Vanessa is full of poo!

[stejus]

I tried the top down this AM. It was a bit smokey at first and took about 1/2 to get going. The best part about it was lite it and forget about it. Two hours later a had a nice coal bed.

Top layer - N/S and E/W splitter trash (aka kindling) with small chunk of Firebrick starter in the kindling
Middle layer - E/W two 3" splits
Bottom layer N/S - three 4" splits

 

[gpcollen1]

I dont get it, why not crinkle up some newspaper, put it under some kindling and toss a log on top when it gets going, like the good ole days? The faster I get that match lit the fast I can get back to watching football, not standing in front of the stove with lab equipment

You can start the top down and the 'conventional' one in the same amount of time. If folks are having trouble with the top down, the are not getting it. It takes 2 seconds to roll and tie a piece of newspaper.

The allure of the top down is that the fire does not collapse on itself and I GAURANTEE that I will have mine cooking before yours. It is usually the adding pieces to the fire that stymies the conventional method. It is really not that big of a deal to get worked up over....people still resist EPA stoves too...

 

[BrotherBart]

What I like about it is the rapid start-up of the draft and no smoke from the smoldering crap sitting on top of the fire starter waiting to get hot enough to ignite.

On the other side of the coin, I don't get a commission for top down fires and don't care how other people start their fires or how much smoke they get in their face opening the door to add more kindling or start over when their pile collapses.

My new paper bow plant will be opening in the Spring of 2010. Each box will include 500 paper bows and a pair of latex gloves. The product will be called "Bow-Nanza" and will be made of 100% recycled copies of the New York Times. All you will have to do to start a fire is lay two rows of 2" kindling in the bottom of the stove, lay six Bow-Nanza fire starters on top, utter the word "Obama" into the firebox and close the door real fast as the bows burst into flame spontaneously.

 

[kenny chaos]

. The product will be called "Bow-Nanza" and will be made of 100% recycled copies of the New York Times. .

I was going to suggest recycling from the "ash can" by printing out the political mumbo jumbo which is always guaranteed to start a fire but after some consideration, it'd probably just cause a lot of problems.

In Pook lingo; It wouldn't be stochiometric=methinx

 

[begreen]

What I like about it is the rapid start-up of the draft and no smoke from the smoldering crap sitting on top of the fire starter waiting to get hot enough to ignite.

On the other side of the coin, I don't get a commission for top down fires and don't care how other people start their fires or how much smoke they get in their face opening the door to add more kindling or start over when their pile collapses.

My new paper bow plant will be opening in the Spring of 2010. Each box will include 500 paper bows and a pair of latex gloves. The product will be called "Bow-Nanza" and will be made of 100% recycled copies of the New York Times. All you will have to do to start a fire is lay two rows of 2" kindling in the bottom of the stove, lay six Bow-Nanza fire starters on top, utter the word "Obama" into the firebox and close the door real fast as the bows burst into flame spontaneously.

Sounds like Bow-Nanza will be a great hit in some parts of the country. You'll make a million. Now about those executive Bow-nuses....

 

[LLigetfa]

The allure of the top down is that the fire does not collapse on itself and I GAURANTEE that I will have mine cooking before yours.

My lattice of criss-crossed pieces does not collapse on itself before a good bed of coals are formed.

When I want my fire to burn hot and fast, I put the splits ON TOP of the coals, not the coals on top of the splits. Criss-crossing is like using andirons to raise the wood allowing air to the coals. A word of caution; most stove manufacturers do not advocate the use of andirons for risk of over-firing a stove and criss-crossing may have the same effect. I take no responsibility for you burning your house down if too hot a fire sets your chimney ablaze.

When I want my fire to burn slower and longer, I rake the coals to the front so that there are no coals under the wood that I put behind the coals. A front to back burn is somewhere in between a top down fire and coals on the bottom.

 

[John_M]

I've tried many methods of starting fires over the years before the EPA II stoves. Have never used Cedar Starters, fire starters, fuel oil, etc., just newspaper and usually only one match. The method I've settled on is the same one Dennis (Backwoods Savage) uses. Seems to work every time for me. The narrow space between the side splits seems to act as a very nice wind tunnel for the kindling resting on the side pieces.

John_M

 

[laynes69]

I place a couple dry spits on bottom. Then criss cross some 1/2 to 1" stuff. A few pine cones and paper on top. Top down worked for me, but took a little while to get going. If I need a rip roar fire quickly, then a piece of firestarter in the middle of the 2 large splits and its golden from there.

 

[pen]

With my old fisher stove the top down fire never worked for beans. I've been having good success with the new Englander 30. It seems to work just as well as the traditional log-cabin-o-kindling-method under the main logs.

The real advantage that I see in using the top down method on this new stove is it saves my fragile baffle boards. With the top down fire, the small easy to control wood gets put up near the "danger" zone so I am less likely to gouge a baffle.

pen

 

[oconnor]

Who uses newspaper in the age of the internet? All the news print to fit is in the Ash Can......

Top down with birch bark is all I need. Lit one yesterday with about 5 sq inches of bark as the starter (I was feeling stingy), but my flue has a great natural draft.

Kenny - great Pookism.

 

[Skier76]

A top down works amazingly well in our outdoor firepit. It really doesn't smoke much and it's "set it and forget it". I find it works great in that application.

Now, in our wood stove, a totally different story. I can't the fire going (no matter what method I use) unless I have some "extra" air added to the mix. Meaning, the ash pan door (which isn't a good idea from what I gather) or the main door cracked. If I light the paper and shut the door...2 minutes later I have a smoldering mess. Maybe part of the problem is my chimney; but I always make sure the draft is going in the right direction first. I only needed to learn that lesson once.

However, with the extra air, the fire will eventually get chugging along good. What I like about the top down is everything that falls, falls down towards the bigger splits. As mentioned, that really helps with creating coals. Furthermore, I use some old coals from the last fire and keep those at the bottom to help get things going. In addition, I don't get the "two hour burn time without adding wood" as talked about in the video. I get the fire going pretty good, then toss a few more splits on.

 

[NWfuel]

Three large WET splits and one Super Cedar. No looking back!!
This is Seattle, we don't have dry wood.

 

[wendell]

Three large WET splits and one Super Cedar. No looking back!!
This is Seattle, we don't have dry wood.

Who the heck uses a full Super Cedar to start a fire?

Oh, right, the owner of the company! :lol:

 

[Slow1]

Three large WET splits and one Super Cedar. No looking back!!
This is Seattle, we don't have dry wood.

Who the heck uses a full Super Cedar to start a fire?

Oh, right, the owner of the company! :lol:

I was going to say "Now we know why they are so large! - they have to be in order to work on wet splits in Seattle...". I'm not complaining though, easy enough to break apart.

 

[Jags]

2 splits on bottom, a small chuck of fire starter in between, kindling on top of that and a couple more splits on top. The "Todd's fire starting sandwich" method.

Hmmpfh! I have always called this "Jags method", but I am willing to share.

 

[quads]

I use a few loosely balled up sheets of junk mail. A few pieces of finely split oak kindling on top of and toward the back edge of the newspaper. One or two small oak splits on top of and toward the back edge of the kindling. I set down in front of the stove, light it and watch it while leaving the door cracked open about 1 inch for a couple minutes. As the paper burns and the kindling catches it slowly falls forward to rest on the floor of the stove, where it begins to make small coals, followed by the splits. Close the door. I come back 10 minutes later to a nice bed of coals and fill 'er up.

 

[kenny chaos]

The wife has one of those long barbeque lighters she uses for candles and I use that on the few occasions I start the stove.
Bottoms up!

 

[PunKid8888]

I like the top down, its takes a little bit to get use to, every stove seams different.

I have only had 2 fires in my new Englander 13 and both were done with very poor top-down, I was being lazy with some of the kindling so that did not help. It fought me a little more then it should have.

When I have the technique down for the stove it usually results in a one match light, followed by 3 mins of observing until I feel the door can be closed completely. After that I can walk away for about 15mins then turn back the air supply to keep the stove top temp in check, then an hour or so later I have a big bed of coals waiting for big reload.

 

[op_man1]

As a new burner, I did not have an established method for starting a fire. First few fires were not very successful (one collapsed on itself and went out). I finally tried the top down method last week and have since done it another couple of times. With my setup, it is the easiest and most consistent method I have tried so far. I just build the structure, put in a few bows, use one match and close the door right away. Add more wood 45 min later and progressively shut her down.

I guess whatever works for each according to their set up is the way to go.

 

[Slow1]

I guess whatever works for each according to their set up is the way to go.

Indeed that is the key.

I remember my first attempt to light a fire in a stove almost a year ago.. I'm sure glad that nobody else was home that day as it was quite a mess! Years of burning outside didn't help me much that day for some reason. I did evolve a method that worked, but it was still a 'bottom up' style. It wasn't until quite some time later that I first tried a top-down fire and even then I had to try several times before I really got the hang of it and liked it.

I think your statement really sums it up well though - now that I have my method going well for me, why should I change? I like my (mostly) top-down style. I don't happen to like using newspaper (don't have any around the house for one thing) so I don't use them. If someone tells me that Vanessa's sister has a better way to do it (the left side shuffle?) that makes Vanessa blush in shame I might take a look at it out of curiosity but I don't know as I'm going to jump at a chance to try it as what I'm doing works well enough.

However - for anyone who still feels that what they are doing isn't quite working well enough of the time and hasn't tried top-down yet, I'd say give it a try. If nothing else once you do get it working for you (outside especially) it can impress your friends.

 

[Skier76]

I wonder if Vanessa knows the following she has here on the ol interweb. :lol:

 

[BrotherBart]

I wonder if Vanessa knows the following she has here on the ol interweb. :lol:

I am sure she does. She used to post a long time ago on the old forum.

 

[kenny chaos]

Good thing I didn't post something about that gender's questionable knowledge on such a technical manly subject.

 

[Adam_MA]

Would someone please post a link to the vid? I can't seem to find it in my bookmarks, and want to watch it.

Thanks
Adam

 

[BrotherBart]

Good thing I didn't post something about that gender's questionable knowledge on such a technical manly subject.

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