Renaissance Rumford 1500 Wood Fireplace

Product Description

The name Rumford does not only apply to the style and shape of a particular fireplace. It is the name of its inventor as well. Count Rumford led a very intriguing life and his history is well-placed in both North America and Europe. He was a scientist, inventor and adventurer. His main investigations led him to study the effects of heat and how it is transmitted.

Rumford applied his knowledge of heat to the improvement of fireplaces. He made them smaller and shallower with widely angled covings to reflect more heat. He also streamlined the throat to eliminate turbulence and carry away the smoke with little loss of heated room air.

Count Rumford created a sensation in London when he introduced the idea of restricting the chimney opening to increase the updraught. He and his workers changed fireplaces by inserting bricks into the hearth to make the side walls angled and added a choke to the chimney to increase the speed of air going up the flue. It effectively produced a streamlined air flow, so all the smoke would go up into the chimney rather than lingering and often choking the residents. Many fashionable London houses were modified to his instructions, and became smoke-free. He became a celebrity when news of his success became widespread.

Rumford wrote two papers detailing his improvements on fireplaces in 1796 and 1798. He was well-known and his papers were widely read in his lifetime and almost immediately in the 1790’s his “Rumford fireplace” became state-of-the-art worldwide.