Upside Down Fire -- Forget what you've learned

Take everything you have learned about fire making and well...turn it upside down. This method while takes time to prepare up front, the benefit is in its long lasting burn time with very little management.

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[northernselfreliance]

A little trick you can do to increase the burn time. ( I have seen a fire go 6 hours without adding wood in this way. ) what you do is build it the same way that you did but have the wood really close together and fill the cracks between the logs with dirt to prevent the coals from falling through before the fire gets down to each layer and burning it to fast.

Great video
Cheers

[EVZebra]

Hi I am from Africa so the wood here is a lot harder, it burns for longer and its very hard to cut, I just go and find 3 small dead trees around 120-150mm 5-6 inches in diameter and drag back the whole tree, I lay them out at 120 degrees and with the roots in the middle I start the fire and as it burns down I just push the logs into the fire, so there is  no cutting required. Some small stones around the edge help keep the logs off the ground so the fire can breathe, it lasts for about 3-4 hours. When its bed time if its winter, it does go down to -6 deg C some times, you can dig a shallow "grave" and put the coals into the hole and cover it up then you can sleep on top of it.

[spencerguffey]

I've watched some "upside down fire" videos. This was a pretty good one so I appreciate it. I always thought the purpose was to slow the burn but never really considered the "low maintenance" aspect.

I personally will be using them this winter when I camp out. It will be my "go to sleep" fire. I'll light it right when I get ready for bed to keep me warm throughout the night. If you do it right it's not uncommon to get 6 hours out of 1 fire.

[jefferyshall]

Keep the wood as close together as you can when building upside down fire and it will burn even slower. Keeps the coals from falling through and lighting the lower levels and can even pack the cracks with the dirt to really slow it down.

[eccmassive]

These are also excellent if you have a limited amount of dry wood as well. Pack the wetter logs on the bottom, and the fire will dry them as it burns downward. I've used this in the back country on some cold, wet nights & they burn for a long, long time.

[spankystone]

A thing i got from of all people Keith Richards scoutting boy days is the underground fire....You make the same smokeless sort of upside down fire as you have assembled...Before you build it...Dig about a four inch deep square the size of your intended fire...Then put rocks in the hole flat sides put a couple of thick layers of foil over the rocks....Then build your fire and let er burn down....Let the fire go right to the coals are all thats left...Then sweep them out of the pit and you can either put pots on the rocks....Or even Throw some meat right down on the foil....That stove will give you ALMOST an hour of good cooking time at an almost relentless heat that slowly cools out....Just a tip....

[stephensmith]

Much less smoke this way... more heat from the same calorific value in the wood. Good job.

[srspower]

That worked really well with dry wood but I think what that sort of fire if best for is wet dead fall. You can collect that up and build a frame like yours, with wood you wouldn't normally use, then light a regular fire which you feed as normal on top of it.

[eqlzr]

In actuality, this is kind of an "inside out" fire, because you still have to have tinder under the kindling at the top in order to get self-sustaining flames going. I wonder how well this works if the fuel wood is greener or wetter. A standard bottom-up fire might be better for drying wetter wood on top. And it's Trout, is it?

[TheLateBoyScout]

Gotta try this on my next outing. Amazing how log that burned with little-to-no management.

[rronmar]

You only really need to split for the top two layers, and you can use smaller sticks up top and not really split at all as long as the wood is dry. As mentioned stack the layers as tight as possible and add a little dirt to control the burn and it will run much longer..

[MrJackandEmily]

That's so wholesome father son time, well done awesome to see.. can't wait to take my boy out

[appliedweaponstechllc]

The best part is passing along the joy of the outdoors and the beauty of God's creation to the next generation of woodsmen! Great video on a very useful bit of knowledge.

[stevestone]

the wood is too far apart, enabling air to fuel the fire more! get them much closer together and pack every gap with earth! it will last much longer! for a 4 to 5 tear fire around 6 hours!

[isurvive]

I don't suppose the initial starting stage would work too well in high wind?

[adventureswithfrodo]

Please clear out your area around the fire.  Good concept but I have lived in high fire area and see to many woodlands destroyed.

[ginaleefarber]

I am building a side of my tent with the space blanket glued on and then the other sides are  totally clear his way it is a super shelter and on hot days I can turn it inside out to reflex the sun away from my sleeping quarters.

[TheEZGZ]

Nice! Your son is learning much more than you will know by just being with you. Looking back on my childhood. I learned the most when my Dad wasn't cramming it down my throat.

[DrAlNguyen]

That's interesting. I've always made an "upside-down" fire for my fireplace. However, somehow when I'm in the woods, I always make it the "traditional" method. It just never entered my mind to use the other technique. (Kinda reminds me of certain places around town. I would always drive to it from one route and always go home from it a different route, but never opposite.) Thanks for sharing. :)

[cobruh]

but how valid is this in cold weather, when you really need a fire? since most of the heat goes up, i imagine it just fizzling out on you when its really cold.