Not saying this is the right way / best way / or anything other than this is how I do it.
As a note to all who are just starting with their passion for burning wood, the shoulder season is the most difficult time to burn in because of starting fires in a cold stove w/ no / little ashes and no hot coals. Reduced draft from warmer than average temps, typically a less than full firebox, etc. Don't get frustrated, just enjoy the experimentation and remember that difficulty is part of the learning process. This is NOT how I built my fire a few years ago. Trying new things is part of the game. You'll need to find what works best for you, your stove, and your chimney.
The foundation.
Kindling added. I usually tip it to a 45 degree angle so that more surface area was is on the wood. I wanted you to see the size / density better. Plus I used extra paper tonight since I was messing w/ the camera.
The knots of newspaper. (Thanks Vanessa)
Paper almost gone. Elapsed time is probably less than 5 minutes. The door was slightly cracked until now.
Magic happening.
Fire moving down into the wood pile
~25 mins later. Stove top ~450 which will be maintained for a bit more than an hour then things will start to drop. As a note, I added one more small / med piece to the top of the burn pile once my kindling had completely disappeared just to even out the top a bit and hold things together. Additionally, this is how I start all my fires. If this were the dead of winter I would be loading the stove to the gills about another 10 mins after this picture. Also, with a small fire like this my draft never gets shut more than 2/3 to 3/4 at most. When the big boy is eating a full meal in cold weather, it's draft may be close to being completely closed.
pen
As a note to all who are just starting with their passion for burning wood, the shoulder season is the most difficult time to burn in because of starting fires in a cold stove w/ no / little ashes and no hot coals. Reduced draft from warmer than average temps, typically a less than full firebox, etc. Don't get frustrated, just enjoy the experimentation and remember that difficulty is part of the learning process. This is NOT how I built my fire a few years ago. Trying new things is part of the game. You'll need to find what works best for you, your stove, and your chimney.
The foundation.
Kindling added. I usually tip it to a 45 degree angle so that more surface area was is on the wood. I wanted you to see the size / density better. Plus I used extra paper tonight since I was messing w/ the camera.
The knots of newspaper. (Thanks Vanessa)
Paper almost gone. Elapsed time is probably less than 5 minutes. The door was slightly cracked until now.
Magic happening.
Fire moving down into the wood pile
~25 mins later. Stove top ~450 which will be maintained for a bit more than an hour then things will start to drop. As a note, I added one more small / med piece to the top of the burn pile once my kindling had completely disappeared just to even out the top a bit and hold things together. Additionally, this is how I start all my fires. If this were the dead of winter I would be loading the stove to the gills about another 10 mins after this picture. Also, with a small fire like this my draft never gets shut more than 2/3 to 3/4 at most. When the big boy is eating a full meal in cold weather, it's draft may be close to being completely closed.
pen