Top-Down in a Wood Stove

[Idjot]

Hello everyone,

For my first post here I would like to share a simple success in unconventional fire-building.

It's a bit chilly in northeastern NY this morning so I decided to burn a log or two while I wait for the sun to catch up. Out of curiosity I decided to try the unconventional, "top-down" fire-build.

I put one fat piece of split maple smack on the bottom - no kindling or paper underneath.
Next - kindling pieces on top of the big piece making a relatively flat layer
Next - a section of newspaper - still folded not crumpled - just layed it flat on top
Next - a single piece of newspaper crumpled into a ball and set it on top.
Then I lit the crumpled piece.

About 5 minutes in - I cracked the door for a couple minutes to give it air and that's all I've tweaked. Now 15 minutes in and door is closed and its getting stronger - starting to burn the main log top-down.

 

[Junebug90]

Awesome! We us the top down sometimes. I'm a bit torn on if it is better or not. But yesterday and today I don't need big fires and not going to add more wood so I used them

 

[Mr. Jones]

Is there a benefit to doing this?

 

[Idjot]

Is there a benefit to doing this?

I read that it was a good way to make a maintenance-free long burn for a cozy evening in front of a fireplace.
In a woodstove I think it might be handy for someone trying to start with wood that is less than dry.
For me it was just an experiment. I may use it again just as a starting technique, since it's extremely simple and the paper on top gets the draft going quickly. Then I can just pile more wood on a few minutes later. After that its just wood stove business-as-usual though.

 

[DAKSY]

Is there a benefit to doing this?

My own personal woodburning experience says YES.
If you have a low temperature differential between the inside of your home & the ambient outside, then top-down is the way to go.
It WILL get your chimney draft & prevent any smoke blowback into your home.
Blowback mainly occurs if you are not using an OAK & the combusion intake is open to the inside environment.
If you have a basement install, where good drafts are notoriously difficult to achieve at start-up, it also a good way to begin.
Also, in buildings with mutiple or high-powered exhaust fans draining the internal combusion air, a natural draft is difficult to achieve.
Top downs work well in those situations, too.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Here is my method: I have a Jotul F600 that can take 24" long logs E/W and up to 18" N/S. I start by placing two small splits/limbs that are about 2 inches in diameter N/S centered on my front doghouse and spaced about 16" apart. Then I place two larger splits across these pieces in an E/W configuration about six inches apart. This creates a space for some kindling in between the splits. I also place a few larger pieces, up to a couple inches in diameter, in between the big splits. I use a couple pieces of waxed cardboard strips cut six inches long and an inch wide as fire starter. I get this from garden centers for free in the form of large waxed boxes that they receive plants in. Once I light the fire starters the kindling quickly fires up and then the larger pieces stacked among the kindling. As this fire burns it soon catches the inside surfaces of the larger splits running along the front and back of the stove. What makes this technique work so well is the air funneling into the stove from the front doghouse. It creates a bit of a blast furnace effect to get the fire going fast and hot.

 

[Junebug90]

Is there a benefit to doing this?

The benefit I seen was a longer low heat fire. Like today I don't need load the stove full and don't want to add anything. It usually makes less smoke for me too. my assumption is the o2 comes from theach bottom mainly getting heated and is only consumed by a smaller fire make a more complete burn.

 

[Idjot]

It really does burn awhile! I just flipped the maple log over and dug a little air path under it. Now it's a one-log fire that will keep itself going without roasting us out. I agree this method is good for a fall day when you want a slow steady heat supplement.

Here's that log - still goin

 

[tarzan]

Daksy has explained it well but I have used some variation of the top down method in the shoulder season since the first time I tried it. The major benefit for me is quickly heating the flue, establishing draft. On cool, rainy days it makes quite a difference.

 

[jcapler]

After reading the top down method on this forum I have only started fires that way. I feel like I "mess" with the fire a lot less. Plus it is easy for the wife to start a nice fire without getting mad and giving up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[iron]

i feel like most on hearth.com use top down. cleaner burns to start. better draft.

IIRC, most just take 1/4 of a super cedar, put it near the top of their stack of wood (no kindling), and let it rip.

 

[BradleyW]

I think the top of the stove heats up much faster with a top-down fire, making secondary combustion begin much sooner. I can often start a top-down fire and never have any visible smoke leave the chimney.

 

[firefighterjake]

"Unconventional" . . . hehheh . . . I thought just about everyone here at hearth.com subscribed to the "top down method" . . . took me a few times before I got the hang of it, but that's pretty much all I do now for fires. In fact, I sometimes forget that most folks in the real world do not set up their fires in this way and my friends give me crap about it every time I go camping and light a fire in this way.

And yes . . . there is a benefit . . . actually several . . . but the biggest benefit is not having to add more splits to the fire once it gets going and then have the whole flaming pile collapse on itself and have the fire smothered. The other benefit I find is getting more heat up the chimney quicker to establish draft.

My method is a variation -- larger splits or rounds at the base, medium sized to small splits next level up followed by a few pieces of kindling and typically quarter of a Super Cedar (although sometimes I use a wadded up ball of newspaper or some cardboard).

 

[DUMF]

NY Times does the job....non partisan burning.

 

[DrewMal]

"Unconventional" . . . hehheh . . .

My method is a variation -- larger splits or rounds at the base, medium sized to small splits next level up followed by a few pieces of kindling and typically quarter of a Super Cedar (although sometimes I use a wadded up ball of newspaper or some cardboard).

Just wondering do you crosspile each section as you work your way up the pile. Like pile the big one's on bottom then pile the medium sized logs crossway to them and like wise up the pile? I have never tried this method but want to give it a shot and want it to work the first time!

 

[Woody Stover]

I don't have room to cross-stack. I just load E-W with bigger or harder-to-start splits (like BL) in the bottom/back. I put smaller splits on the top front, then a chunk of SuperCedar and a little kindling on top of that. Starts pretty much without fail.

 

[Destructor]

Top down works very well for large heavy pieces that can be difficult to position over a very hot established fire. In my fireplace I take all the large uglies from my fathers house that can not be split down further.

I put them in my large grate and build the fire on top. A couple hours later I have a very good burning large piece of oak or cherry which then produces a nice heaping bed of coals. In my fathers small Jodul I will often do a variation since the stove is small, I'll put a large piece in and build a fire in front of it. Its easier burning the large pieces that way. Of course it only works when starting the fire.

 

[firefighterjake]

Just wondering do you crosspile each section as you work your way up the pile. Like pile the big one's on bottom then pile the medium sized logs crossway to them and like wise up the pile? I have never tried this method but want to give it a shot and want it to work the first time!

Nope . . . no log cabin for me . . . I just stack 'em the way I put 'em in . . . east and west.

I should mention that the first two or three times I tried the top down method I remember thinking "This isn't working out very well" . . . but on the third or fourth try and experimenting I found that the fire starting method was actually quite effective.