Top down fire starting

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raybonz

raybonz

Minister of Fire
Feb 5, 2008
6,208
Carver, MA.
A while back someone posted a video from Canadian Gov't. which showed fires started from the top down and I was skeptical about doing this with my old cat stove.. I have tried this on my stove and it works very well! I start all my fires this way now.. Thanx to whoever posted this informative video and thanx Canada for providing this info for all wood burners.. This method definately reduces pollution and also lights fires more reliably here too..

Ray
 
I must be doing something horribly wrong. I've tried top downs, and the only thing that happens is the newspaper burns....and goes out. I've never gotten it to work, yet everyone says it's great.
 
pr0vidence said:
I must be doing something horribly wrong. I've tried top downs, and the only thing that happens is the newspaper burns....and goes out. I've never gotten it to work, yet everyone says it's great.
Click to expand...

That makes 2 of us. I just have never had any luck with these.

I gave up trying because the mythod I have always used, always works using 1 match, 4 pieces of 1x1 or smaller splits and 2 sheets of newspaper, and a stove loaded as normal. Within 5 mins I am closing drafts and dampers.

I really don't have a need for another way, just wanted to try something new and never got the hang of it.

I'd like to see another video of it being made. Maybe that canadian one has something I am am not seeing or missed.

pen
 
For top down, this works well for me.

Take two 1/2 rounders that are about the same size and place them in the stove with the flat side up, making sort of a float table inside the stove. Now just light a normal small fire on the top of the little wooden table you made with the 1/2 rounders. A couple shhets of paper, some small splinters, some dry bark, and some small sticks. Work your way up to small splits, it will not take long at all since you are building your fire on a flammable surface. I even add a third split in the back now that I have the hang of it. This way you have a bottom and rear which are flammable instead of just the bottom.
 
pen said:
pr0vidence said:
I must be doing something horribly wrong. I've tried top downs, and the only thing that happens is the newspaper burns....and goes out. I've never gotten it to work, yet everyone says it's great.
Click to expand...

That makes 2 of us. I just have never had any luck with these.

I gave up trying because the mythod I have always used, always works using 1 match, 4 pieces of 1x1 or smaller splits and 2 sheets of newspaper, and a stove loaded as normal. Within 5 mins I am closing drafts and dampers.

I really don't have a need for another way, just wanted to try something new and never got the hang of it.

I'd like to see another video of it being made. Maybe that canadian one has something I am am not seeing or missed.

pen
Click to expand...

Here's the link: http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/default.asp?lang=En&n=8011CD70-1

Make sure you have plenty of air(crack the door open works for me), roll the newspaper (use 5 full sheets rolled and knotted) and have kindling under the paper.. My stove air enters via the side on the loading door..

Good Luck!

Ray
 
I read about top down on woodheat.org. They had a little blurb about front to back burning and it works, too!
 
With dry seasoned wood, I get up to 400deg flue temp in like 10 minutes or so using a basic method of using either 2 "egg carton" material that Hewlett Packard uses to sell toner cartridges with a small wad of newspaper in the middle, some kindling on top and 2 flat smallish splits that fits in my Quad. Or if I'm out of HP egg crates, I just use 2 or 3 rolled up naked cardboard with newspaper stuffed in the middle, same kindling, and 2 small splits again. Works fine enough for me!

Jay
 
pen said:
I really don't have a need for another way, just wanted to try something new and never got the hang of it.
Click to expand...

Same here.

My top-down experiments needed more newspaper, more kindling (which has to be split around here), and took longer to get going. So I went back to what I've always done, which is pretty similar to your recipe. I do have the benefit of crispy-dry wood and once won a bet that I could start the stove with one match and zero kindling.

Main benefit I can see for top-down is the firelay not falling apart halfway through the start-up fire, but that's generally a minor issue even with bottom-up.

Eddy
 
raybonz said:
A while back someone posted a video from Canadian Gov't. which showed fires started from the top down and I was skeptical about doing this with my old cat stove.. I have tried this on my stove and it works very well! I start all my fires this way now.. Thanx to whoever posted this informative video and thanx Canada for providing this info for all wood burners.. This method definately reduces pollution and also lights fires more reliably here too..

Ray
Click to expand...

On behalf of my taxpaying dollars, I say you are welcome.

See guys, socialism isn't all bad!! :)

Truthfully thought, we have a real issue up here with balancing pollution from stoves and the fact that we have lots of wood, and lots of cold. Something like 29% of fine partical emmisions come from the 10% of houses that use wood for heat, and most of that is from old stoves.

If you want to see just how much Govt effort is going into the issue, check out this search thru Google (wood stove site:*.gc.ca).

Tonnes of info (not tons, we are of British/French heritage after all - long live the Metric Sytem)

And despite the rumours, we aren't actually socialist.
 
Works great with a Cedar starter.. Put the starter in the middle of some kindling, on top of bigger splits. The starter burns for a long time, and everything lights up the way it's supposed to.

I've found I get better results if I throw in a twist of newspaper also, to get the draft going. The starter alone doesn't heat the air enough, I guess, and I get smoke filling the firebox (and leaking out). The newspaper fills the whole thing with flame, and that seems to do the trick for the draft.
 
oconnor said:
raybonz said:
A while back someone posted a video from Canadian Gov't. which showed fires started from the top down and I was skeptical about doing this with my old cat stove.. I have tried this on my stove and it works very well! I start all my fires this way now.. Thanx to whoever posted this informative video and thanx Canada for providing this info for all wood burners.. This method definately reduces pollution and also lights fires more reliably here too..

Ray
Click to expand...

On behalf of my taxpaying dollars, I say you are welcome.

See guys, socialism isn't all bad!! :)

Truthfully thought, we have a real issue up here with balancing pollution from stoves and the fact that we have lots of wood, and lots of cold. Something like 29% of fine partical emmisions come from the 10% of houses that use wood for heat, and most of that is from old stoves.

If you want to see just how much Govt effort is going into the issue, check out this search thru Google (wood stove site:*.gc.ca).

Tonnes of info (not tons, we are of British/French heritage after all - long live the Metric Sytem)

And despite the rumours, we aren't actually socialist.
Click to expand...

Interestingly Canada uses the USA's epa standards as well... Joint effort comrad lol..

Ray
 
It get to a smokeless stack much faster using topdown vs. other methods of starting.
 
oconnor said:
We know a good thing when we steal it.
lol
Click to expand...

Why buy the cow when you can the milk for free eh? :) Been to Nova Scotia a few times on the Scotia Prince..Very nice people and nice little town too.. I do miss that ferry! I always went end of season on the 2 for 1 special.. Never could pass up a good deal..

Ray

PS: I think anyone can start a fire top down.. Just a small learning curve for less pollution..
 
Tried it, hate it, never doing it again.
I'll start mine from the bottom up thanks. With things drafting up well, I'd rather follow the natural draft path from bottom up and burn more in the path of the flame, than try and watch a fire work its way down against the flow path.
Sorry, ain't changing my mind on this one. Just cause some dude I never heard of from Canada says this is the way to do it, don't mean I am going to jump on the band wagon. And tying bows out of newspaper? Seriously, whats next, stitching class? Bunch of Mary's.
Nuttin against Canada mind you.
 
I used top downs for a while, and it worked really well for me.

These days, I just load a bunch of splits, and tuck 1/4 of a Super Cedar firestarter in the middle somewhere.

-SF
 
I tried the top down once and it didn't work.

I use the sandwich method. 2 or 3 splits on the bottom, paper between and on top of them, kindling next and 2 or 3 splits on top of everything.
 
Mine is more of a modified front to back sandwich. (sounds stupid, but that seems accurate)

Not much room in my Kennebec for a real top down, but the idea of having some bigger sticks on the bottom lets mine breath better on start, and I don't have to open the door until after the stove and flue are hot. The newspaper knots do however keep my kindling from caving in.

Hogwildz - Can't say that John Gulland (he's the some dude you never heard of from Canada) would lay claim to being the source of the top down method, but he does get his own Wiki article on Hearth.com https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/John_Gulland/----------------- . He is as close to a "wood heat czar" as we'll get up here though - pretty influential in the policy and regulations department. He is the main source of the WETT certification process if I have my facts straight. The video makes him look quite odd though IMHO.
 
Top down for two seasons only way to go. Load the stove, put in a 2"x4" piece of fire starter on top and let it go. Within 20 minutes you have it all ablaze.
 
This is sort of a sandwich with fatwood filling. When I started burning I thought I needed fatwood, but seeing as we never let it go out I don't.
Anyway, I still have my super cedar fire starter samples, and that's what I used this year. A quarter of one as sandwich filling and off it goes.
I have never had difficutly getting a fire going- big ones on the bottom for duration, little ones in the middle for a fast take off, and big ones on top again to keep it going after the little ones are gone.
Piece of cake :)
 

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Top downs work exceptionally well when you are using a torch or artificial firestarter. I NEVER had a problem with it.


Then again I havent had to start a fire from scratch in a cold stove for over a month now :(
 
Top downs?

Like what's the advantage to the way we've started fires for the last thousand years that's what I don't get. No dog is this fight ...just ask'en.

...and yeah I saw that excellent video it did convince me that EW stoves were worth a 2nd look....but still not for us.
 
savageactor7 said:
Top downs?

Like what's the advantage to the way we've started fires for the last thousand years that's what I don't get. No dog is this fight ...just ask'en.
Click to expand...
I think it's that you don't have to be there to keep adding bigger and bigger pieces as the fire matures. It's one match and you're done.
 
I tried the top down method a few times and didn't really like it until I used the supercedars. I like to gradually "build" the fire and keep feeding bigger pieces. Lately, if I have to let the fire die out for a warm day, there may be a few measly hot coals after a 24 hr. burn cycle. I'll throw about 4 small splits, 1/2 supercedar, and handfull of kindling. I open the ash pan or door and have a "lazy man's" fire...
 
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