OT - Use grate in Rumford fireplace...?

[Kenneth]

Howdy,

The subject line says most of it...

Is it wise to use a conventional fireplace grate in a well designed Rumford fireplace?

Thanks for any thoughts,

[George]

How else to get air under the fire? It'll smother itself much faster without it.

[Andy Dingley]

Maybe I'm missing some terminology here ?

Why should the type of grate make any difference to a Rumford ? Rumford's rules specify the design of the smokebox, particularly its narrow depth and the use of a shelf. It's not a specific sort of grate.

Although that said, I'm assuming you mean a grate that's open, rather than a more modern closed smokeless fuel stove, or a metal box woodburner with baffles.

-- Klein bottle for rent. Apply within.

[Kenneth]

Hello again,

Here's why I posted the question:

I had been using the fireplace with a grate that was of the wrong shape: It was too deep, and not wide enough. That is, it was not even close to the shape of the hearth of our Rumford fireplace.

I then thought that surely someone made a grate that would be a "better fit."

As I started to search the web, I found something that really took me by surprise. I came upon a few articles suggesting that Rumford fireplaces would burn better, and would also radiate more heat to the room if the fire were built right on the hearth rather than on a grate. These suggestions certainly did not fit with my intuition (for reasons similar to your comment), but I am happy to learn.

Hours later, after my fire burned down, I gave it a try. I removed the grate, and build a fire...

To my surprise, with no grate, the fire produced better draw, and burned the fuel much more completely. With the grate, there were always a few chunks of wood that fell through where they remained unburned. Without the grate, I was left only with fine ash. (I cannot be sure about the radiated heat.)

I will continue to experiment, but for now, despite my original intuition, I believe that there are significant advantages to burning in a Rumford fireplace with no grate at all.

All the best,

[George]

Nothing new in that , really. Any fireplace or stove lights better with air, which gets the chimney drawing, is self-banking with an ash bed.

Now, what're you after? Ambiance favors an open grate and the crackling fire, efficiency a banked fire (once the chimney's warm), which is why we have "airtight" stoves.

You can create a "grate" of wood to help light, and burn on the hearth, or you can buy a minimum-gap grate which will hold created ash to bank the fire, and scoop the ash out from underneath for lighting.

[Kenneth]

I responded because I agreed with you about that, and, as it turns out, we were both wrong...

All the best,