a good burn temperature that actually heats the house. Also, I find that I need to keep the stove hot - no smoldering long burns at a lower temp like I used to do with the woodstove I had 20 years ago. I have a thermometer on the top of the stove off to the side (following the diagram in the instruction manual for the stove) and I find that if I don't have that thermometer reading 500-550, I'm not generating enough heat to actually make the house comfortable. I'm lucky in that I work from home, so I have the luxury of feeding the stove every couple hours to keep it burning hot.

I feel like my life is tied to those books. They represent who I am. Is that why it's so hard for me to weed them out? Yes, that *IS* why it's so hard for you to weed them out. You don't want to let go of all of those identities. Thinking through that issue may help you. Are you *really* someone who will start a business? Or are you someone who will pipe-dream about it only (that's acceptable, btw; are don't need to act on every dream). I would say, don't go by cost. (do a Google search on "sunk cost"--the money is spent, don't worry about how much it was, bcs it's never coming back) Go by, "how much difference would it make in my life if I wanted them but didn't have them?" Will you be able to find info like it, in a book from the library? (even if the ones you donate aren't there)? Starting a business--there are tons of books in the library about that. Organizing--personally, I find doing it to be more useful than reading about it. Medical--I'd have said keep the ones you'd look in if someone was sick or injured in the middle of the night or weekend, but honestly I find very credible info on the Internet now, in just as much detail as you'd get from most of those books. How to write--are you writing? might you look up a grammatical turn of phrase? I might keep reference books. Diet--are there any details in those books that isn't covered by: "eat less, move around more"? LOL I would bet that you could get rid of nearly all of them.

D K and Sons / All: This stuff still hasn't fully hardened. It's clay-like still. I bought it from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hercules-1-2-gal-Furnace-Stove-Cement-35515/202078154 Directions of use: "Surface to be joined or repaired should be clean and free of any old cement or debris. Clean surface and remove paint, grease, or oil before applying furnace cement. Wash cleaned area with water. Do not apply to very hot surfaces; wait until surfaces cool down. Apply thin layer of cement covering all openings. Press tightly into section or part being repaired or sealed. Apply liberal second layer of cement and smooth with trowel. If adding adjoining sections, place gently and avoid any twisting motions. Remove excess cement and smooth edges. Start heat using low temperatures for initial firing. Gradually increase the temperature allowing the cement to cure to a solid and durable mass, free from pores. Full firing may follow. Always keep container tightly covered when not in use." They talk about a "firing" and using heat. It's unclear exactly what I should do though. Doesn't say anything about how long it would take to dry. I'm confused. Thoughts? Thanks.