My First top down fire and I am hooked

[Adam_MA]

I think its the best idea since sliced bread....

As does Vanessa.

Sorry Vanessa, I failed you. Maybe my stove failed you. An amateur blames his tools.

Today I tried a top-down fire and it was a pathetic failure. After the paper flashed off, I was left with the black carbon that choked off the air from the meager flicker of a flame. More paper, more kin'lin. More kin'lin, more paper. As the kin'lin burned through, they fell apart and rolled away from each other. I had to open the stove and tuck them back together so they could feed off each other. After 20 minutes and burned finger tips it looks like the fire can sustain itself. In an hour I might even get some heat.

The only benefit I see is less smoke and the glass stayed clean without having to keep the door open a crack. Despite going into this with a positive attitude, I just knew it wouldn't work.

I had pretty much the exact same experience using the top down method as shown by Vanessa. I played with it a few times, and found the modified top-down/bottom-up method as I described in post #27 to work the best with my stove. It gets the draft going faster and more efficiently with no smoke than any other method I've tried.

 

[madrone]

BB, Do you know what year the Video was made? I am curious if the top down method can be improved by using the Super Cedar without any kindling or newspaper. I would test myself but I no longer am allowed to play with matches.
Thomas

I'd say it works just as well. I don't know if I could say there's any improvement in draft, but there's no tying of knots and balancing act getting them to stay on top of or under the load. I use a modified top-down with small splits on bottom, 1/4 supercedar, kindling, very small split on top. No second attempts using this method, unlike with paper. The biggest problem I've had with paper and top-down is them rolling off and into the corners of the stove. Yes, even with knots. Balancing kindling on top of paper knots is just as fiddly. I'm a supercedar convert.

 

[Lanningjw]

I have been reading about this top down method. Some are asking about using firestarters. I have been shipping Vanessa the Super Cedars for 5-6 years now by the pallets. I am wondering if she has a updated method now? Anyone have contact with her?
Thomas

Is it Ok to use your fire starters with the blaze King cat. In my manual its says to only use news paper, now I hear they are shipping your starters with the BK?

 

[NWfuel]

I have been reading about this top down method. Some are asking about using firestarters. I have been shipping Vanessa the Super Cedars for 5-6 years now by the pallets. I am wondering if she has a updated method now? Anyone have contact with her?
Thomas

Is it Ok to use your fire starters with the blaze King cat. In my manual its says to only use news paper, now I hear they are shipping your starters with the BK?

Lanning, The Sud Chemie did their test quite awhile ago on the Super Cedar. The results are on web site. www.supercedar.com. Blaze King uses the Sud Chemie cats, therefore they have been including Super Cedars for 4 plus years now with the stoves and recommending they be used. I am not aware of any other paraffin based firestarter approved for use with cat stoves. I would be happy to send you some samples. Email your ship to address to [email protected] and they are on the way.
Thomas

 

[Wet1]

Thomas,

Is there something unique in your starters that make them okay for use with cats, or have others just not been tested?

 

[NWfuel]

Thomas,

Is there something unique in your starters that make them okay for use with cats, or have others just not been tested?

We use a highly refined paraffin which others don't. We also have a oxygen rich formula where we use only a small amount of paraffin. Others are paraffin rich.
In conversations with Sud Chemie they have stated that the Super Cedar is the only firestarter of many that they have tested over the years that meets their approval.
Thomas

 

[Slow1]

BB, Do you know what year the Video was made? I am curious if the top down method can be improved by using the Super Cedar without any kindling or newspaper. I would test myself but I no longer am allowed to play with matches.
Thomas

This is sort of what I do each time I light up a cold stove. Although I do use kindling of one sort or another. My flavor of the month right now is "yard sticks", but I have done split boards of various origins too...

I plan to post pictures whenever I get a chance to light up again... darn warm weather! I took pictures of laying the fire and everything, but it has been sitting there waiting for two days now. I just hope that I have time to take pictures once it is cold enough to light (i.e. not caught up in the mad rush of getting kids ready for school!).

 

[Wet1]

Thanks for the info Thomas.

 

[Lanningjw]

I have been reading about this top down method. Some are asking about using firestarters. I have been shipping Vanessa the Super Cedars for 5-6 years now by the pallets. I am wondering if she has a updated method now? Anyone have contact with her?
Thomas

Is it Ok to use your fire starters with the blaze King cat. In my manual its says to only use news paper, now I hear they are shipping your starters with the BK?

Lanning, The Sud Chemie did their test quite awhile ago on the Super Cedar. The results are on web site. www.supercedar.com. Blaze King uses the Sud Chemie cats, therefore they have been including Super Cedars for 4 plus years now with the stoves and recommending they be used. I am not aware of any other paraffin based firestarter approved for use with cat stoves. I would be happy to send you some samples. Email your ship to address to [email protected] and they are on the way.
Thomas[/quote

OK, great news. Do hearth forum members get a discount when buy the super cedar starting product?

 

[RustyShackleford]

After my first top-down fire, I too am favorably impressed.

Another benefit, that I'm not sure I've heard mentioned yet, is that you can go ahead
and put a more or less complete fire worth of wood in there at once - in other words,
including a number of large logs. With the usual bottom up fire, I don't put the big pieces
in to begin with, lest they smush the kindling and newspaper too flat for good ignition. This
is especially nice if you want to lay a fire in advance and don't want to have wood lying
around.

 

[Got Wood]

I use the top down all the time, with the super cedar (I usually break each one into 6 pieces which I find is plenty)

 

[potter]

I have tried a few times to watch Vanessa- but all I get is code. I'm pretty tech limited- but have a newer mac. Any one else run into this?

 

[firefighterjake]

I have tried a few times to watch Vanessa- but all I get is code. I'm pretty tech limited- but have a newer mac. Any one else run into this?

I have a similar problem . . . but then again some photos posted here don't appear either (i.e. the taco picture.)