crackshot said:
thanks guys,..... please ,.... what is top down fire starting?
Huh . . . several days have passed and no one answered your question.
Top down fire starting is a method of starting a fire from a cold start that many folks here have found works well . . . others have found however that it does not work as well for them in their own stove . . . it really doesn't matter which method you use . . . providing you find a method that works well for you and your stove.
The long and short of it is that there seem to be three or four methods of fire starting.
Tee-Pee Method . . . think campfires where you build a teepee out of the wood and the fire burns in the middle.
Log Cabin Method . . . think Lincoln Logs and stacking the wood like a log cabin with the kindling on bottom and the heavier stuff on top.
Chaos Method . . . OK, just made this up . . . but this is for the guy who just crams his firebox full of wood, newspaper and kindling in a haphazard way and figures if he lights a match it will somehow catch on fire and burn wonderfully. This guy is usually quite disappointed.
Top Down Method . . . bigger splits on bottom, kindling on top and crumpled newspaper (Super Cedar for the educated masses or newspapers tied in bows for the purists among us) . . . the idea being that the heat from the newspaper catches the kindling on fire, heat from the kindling catches the splits on fire, etc. . . . advantage is a fire that doesn't fall down on itself and suffocate itself and some folks feel it catches faster and heats up the chimney establishing a draft easier.