Osburn
Matrix
Inbuilt
Installation
and
Operation
Manual
16
______________________________________________________________________________
4.3
LIGHTING
FIRES
Each
person
who
heats
with
wood
develops
their
own
favorite
way
to
light
fires.
Whatever
method
you
choose,
your
goal
should
be
to
get
a
hot
fire
burning
quickly.
A
fire
that
starts
fast
produces
less
smoke
and
deposits
less
creosote
in
the
flue
system.
Here
are
three
popular
and
effective
ways
to
start
wood
inbuilts.
4.3.1
CONVENTIONAL
FIRE
STARTING
The
conventional
way
to
build
a
wood
inbuilt 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
25
mm
(1”).
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
flue
system
you
should
be
able
to
close
the
door
immediately
and
the
fire
will
ignite.
If
your
flue
has
elbows
or
an
outside
flue
system,
you
may
need
to
leave
the
door
closed
but
unlatched
for
a
few
minutes
as
the
newspaper
ignites
and
heat
in
the
flue
system
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
WOOD
INBUILT
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
(50
mm
to
75
mm
[2”
to
3”]
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.
