Favorite method to start up the stove.

[jscs.moore]

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.

Absolutely! I began using the top down method last season and would never go back! It takes a little more time to build initially, but once you start the fire you're essentially done until the end of the burn because you have already put a full load of splits in the firebox with the kindling and paper on top. Love the top down method now and believe it is the most efficient way to start fires in my insert.

 

[BKVP]

It's a little hard on the firebox....

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

Depends on how good the wood is. If it's a bit green. Some small splits, toilet paper roll. Yes save them. WD 40. And a match.

 

[Fuut Master]

Holy cow BKVP what is that?

 

[BKVP]

Holy cow BKVP what is that?

SW .460 mag. 8 3/8" barrel.

 

[HisTreeNut]

SW .460 mag. 8 3/8" barrel.

I guess that explains the heavy duty construction on BK stoves.

I generally use a top down method with the stove. It just works better once you get the knack for it. I use a couple of 2" by 1/2" strips of waxed produce boxes as the starter. Free from work and they burn like a small, hot candle.
The wifey will do the traditional paper/kindling/adding larger pieces method generally. Her favorite method for starting a fire is, "Hey Honey...it's chilly. Can you start a fire?" That method is usually pretty effective.

 

[BKVP]

I use very small diameter pieces and stack in a cone shape...leaving a small opening for piece of news print.

Slowly add larger pieces...20 minutes later...inferno.

Only one lighting each fall.

 

[yooper08]

Top down here as well with some paper and a match or lighter, the only way I've done it. I get the load in with the bigger stuff on the bottom, smaller splits on top. Add kindling and paper and go. Sit next to it with the door cracked open until the kindling fire is established. Close it up and set a timer to check on it in 10 minutes and adjust as needed from there until everything is settled in. Hasn't failed me yet.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

"One lighting each fall".

I shoulda added that also in my method.
More like weekly or monthly after a full-ish cleanout. Usually it
self lights on a few coals each morning cycle. Scoop out 2/3 of the
mess glowing or not, dump it in the firepit or on a stump, then reload the box.

My bride enjoys her Girl Scouting heritage and does toilet tubes
packed loosely with a roll of dryer lint. Or, brushes off the snow,
grabs a handful of pine needles n' does her lighting ritual of needles
under twigs under kindle under splits.

Either way we generally keep the thing up and running Dec-March continuously.
I run the brush down the pipe too during a roof melt-off long before it needs it.

 

[Fuut Master]

SW .460 mag. 8 3/8" barrel.

I could only image what it's big brother the 500 would look like.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Top down. I put big splits on the bottom layer, medium splits the rest of the way up, and set a fire starter on top with a few pieces of bark or smaller chips. I am going on several years now of not cutting or using kindling. What an improvement.

 

[huauqui]

What Jetsam, BKVP, and CheapBassTurd said

"One lighting each fall".

I like starting a fire about once every 4 months, in between chimney sweepings.

Only one lighting each fall.

Honestly, it probably goes out twice a winter when I want a look at the flue. When it does need lit I use whatever method I feel like bottom up, top down, side in, lots of kindling, little kindling. It depends on the draft, how lazy I feel or how energized I am to get it going fast along with external conditions which all play in to how well a certain method may or may not work. But new fires almost always include a super cedar or some other type of fire starting block some small chips from the spliter pile and almost never have more then a piece or two of newspaper in them.

huauqui

 

[Fuut Master]

I have my kindling split to about 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. It is about 15percent on moisture. Will this light with just news paper on a top down? This will be my first year with the new stove so I'm clueless.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I just go with my mood and or how much of a rush i am in. I use bottom up, top down, blowtorch method. Some newspaper, lots of kindling.

 

[Fuut Master]

So you just do it however you fell that day huh woodsplitter?

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

I have my kindling split to about 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. It is about 15percent on moisture. Will this light with just news paper on a top down? This will be my first year with the new stove so I'm clueless.

I would avoid newspaper in the stove. There is too much particulate from the paper to go up the pipe, clog up a baffle or cat, or come out into the room if the door is ajar. Fire starters are cheap and way more safe.

 

[Squirrely]

I would avoid newspaper in the stove. There is too much particulate from the paper to go up the pipe, clog up a baffle or cat, or come out into the room if the door is ajar. Fire starters are cheap and way more safe.

I agree that some stove and flue designs would do poorly on a paper diet. Because our stove doesn't have complex baffles or a cat. We burn all of our household combustable waste with no issues, and all of the ash is returned to the soil.The trick is to never burn trash alone and always mix it in with kindling and wood for good combustion.

Greg

 

[Ashful]

I use the "tunnel of love" technique, which I believe was first described by Bro Bart in 2011 or 2012. I've long-forgotten his exact specifications, so I'll give my own approach:

1. Use your shovel to plow a small trench in the ash, running front to back down the middle of the firebox.
2. Place a quarter SuperCedar in the trench, make sure it's on hard floor, and not smothered by ash.
3. Put a piece of kindling running E/W across the front of the firebox (across the trench), and roughly over the fire starter.
4. Light the fire starter, then place more kindling N/S, propped up on the E/W piece.
5. Load the box full with splits, by which time you should be about ready to close the door.
6. Wait 10-15 minutes for active cat, then close bypass damper.
7. Burn on high for 20 minutes, then set thermostat (thanks BK!).

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I use the "tunnel of love" technique, which I believe was first described by Bro Bart in 2011 or 2012.

I like it! "Tunnel of Love". I didn't know it had a name but that's the proven method I've been using for decades! Before I bought my ski cabin, it had been used as a vacation rental for a number of years and there were little signs throughout the house saying things like "Please close and latch all windows before leaving." and "Check-out is at 11:00 AM sharp, no exceptions!". They even had a laminated, two page woodstove lighting instructions (illustrated with photos) stuck to the wall next to the stove. I swear it was written by ex-Boy Scouts! I guess you could say their method worked, if getting a hot fire after 30-40 minutes is considered "working". I only like to wait 10 minutes max.

The instructions said to start with three sheets of crumpled newspaper and build a teepee of small kindling around them. Light the paper and leave the door cracked/open while you tend the fire. Get ready to start adding medium kindling to the teepee as it starts to catch fire. Do not leave the stove unattended. As the medium pieces begin to burn well, start adding larger pieces as the fire grows. Eventually, shut the door and adjust the air. Congratulations! You have just wasted 1/2 hour of your day!

It didn't really say that (but it should have). I saved the illustrated instructions for a good laugh.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

So you just do it however you fell that day huh woodsplitter?

Yes.. sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you dont

 

[Fuut Master]

Well I have to admit, the advice not to use newspapers kinda stinks for me. I have been collecting newspapers for some time now. Guess that was a waste of my time. I have a Mansfield stove. Will the newspapers stop up the secondary pipes? I have three or four large boxes full of newspapers.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Well I have to admit, the advice not to use newspapers kinda stinks for me. I have been collecting newspapers for some time now. Guess that was a waste of my time. I have a Mansfield stove. Will the newspapers stop up the secondary pipes? I have three or four large boxes full of newspapers.

I don't like newspapers as fire starter either but they probably won't cause any real issues except for adding to the amount of ash without contributing much in the way of heat. The reason I don't like them is they seem to inhibit the quickness with which you can achieve a hot fire by burning 3/4 and then acting like insulation while simultaneously blocking airflow to your budding fire. Plus, crumpled paper displaces space which could be better utilized with firewood. I like to build a fire, shut the door and call it good, not add more wood once it gets going.

Newsprint is recyclable so it will be easy to get rid of.

 

[Woody Stover]

Newspaper is OK, but not ideal for a top-down start as it will sometimes burn out before your kindling catches. The firestarter chunk is pretty much guaranteed to burn long enough to get the fire lit. I split the starters down, and they go a long way. Maybe two chunks per start.

 

[yooper08]

I tie knots in my newspaper, which helps keep it in place and not burn out before the kindling catches.

If you're using paper, don't use anything that's glossy or have a slippery feel to it.

If you got it and planned on using it, go for it.

I'm usually gifted fire starters every year so I'll use them once in awhile but don't really notice any difference.

 

[Fuut Master]

Thanks for the info guys. I have a big box of fatwood left over from past years. I used it in the OWF. If the paper doesn't work good or causes too much ash I'll use it. It you are correct Woody it will be easy to get rid of.