In the mornings I do the normal raking the coals to the front. Load the large splits in the back followed by smaller in the middle then same or even smaller on top of the coals. On cold days I usually stack the splits high, close to secondary tubes for a quick and good secondary burn. But since the temps just aren't that cold yet during the day time, I don't want to stack so much wood in the firebox. The problem is that it takes a little longer to get those secondaries going when the wood is not up close to them. As an experiment I tried putting a few pieces of good dry kindling wood on top of my splits like I was starting a top down fire. Once the coal gets the wood splits going it doesn't take long for it to get that kindling wood going also. Pretty quickly afterwards I get good secondaries besides a great draft. I find that this lets me shut down the primary air and burn cleaner much sooner.
