The upside-down fire

Tim Ferriss has posted a counterintuitive way to light a fire in a fireplace: upside down. It reminds me of BoingBoing's advice to eat bananas backwards.

Why does an upside down fire work? If you build it with no spaces between the pieces of wood, then the embers of each layer will rest on, and heat, the layer below it. In contrast, if you put the paper and kindling on the bottom, then half of their heat radiates towards the floor, and the pieces fall out through the holes in the grate while they're still hot.

Remember that carload of firewood I bought recently? I've burned quite a bit of it, but been frustrated that it's not nearly as dry as the grocery-store stuff. It hisses and steams, the fire isn't as bright and warm as it should be, and sometimes it's nearly impossible to light. I'll try Tim's technique.

2 comments:

  1. The interior decor feature wainscoting is derived from the practice of stacking split firewood vertically against the wall in kitchens to dry before use. As the earliest, driest wood was burned it was replaced with cold, wet wood from outdoors. This was typically done in kitchens, where there was heat for much of the day. The practice also meant that the kitchen was where all of the dirt and bugs in the house originated. I suppose you could stack your firewood against the furnace to dry it but I doubt that meets building codes. On top of a hot air vent would work as well. It'll dry out a piano in no time.

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  2. In Chicago I bought "kiln-dried" firewood, but I couldn't find any here, except in small bundles. The kiln they use is usually just a giant plywood box warmed by a propane fire.

    The heat vent is not a bad idea - I could park the wood caddy in front of one. I'm tempted to get an axe and start splitting up these logs smaller.

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