Should I start with a small fire?

[enchant]

The goal is to get a cold stove ripping ASAP.

This is true for me as well. When we come down in the morning, our "family room" (where the stove is located) is very chilly - sometimes under 50F. Three sides of the room are covered with large glass sliders. Roof overhead, crawlspace below. It was a room that was constructed with every possible savings taken - cheap insulation, undersized wood, but all barely within the building codes. So when we come down on a cold morning, step one is to get a fire going while my wife makes coffee. I want some usable heat coming out of the stove as quickly as possible.

I watched a youtube video on creating a top down fire. You see the fire being lit, and there is text on the bottom showing how much time had gone by. After 10 minutes, the kindling was pretty well caught. After 20 minutes, the splits on the bottom were starting to burn. After 30 minutes, the bottom splits are starting to burn nicely. But by this time, our coffee is going to be gone and we'd be freezing to death.

 

[firefighterjake]

In my opinion a top down fire shouldn't be any slower to get going to the point where you can start shutting the air control . . .

 

[adrpga498]

I reload between 4 & 6 hours depending on desired heat output needed, then stuff it for 8 hour overnights .

 

[kevreh]

Take a whole firewood round split in half, put it on bottom with flat side facing up, place super cedar or similiar product on top of that, place small splits on top of super cedar, light super cedar, close door, drink coffee.

No smoke this way since door is closed. No kindling or paper needed.

About every 4th fire I have a problem where my fireplace doesn't draft for a few minutes and smoke fills the room. Not sure why. I thought there wouldn't be enough draft leaving the door closed?

 

[enchant]

I had this problem last year, probably more like 50% of the time. My solution was to put one piece of crumpled newspaper along one side of the wood that goes to the top of the fire box. I'd light this along with the newspaper under the kindling. This would put a lot of flame at the top of the box and get an updraft going quickly. Haven't had that problem since.