Rumford Fireplaces - THEN and NOW

Rumford Fireplaces - THEN and NOW
Part I

Rumford fireplaces are more popular now than at any time since 1850. With the high cost of heating fuel, the legendary and proven heating efficiency of the Rumford fireplace is extremely attractive to those who are building, remodeling, or restoring their homes and are concerned about rising heating costs.

Also, with global warming and the environment of great concern to everyone, it is important to note that Rumford fireplaces are one of the very few clean-burning masonry fireplaces. Rumfords have been laboratory tested and meet or exceed wood burning appliance emission standards and regulations making them vastly more environmentally friendly than standard fireplaces

The Rumford fireplace was named for its creator Count Rumford who was born Benjamin Thompson in Woburn, Massachusetts. (The Rumford Museum is located in Woburn, Massachusetts). Because he was a British loyalist, he left (abruptly) with the British in 1776. He spent part of his adult life as an employee of the Bavarian government where he received his title, “Count of the Holy Roman Empire”. Count Rumford is known primarily for the work he did on the nature of heat. Count Rumford wrote two essays detailing his improvements on fireplaces in 1796 and 1798. He was well known and widely recognized during his lifetime. So much so that in the 1790s his “Rumford Fireplace” became state-of-the-art throughout the world.

Rumford fireplaces were very popular in this country when people heated their homes with fireplaces. Thomas Jefferson liked Count Rumford’s efficient fireplace design so much that he converted the fireplaces Monticello to Rumfords. George Renick, who introduced shorthorn cattle to Ohio in the 1790s (creating Route 22 in the process) built Rumford fireplaces in Chillicothe, Ohio.

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau, in Walden, listed Rumford fireplaces, along with plaster walls and Venetion blinds, among the comforts taken for granted by civilized man. Author Jane Austen speaks of the Rumford fireplace in her novel, Northanger Abbey. In Jane Austen’s time, the Rumford fireplace was the height of state-of-the-art heating efficiency, style, and décor.
By the mid 1800s, most homes had Rumford fireplaces and the word “Rumford” was synonymous with fireplace.

As people began heating their homes with sources other than fireplaces, i. e., coal, oil, and natural gas, the efficiency of the fireplace became secondary to style and décor. However, with the ever increasing costs and uncertainty of heating fuels in today’s world, as well as concerns about the environment, the Rumford fireplace is making an impressive comeback as an efficient, cost effective, and clean source of heat.

As a Contractor and Mason in New England, I have built and restored many Rumford fireplaces, as well as converting many standard fireplaces to Rumfords. I believe strongly in building and living ‘GREEN” and I can personally attest to superior heating efficiency and environmental friendliness of the Rumford fireplace.

In Part II of this article, coming soon, I will attempt to explain the dynamics of the Rumford fireplace and why it works so efficiently.

In the meantime, please visit my website at http://oldeworldebuilders.com/

Also, learn more about the Rumford fireplace from the expert’s expert, Jim Buckley at
http://rumford.com/

Thank you for reading this blog. I guess it’s pretty obvious that I am passionate about the heating efficiency and environmental friendliness of the Rumford fireplace.

I would appreciate hearing about your experiences as well as your opinions regarding Rumford fireplaces.

Please contact me with any questions you may have about Rumford fireplaces and I will do my best to answer them.

Builder Man (Tony)