The upside down fire technique rocks. It’s a cleaner burn with far less smoke and better combustion, gives off more heat, needs less tending and uses the embodied energy in wood more efficiently than the tipi-esque fire method.
As an added bonus, the first time you make a fire like this in front of a ring of uninitiated folks, you exist in a ring of utter skepticism. Which makes your rockin upside down fire all the better when it works beautifully.
Paul (Speedy) Ward introduced this fire-making method to Milkwood Farm last year, in our campfire circle where many evenings are spent after a day of work or education, watching the sunset and waiting for yet another scrummy dinner to emerge from Rose’s kitchen.
As one of the ring of utter skeptics that day, I’m sorry to say that i didn’t believe it would work. But it has, that evening and ever time since.
Why it works:
Heat energy actually radiates equally in all directions from the point of combustion, not just upwards (it’s the displacement of gasses as they expand that sends hot air upwards, not the actual heat energy itself). So once combustion of the top layer of your upside down fire occurs, the heat energy is radiating down as much as it is up.
This in turn means that the wood below the combusting material is getting well heated before it catches fire, which in turn facilitates better and more complete combustion of the wood below when it does catch fire. And more complete combustion means less smoke.
More complete combustion also means a hotter fire, which is usually the point of the exercise.
And in turn better combustion also means better coals (when you get to that stage) which mean better campfire cooking (should you be looking to multi-purpose your evening campfire, which you should).
How to make an upside down fire:
Start with the logs that you would normally put on last, and lay them flat in your firepit (or slow combustion wood heater). Then cross-hatch successively smaller layers of wood on top, until you’re up to the kindling.
The more stable the structure of your upside down fire, the better it will be, as the structure won’t be compromised while burning which will lead to more complete combustion for all the wood, right down to those big logs at the bottom.
Place your paper on top, and light (a sprinkle of extra kindling on top is a good idea).
Trust the laws of physics, and light your fire.
The first 10-15 minutes will be somewhat unspectacular as the fire makes its way through the kindling and the combustion gets going. Soon though the flames will be roaring and the fire’s smokeless state will be apparent.
Collect whatever bets were placed upon your complete failure, and enjoy your upside down fire.
As said, this technique also works well in combustion wood heaters and indoor fires also, resulting in higher heat for a smaller amount of wood as well as far less smoke and ash, which is good for everyone and the Earth to boot.
>> More posts about Appropriate Technology at Milkwood
*Of course only light fires when it’s safe to do so – i.e. not this week at Milkwood Farm, nor anywhere else in the midst of this Summer heatwave we’re having! And always put your fire completely out once you’ve finished with it.
First picture of upside down fire by Gianna Bonis
How was the pig!?
Ridiculously delicious!
I’m going to give this a go under our fire bath… as soon as the fire bans are over and we’re able to fire bathe again… Thanks! these are my favourite posts of yours.
LOL! I thought that was some sort of fire blanket! A pig you say? I dare say a fully loaded rubbed with spice pig that tasted like heaven but you just made me laugh hysterically. I am saving this post for posterity (and for when we are allowed to light fires again in Tasmania which should probably be some time mid winter 2050)
I will have to try this and remember to do the betting as well..
Sandy 🙂
yes sorry for posting this while none of us (in OZ) can actually HAVE a fire… but keep it up your sleeve for autumn, and don’t forget to collect your bets…
I have used this method of fire lighting for decades, especially to dispose of dead animals, which died due to disease or old age. I don’t have a ready supply of wood now so burying is the only option.
When I boil a drum of water for dunking bee equipment or for scalding chooks to pluck, I place the big sticks down first, then add the smaller bits closer to the drum and then strike the match. Certainly runs hot and gets the water boiling in no time.
What an informative post. Thanks!
Hey Kirsten, this type of fire has been used for Girl Guide camp fires for decades… stops anyone needing to then play with the fire after it is lit… 😉 Works well eh!!!
I’m amazed.
How can an entire culture get it wrong for so long?
My grandfather lit a fire every night of his life The Wrong Way.
How many other things need to be turned upside down?
Maybe we should celebrate upside-down day once a year, just to see what emerges.
Damn! I want to try it! Now! I reckon I’ll have to wait another three months before we have safe conditions. Of course I know your telling the truth but I still need to see it to believe it!
This means our game of moveable chairs around the camp fire at Easter may cease! Can’t wait to try it.
I am a Girl Scout and this goes against everything I been doing for the last 50 years! Can’t wait to try it!
Love it, as self proclaimed master of the fire, I am keen to try this out (come winter)! A smokeless fire, what a treat!
Tried it last night in our pizza oven. It really does work! It was a beautifully quiet and less smoky fire. Because the fire gradually moves down through the centre of the heap, any collapse is towards the centre rather than the edges…so the logs stayed right where I had placed them and didn’t need re-arranging to keep the fire burning well, nor did they threaten to roll away… which all adds up to an easier and safer firing 🙂
Damn, I was enjoying this so much that I forgot to take bets!
Dang!
this was how one made a campfire in girl guides back in the ’60s. it had to burn for 3 hours without any attention to it and you were only allowed 2 matches to light it, and of course, no paper.
thems were the days!
I just stumbled on your site, wow!
I shall certainly try your upside down fire on my open fire indoors and later when my new house is built in the wood burner stove I am installing…..do you think it would still work in the northern hemishere;scotland to be precise
This worked really well!!! Thanks! Definitely the easiest and fastest fire I have ever built
This technique of making upside and down fire is very nice.It looks that it has been used before.
Anyone camping @ florida State park Little Manate in 1990’s I was sat nite host I built my special upsidedown fire. I recieved mail of enjoyment.
Great intelligent way to burn outdoors using an open fire. However, rocket stoves burn much better without smoke using an insulated ‘L’ or ‘J’ tube. Check out the inventor from Aprovecho in Oregon. This stove is saving much pain and death because of the effective burn. I build one and can attest to their superior methods.
Yep, we know. See our posts on rocket stoves 🙂
We camp every year in July. So when I found this, I knew I had to show this to my brother-in-law (he is our campfire maker). So when I showed this to him, he says, hum we can try it ( there was a note of skepticism). They go up a few days before us so when we got there I asked him how was the upside down fire? He says you will see. So that night he builds the fire upside down, one match and walla we had fire. He then said I will never build a fire the… Read more »
huzzah!
re the upside down fire… Girl Guides have been building their campfires this way for decades!!!
I remember making fires with this method from Boy Scout camporee
I will definitely be trying this method late this afternoon…thanks! Your right,why didn’t anyone think of this before (thanks Girl Scouts! lol ) My neighbor and I trade off having backyard firepit campfires..we love it! And the heat will feel very good indeed,going down to 28 tonight here in Southeast MI. 🙂
If you bake a potato you can place it down with the big logs and eat it when the pig is done.
Reblogged this on Manly Vale Community Garden and commented:
Had to post this.
Must try this! Another great one I saw is the Swedish Candle (or torch) which uses one log and some twigs. It’s on YouTube.
I can’t believe I have never lit a fire this way in my 45 years of being a bit of a fire bug (in a good way). I have used this method for my last 3 fires and it works beautifully. Lit the fire in the wood heater and didn’t need to put any more wood on until just before going to bed to keep going overnight, amazing.
Thanks and now for some mushroom growing…
Have used this method for MANY years. If you are lighting it for the evening fire,
Use 4 or 5 of your largest logs spaced about 2″ apart for the bottom layer, and you should have enough hot coals for coffee and breakfast in the morning.
I’ll definitely try this! If you turn my whole fire-building world upside down I’ll have to give you mad props! I am extremely skeptical because I feel that it will take forever to get a really nice fire going without wasting a lot of kindling, but I can’t wait until the next backyard fire 🙂
We probably became ingrained to the old methods, because of the need to dry wood before burning.
I do my best thinking in front of a cozy flaming fire. I just don’t like to keep putting more wood on the fire. We have a backyard fireplace where I like to sit and relax. My only problem is I get too relaxed and my time management is thrown out the door. I will try this and let you know how it turns out. Thanks.
I was taught this as a girl guide back in the dark ages. We dug a pit first to catch all the coals and to make it easier to cook on later. Bty you could collect biochar if you drenched the fire before all the wood was completely burnt – assuming you weren’t going to cook!
yes! It’s not a new technique, but we love it 🙂
And never, I mean never use river rocks. They explode!
yes! best to stay clear of –
My daughter just told me about this, she tried it and said it was amazing. I have been having trouble getting my fire going so am keen to try this tomorrow. Let you know how I go. thanks for the info, looks impossible but my daughter said it really works!
I was also skeptical the first time… but now we never use anything else 🙂
Really informative post. Thanks for sharing with us!