Rumford Fireplaces Are Hotter Than Ever
If could build a fireplace that threw more heat into the room but produced fewer pollutants and smoke than usual, you’d do it, right? Enter the Rumford fireplace. It’s old but becoming new again, as more and more people develop an appreciation for this historic fireplace design.
The Rumford’s tall, shallow firebox was developed in the late 18th century by Sir Benjamin Thompson, a physicist who went by the name Count Rumford. The design remained popular until around 1850 and was used by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
What attracts many people to a Rumford fireplace, besides its aesthetics, is its efficiency in radiating heat into the room and drawing smoke and pollutants out. Rumford fireplaces are taller and shallower than the typical fireplace, and have a narrower chimney opening to increase updraft.
As Jim Buckley of Buckley Rumford Fireplaces in Washington state explains, “The opening should be about as tall as it is wide; the depth of the firebox and fireback should be about the same and about one-third of the fireplace width; the fireback should be plumb and straight; and the throat should be rounded or streamlined to a small, typically 4-inch, throat opening.”
This chart compares a Rumford fireplace (left) to a conventional modern fireplace, in both section and plan views. Notice how the Rumford is shallower, and how air is drawn up the chimney by the Rumford’s rounded throat.
Rumford fireplaces are a perfect choice for great rooms where ceiling heights are high and the scale of the room is grand.
Even in a more contemporary and smaller-scale room, a Rumford fireplace can make a statement.
Continue reading Rumford Fireplaces Are Hotter Than Ever
Rumford Fireplaces Are Hotter Than Ever
The Rumford’s tall, shallow firebox was developed in the late 18th century by Sir Benjamin Thompson, a physicist who went by the name Count Rumford. The design remained popular until around 1850 and was used by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
What attracts many people to a Rumford fireplace, besides its aesthetics, is its efficiency in radiating heat into the room and drawing smoke and pollutants out. Rumford fireplaces are taller and shallower than the typical fireplace, and have a narrower chimney opening to increase updraft.
As Jim Buckley of Buckley Rumford Fireplaces in Washington state explains, “The opening should be about as tall as it is wide; the depth of the firebox and fireback should be about the same and about one-third of the fireplace width; the fireback should be plumb and straight; and the throat should be rounded or streamlined to a small, typically 4-inch, throat opening.”
This chart compares a Rumford fireplace (left) to a conventional modern fireplace, in both section and plan views. Notice how the Rumford is shallower, and how air is drawn up the chimney by the Rumford’s rounded throat.
Rumford fireplaces are a perfect choice for great rooms where ceiling heights are high and the scale of the room is grand.
Even in a more contemporary and smaller-scale room, a Rumford fireplace can make a statement.
Continue reading Rumford Fireplaces Are Hotter Than Ever
Rumford Fireplaces Are Hotter Than Ever
