newbie

[ljcarr]

Ive been reading this thread with interest as Im new to the wood fired oven scene, but I have seemed to find a method that has worked the first 4 times I've fired my oven, it goes as follows,

1: I start making a box with 2 pieces of hard wood
2: inside this first layer I get paper shredding's from my paper shredder and twist a hand full as tight as I can get them and then place them in the centre of the box base,
3:I repeat this on the next level 
4: I repeat this on the 3rd level but with soft wood , I also just ever so slightly soak the paper shredding's with BBQ lighting gel.
5: And the same again on the 4th and final level

not had a a failed start yet, fingers crossed.

[kstronach]

google upside down fire, basically you start with the large wood on the bottom getting smaller as you go up and kindling on the top. i use this method everytime without fail, less smoke to as the larger wood underneath only ignites when its hot enough to do so. theres a thread somewhere on the forum discussing it if you were interested.

[rivergirl]

Less smoke is good! You don't upset the neighbours!!

[cobblerdave]

Gday
A couple of things that I include in the top down fire to ensure its as smokeless as possible.
I build it in the entrance under the chimney . That does 2 things . Prewarms your chimney so it draws its best. Secound the fire has a chance to heat up well, when you push it into the oven proper the heat kicks back off the walls and it continues to burn well.
I'm not adverse to a bit accelerant.  I save some charcoal from a previous fire and soak it in pure alcohol. Just a couple of teaspoons. No nasty smells and the charcoal adds to the mass of coals in your fire.

Regards dave

[edinburghman]

Just had my first fire and it was dead easy to light.

Question - how much dry, seasoned wood do you guys burn to get your ovens up to temp?

[edinburghman]

When I say up to temp I mean when you're actually cooking pizza!

[kipper]

Bit of a sliding scale as to how much wood you will need. Because of different oven size and different heats from different wood.
Mines an 80cm internal but I would guess I use approx four maybe five carrier bags full to get to temp. I'll gauge it next time to make sure.