quotHoudini Rumfordquot

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The Houdini of Rumford Fireplaces • No Tee Pee Fire In This Orton Rumford Fireplace just a 12'' Elm Log burning while breathing through a 1-3/4'' throat! • On a foggy drizzly night with no air current, the perfect test for any fireplace, my 50'' Rumford Orton Fireplace uses my damper [first fabricated in West Port, CT in the early 70's] which helps to enable choking the 3-3/4'' throat to 1-3/4'' equaling a 1 to 30 throat area to fireplace opening area ratio! • This means the area of the slant's throat actually can be far less [60%] than that of it's straight back cousin with it's shorter deeper non-adjustable damper which was up until now at the helm. • The fixed throat Rumford design of 200 years ago was for the shorter rear positioned throats of Count Rumford's straight back fireplaces. A never talked about fact regarding a full length throat is that Counr Rumford'ssingle best heating fireplace was a little bedroom half slanted fireplace that used it's existing throat .This throat was a mere 4'' behind the brick face, hence ''full length . • The Orton Slanted Rumford which evolved later due to the increased heat radiated off the rear wall, has been wrongly used by many whom assume that the fixed throat rule apply's to them also. • This fixed throat rule was even suggested by Vrest Orton, the author of the book The Forgotten Art of Building a Good Fireplace'' written some 45 years ago, and is still common practice in all slanted fireplaces as well as in straight back Rumfords . • It should be realized the 4'' deep throat was never ment to be placed upon a slanted firebox which has a full length throat. To do so and leave it unchoked has only resulted in years of turbulence and high heat loss lending to the demise of the slanted firebox, i.e.both Rumford and conventional styles. • Human nature's ''dare not choke a leaky fireplace'' perhaps has had much the blame in no one studying the smoke currents while pushing the slanted firebox and the longer throat to it's limits which very well can lead to an overchoke, meaning going past the highest velocity and volume and still avoid leakage. • This is now proven almost nightly in my Modified Orton and hopefully soon in many more fireplaces whom currently burn wide open throats via mass air volume and excessive heat loss! • Seems like there's a fix to the fixed throat after all and it's not just hot air! I have noted a 5 degree drop in temperature in 1 hr going from my 1-3/4'' highly choked throat to it's 3-3/4'' fully open setting. • I and jim Buckley have been discussing this recently on his Rumford Blog / 140885637236 • • Francis Casini

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