Real Fireplaces That
Really Work
 |
Two hundred years ago the American-born
scientist and adventurer, Count Rumford,
turned his interest to the perfection
of the wood-burning fireplace. His revolutionary
design burned cleanly and efficiently
while giving off far more heat than
conventional fireplaces. Now, the superior
design of the Rumford Fireplace has
been rediscovered and is available as
an efficient new system of pre-engineered
modular masonry components. These Rumfords
are real fireplaces, built of solid
masonryÑnot sheet metal. In use,
they easily heat entire rooms; and even
with the fire out, they bring warmth
and elegance to any setting. |
| |
| •Traditional
Beauty |
| •
Real Masonry |
| •
Energy Efficiency |
| •
Radiant Heat |
| •
Modular Components |
 |
Radiant
Heat
Count Rumford was the first to realize
that a fireplace heats a room solely
through radiation of visible and invisible
light. Armed with this insight, he set
about designing a fireplace to maximize
its effectiveness as a radiant heater.
His research produced a tall, shallow
firebox with widely flared sides that
gives off huge amounts of heat over
a very wide arc. |
Rumford
Throat
While his radical new firebox design
succeeded in giving off far more heat,
it also initially gave off liberal amounts
of smoke into the room. Ever the scientist,
Count Rumford switched from thermodynamics
to aerodynamics and developed the smooth
streamlined throat that became a unique
feature of his fireplace. This Rumford
Throat captures all the products of
combustion and guides them smoothly
and without turbulence into the chimney.
Because of its streamlined efficiency,
it also greatly reduces the amount of
warm air lost up the chimney. |
Clean-Burning
The tall firebox and streamlined throat
have an additional beneficial effect
which Count Rumford could never have
imagined: by keeping the smoke at a
higher temperature for a longer time,
more particulate is burned, making Rumfords
one of the few clean-burning masonry
fireplaces. Rumfords have been laboratory
tested and meet wood-burning appliance
emission regulations. |
 |
Modular Components
Our Rumford fireplace system consists
of a set of modular components that
faithfully incorporate Count Rumford's
principles while greatly simplifying
the design and construction of perfect
fireplaces. Fireboxes, throat sections,
smoke chambers, dampers, and flues are
all pre-engineered to ensure perfect
operation in fireplaces varying in size
from two feet to more than ten feet
wide. |
 |
Traditional Beauty
The Rumford fireplace's large open firebox
radiates traditional beauty and charm.
While its geometry isfixed, the color,
size, and pattern of the firebrick used
are at the designer's discretion. McNear
Brick & Block supplies 3 colors
of architectural firebrick: red, white,
and sandstone. These colors are also
available as prefabricated herringbone
fireboxes. |
 |
| Rumford
Dimensions |
|
|
| FIREPLACE
WIDTH |
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
E
|
F
|
G
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2' WIDE
|
24”
|
12”
|
13.5”
|
5,25”
|
24”-28”
|
12”
|
19”
|
| 2'-6"
WIDE |
30”
|
12”
|
13.5”
|
8.25”
|
28”-32”
|
12”
|
18”
|
| 3' WIDE
|
36”
|
14”
|
13.5”
|
11.25”
|
32”-38”
|
14”
|
18”
|
| 3'-6"
WIDE |
42”
|
15”
|
15”
|
13.5”
|
38”-42”
|
15”
|
18”
|
| 4' WIDE
|
48”
|
16”
|
18”
|
15”
|
42”-48”
|
16”
|
19”
|
| 4'-6"
WIDE |
54”
|
18”
|
18”
|
18”
|
50”
|
13.5”
|
32”
|
| 5' WIDE
|
60”
|
20”
|
22.5”
|
18.75”
|
48”-54”
|
13.5”
|
32”
|
| 6' WIDE
|
72”
|
24”
|
24”
|
24”
|
54”-60”
|
13.5”
|
32”
|
| 7' WIDE
|
84”
|
28”
|
28”
|
28”
|
60”
|
13.5”
|
42”
|
| 8' WIDE
|
96”
|
32”
|
32”
|
32”
|
60”
|
13.5”
|
42”
|
| 11'
WIDE |
120”
|
40”
|
40”
|
40”
|
72”
|
13.5”
|
42”
|
|
|
| Rumford
vs Conventional Fireplaces |
 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Shallow
back and steeply angled
sides effectively radiate
heat into room. |
|
Deep
firebox and shallow-angle
sides radiate less heat
into room. |
|
|
| California
Prop. 65 Warning: Combustion
of wood, firelogs, and other materials
results in the emission of carbon monoxide,
soot, and other combustion by-products
which are known by the State of California
tocause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive
harm. |
|
