Favorite method to start up the stove.
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Id always start mine with one of those zip fire starter cubes under a pile of kindling with the door cracked open a bit until it was going full blast. The same thing for my fireplace until last year. I lit the kindling with a propane torch last winter. This year, Im going natural. I stripped the bark off the birch Ive been cutting and cut it into 4"x4" squares with a hatchet. Ive got 2 stuffed 5 gallon pails of it now. That should do me a year or two.
I wasn't thinking about using a propane torch. Seen one at Tractor Supply yesterday. Was very close to buying it. I have a ton of newspaper so I'm going to try it for a while. I like the idea of a top down fire. Seems like a lot of people say it's not as easy as they make it look on the YouTube videos. Anyone have consistent success with top down? If so what are your tricks?
I prefer continental but mix mix it up with a sideway and around at times for variety.
Squirrely
Feeling the Heat
We just throw in our trash along with some twigs and light 'er up. Then add wood after a little while..
Never fails.
Greg
Never fails.
Greg
Lloyd the redneck
Feeling the Heat
I use a weed burner torch, out of pure laziness. I love making a nice top down load but just run out of time. Workin on that tho. Hopefully this season I'll have more time
So on a top down fire how (if it even would) would it change the way you start to crank your stove air down? I guess you would still have to wait for the stuff on the bottom to char? If so looks like you would be waiting for a while.
You do it the same as kindling and then adding wood. Except that stove top temp will come up a lot faster and you won't be messing with waiting for the kindling to burn up to add larger splits. They will already be in there.
Two larger splits side by side, white pine or wood shop scraps kindling on top and beneath the kindling are two or four squares of the Rutledge Fire Starter squares. Even the fire challenged can start the fires in this way.
Most people that say top down doesn't work for them also say "I did it like that except for...". Don't except for.
Squirrely
Feeling the Heat
When you say "trash" squirrely, do you mean trashy wood, or like garbage?
No... garbage burns quite poorly.
All of our garbage get composted for soil amendment.. We sort out all of our combustable trash and mix it with sticks to start fires in the stove. It burns great. Outside of a few recyclables, almost nothing goes out with the trash.
Greg
lsucet
Minister of Fire
I love top down method. Give draft quickly plus the cat get to temp also quicker, more if the kindly are in front closer to the door under the cat.
WoodyIsGoody
Minister of Fire
It's still too warm here day and night to have the inaugural fire in my brand spanking new Blaze King Chinook 30, but you can bet I'll fill you in fully once I've learned it's strengths and weaknesses.
With the stove it replaced (an early EPA secondary burn Seefire), I would shovel the ash to the sides leaving a 4" strip of bare firebrick running front to back. Then load the wood east/west, making sure to leave a east/west slot up the middle (like a long narrow chimney in the middle of the pile). A couple of curved or twisted splits is good for this. Before putting the last two splits in the forward area I put a flat splinter sloping from the front lip of the firebox down toward the back to hold a fire starter off (above) the firebrick. Because all the other wood is supported by the ash on the sides, the long splinter fits underneath. Then I'd light a Rutland fire-starter square (I have a 8 year supply at an average cost under 6 cents each) and place the burning square on top of the splinter in the middle of the firebox. After putting the last 2-3 splits in I'd leave the door barely cracked. The latch mechanism was such that the weight of the door handle would hold the latch in a position right before it started "camming" closed. I've found most woodstoves will come up to a blaze much more quickly with the door barely cracked (vs. a bigger crack like 3/4" or wide open). All it takes is 1/4" or less.
In only 4-8 minutes it would be a roaring inferno at which point the door would be latched tightly. This works for three reasons. 1) The heat from the fire-starter creates a convection current up the center slot you built (and up the chimney) which draws air through the barely cracked door which 2) adds a swirling motion to the air coming down the glass wash which fans the flames and helps them spread and 3) the barely cracked door maximizes available draft by not letting a bunch of air go up the chimney except the air following the convection path you created. It's all about velocity. Velocity is achieved by raising the temperature of the air in the chimney and additional air dilutes the hot air and is counter-productive to this goal.
Of course you will probably need kindling if your wood is only seasoned to 22-24 percent. I like mine to be under 20%. Kindling takes up valuable space. It's a lot better if your fire can torch quickly without it.
With the stove it replaced (an early EPA secondary burn Seefire), I would shovel the ash to the sides leaving a 4" strip of bare firebrick running front to back. Then load the wood east/west, making sure to leave a east/west slot up the middle (like a long narrow chimney in the middle of the pile). A couple of curved or twisted splits is good for this. Before putting the last two splits in the forward area I put a flat splinter sloping from the front lip of the firebox down toward the back to hold a fire starter off (above) the firebrick. Because all the other wood is supported by the ash on the sides, the long splinter fits underneath. Then I'd light a Rutland fire-starter square (I have a 8 year supply at an average cost under 6 cents each) and place the burning square on top of the splinter in the middle of the firebox. After putting the last 2-3 splits in I'd leave the door barely cracked. The latch mechanism was such that the weight of the door handle would hold the latch in a position right before it started "camming" closed. I've found most woodstoves will come up to a blaze much more quickly with the door barely cracked (vs. a bigger crack like 3/4" or wide open). All it takes is 1/4" or less.
In only 4-8 minutes it would be a roaring inferno at which point the door would be latched tightly. This works for three reasons. 1) The heat from the fire-starter creates a convection current up the center slot you built (and up the chimney) which draws air through the barely cracked door which 2) adds a swirling motion to the air coming down the glass wash which fans the flames and helps them spread and 3) the barely cracked door maximizes available draft by not letting a bunch of air go up the chimney except the air following the convection path you created. It's all about velocity. Velocity is achieved by raising the temperature of the air in the chimney and additional air dilutes the hot air and is counter-productive to this goal.
Of course you will probably need kindling if your wood is only seasoned to 22-24 percent. I like mine to be under 20%. Kindling takes up valuable space. It's a lot better if your fire can torch quickly without it.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Michael Sean
Member
Well I would say I'm a fire bug as well. And as far as wood stoves go, a new one at that. I will try different methods of course but if something works good and is more efficient than other ways I'll stick with it. Thanks for the detailed description woody. That's kinda what I was hoping to get in this thread. Gonna definitely help this noob here in a few weeks. 
CheapBassTurd
Minister of Fire
I torch a handful of splitter fragments in the center of the splits.
Takes all of two minutes to get burning good, and a half
hour for me to fart around with it being a self proclaimed pyro bug also.
Lazy with a blast of blue flame. The Boy Scouts can be creative if they wish. LOL
CheapMark
Takes all of two minutes to get burning good, and a half
hour for me to fart around with it being a self proclaimed pyro bug also.
Lazy with a blast of blue flame. The Boy Scouts can be creative if they wish. LOL
CheapMark
Squirrely
Feeling the Heat
Owning a wood stove is a socially approved outlet for the little bit of arsonist in all of us.
There is also a fine line between firefighter and arsonist.
Greg
There is also a fine line between firefighter and arsonist.
Greg
So true lol.
Funniest thing I've heard today!Owning a wood stove is a socially approved outlet for the little bit of arsonist in all of us.
There is also a fine line between firefighter and arsonist.
Greg
CheapBassTurd
Minister of Fire
Squirrely
Feeling the Heat
RobbieB
Feeling the Heat
I like the old fashioned way. Crumpled newspaper balls, little kindling and bigger on top of that. Light it up and when the big kindling gets going good some half splits.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Sure, once in a while you will miscalculate, but I've found it pretty easy as a rule. You gotta have dry wood or you will be fighting it. I put bigger splits in the bottom/back and a couple smaller splits in the top/front. Then I light a couple SuperCedar chunks and place them on top of the small splits, and add a few pieces of kindling.
I'm usually not in a big rush to get the load going so I'm happy to let the flame work its way down into the load, which may take a little longer than really putting the air to it like you might if trying to get out of the house in a hurry. The fire burns really clean, as the flame is above the wood that's catching, eating the smoke. I think it also uses less wood than a bottom-up start with a lot of air, or the door open..less heat goes up the chimney since the air is not open as much.
You don't really need to char all of the bigger splits if the wood is dry, you just need to build up enough heat in the top of the stove to be able to sustain the re-burn. After you close the bypass, you can leave the air open a bit to establish the re-burn well, then make your final air adjustment.
A couple points:
-NEVER leave your stove when you have the door cracked, no ifs, ands or buts!
-Use the timer on your phone for start-ups, as insurance to remind you to check on the fire and cut the air in a timely fashion as more wood gets involved. You don't wanna overfire your faithful servant.
I usually have the small stuff in the front row, not the bigger splits as seen in this first pic, but you get the general idea.
You can also do a top-down of sorts on the fly. This is an advanced technique; Try it at home..at your own risk.
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Nice pictures woodystover. Thanks for the advice. I'll give the old top down a try. I just checked my kindling, it's at 15%. It was 52 degrees here this morning. The itch is getting worse
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