First upside down fire!

[jtcedinburgh]

Last night I succumbed to temptation and lit my first top-down/upside down fire. It was a roaring success, and got up to temperature (i.e. flue surface temp approx. 12" above stove ~450F) in around 25 minutes from cold. It's still hovering around 60F outside right now, so I think this is pretty good considering.

I have a question: how 'full' can I stack a top-down firebox? Am I limited only by the size of the firebox or should I leave space?

John

 

[DonCT]

Hey congrats!! I've yet to try the topdown method. To be honest, I'm not to sure how to set it up. I've read a ton about it, but does anyone have a pic of an actual setup ready to go?

As far as packing the stove, I say fill'er up

 

[slofr8]

I've been doing this in our outside fire place for years. whole thing is log cabin style. Two biggish split pieces side by side on the bottom. Two more smaller split pieces across those with a couple pieces of kindeling between them. Crumpled up news paper on the kindling. Smaller kindling across this over the paper. Light the paper and sit back with a cold beverage of choice. The news paper can also go on top but if it's windy at all it blows it away. As the kindling burns it falls and ignites the lower levels. Fast, easy, efficient.
When a buddy of mine first saw this, he just sat in silence for quite a while. Now, he's not new to out door fires. Works in the woods, hunter, fisherman, granddad was a game-warden, but he just couldn't get his head around this. After a while he said (jokingly) that although the results were hard to deny it just didn't seem right on many levels. Your supposed to do the teepee thing and chase and tend the fire till it's caught good right? "It defies nature" he said. "I'll bet I could put my hand right in it and it would be cold right?"

Dan, top down fan.

 

[velvetfoot]

I don't want to mess with kindling. Would this work with a piece of fire starter brick on top?

 

[jtcedinburgh]

I guess it might work with a fire starter on top, but frankly kindling is easy to come by here so I wouldn't use anything else (except some rolled up newspaper to get the kindling going).

My parents visited on Saturday, and I was explaining about the top-down approach to my father who just simply refused to believe. As it wasn't even remotely cool I couldn't demonstrate, but one day, one day, I'll teach the old bugger a lesson about top-down fires

 

[DonCT]

I tried the top-down this weekend as well. I used several medium splits, topped with smaller (1" or so) pieces. I then put a couple pieces of fire starter brick on top, then covered with some pieces of bark. It took only 15 min to get the stove up to 400, which is good for a soapstone.

Sounds like I gotta try and get some pics next time

 

[fbelec]

i use the top down every time i start. i load the stove right up to the top sometimes so close to the top that i have to stuff the newspaper in between the stove top and the kindling. and yes once the top is burning if you want you could stick your hand in the middle of the load it's still cool. i've used fire starters in place of newspaper and sometimes kindling. the super cedar fire starters work great in place of kindling and newspaper, but you better have real dry wood. yellow birch is great for this. load up the stove to the top with out small kindling and put on a half of a super cedar broke in half again and placed about six inches apart and instant fire.

 

[kevinlp]

Could some take a picture of the setup in the stove before applying the match.

 

[fbelec]

i'd be happy to do so but today is suppose to get to the lower 80's i don't think it would be a good idea. thurs, fri, sat are suppose to get down to frost levels i'll do it then.

 

[Roospike]

Could some take a picture of the setup in the stove before applying the match.

i'd be happy to do so but today is suppose to get to the lower 80's i don't think it would be a good idea. thurs, fri, sat are suppose to get down to frost levels i'll do it then.

Awe com- mon ..........your stove inst going to get very hot just "building" the top down and before applying the match. ;-P

 

[fbelec]

Could some take a picture of the setup in the stove before applying the match.

i'd be happy to do so but today is suppose to get to the lower 80's i don't think it would be a good idea. thurs, fri, sat are suppose to get down to frost levels i'll do it then.

Awe com- mon ..........your stove inst going to get very hot just "building" the top down and before applying the match. ;-P

of course not. because i don't use matches