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Savannah Installation and Operation Manual
4.3.1 Conventional Fire Starting
The conventional way to build a wood fire is
to bunch up 5 to 10 sheets of plain
newspaper and place them in the firebox.
Next, place 10 or so pieces of fine kindling
on the newspaper. This kindling should be
very thin; less than 1" (25 mm). Next, place
some larger kindling pieces on the fine
kindling. Open the air control fully and light
the newspaper. If you have a tall, straight
venting system you should be able to close
the door immediately and the fire will ignite.
If your venting system has elbows or an
outside chimney, you may need to leave the
door closed but unlatched for a few minutes
as the newspaper ignites and heat in the
chimney produces some draft. Once the fire
has ignited, close the door and leave the air
control fully open.
A conventional kindling fire with paper
under finely split wood.
DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE UNATTENDED WHEN THE DOOR IS SLIGHTLY
OPENED DURING IGNITION. ALWAYS CLOSE THE DOOR AFTER IGNITION.
After the kindling fire has mostly burned, you can add standard firewood pieces until you
have a fire of the right size for the conditions.
4.3.2 The Top Down Fire
The top down fire starting method solves two problems with the conventional method: first,
it does not collapse and smother itself as it burns; and second, it is not necessary to build
up the fire gradually because the firebox is loaded before the fire is lit. A top down fire can
provide up to two hours of heating or more. The top down method only works properly if
the wood is well-seasoned.
Start by placing three or four full-sized split pieces of dry firewood in the firebox. Next,
place 4 or 5 more finely split pieces of firewood (2" to 3" [50 mm to 75 mm] in dia.) on the
base logs at right angles (log cabin style). Now place about 10 pieces of finely split kindling
on the second layer at right angles.
The fire is topped with about 5 sheets of newspaper. You can just bunch them up and stuff
them in between the kindling and the underside of the baffle. Or you can make newspaper
knots by rolling up single sheets corner to corner and tying a knot in them. The advantage
of knots is that they don't roll off the fire as they burn. Light the newspaper and watch as
the fire burns from top to bottom.
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