# New Renaissance Rumford Fireplace (1500)



## rorser (Dec 22, 2010)

Has anyone here seen the new Renaissance Rumford?  It is about 50% larger than the 1000 & 1000H models.  The first ones just shipped this month.

For that matter, does anyone here on the forum own a R. R 1000?  Or has anyone used one?
I sure would like to talk with an owner of one before plunking down $10k.

Hope you all are staying warm,
Happy Holidays,
Richard


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## shawneyboy (Dec 22, 2010)

10 K ??? Wow does it produce gold instead of smoke ?


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## JV_Thimble (Dec 22, 2010)

It's not shown on their website - http://www.renaissancefireplaces.com/en/renaissance-fireplaces. 

These tout low emissions, but not efficiency.


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## rorser (Dec 22, 2010)

JV_Thimble said:
			
		

> It's not shown on their website - http://www.renaissancefireplaces.com/en/renaissance-fireplaces.
> 
> These tout low emissions, but not efficiency.


Right, I pointed out to them that it was not on their web site, and they said it would be soon.

Right again, they are secretive about the heat production/efficiency.  They really hype the fact that for a fireplace it burns very cleanly, meeting or surpassing many codes/standards.

I sure would like to speak with a user of these things, but am having trouble finding any;  even the dealers have not installed enough of these to be able to supply me with names & numbers of folks willing to talk.


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## JV_Thimble (Dec 22, 2010)

rorser said:
			
		

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I like the look of these as well. For my upstairs fireplace (little used except for ambience) it might not be a bad idea (replace an old Heatilator-type). Here's another company that does the Rumford thing - http://www.rumford.com/rumfordize.html.


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## rorser (Dec 23, 2010)

[/quote]I like the look of these as well. For my upstairs fireplace (little used except for ambience) it might not be a bad idea (replace an old Heatilator-type). Here's another company that does the Rumford thing - http://www.rumford.com/rumfordize.html.[/quote]

Thanks for the link.  Attractive and probably a lot cheaper.  But, my wife really likes that pull down glass door.  She's had it with smoke in the living room.  To her, the Renaissance is a civilized fire.  I just hope it won't burn up the logs like a normal open fireplace.


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## BrowningBAR (Dec 23, 2010)

rorser said:
			
		

> > I like the look of these as well. For my upstairs fireplace (little used except for ambience) it might not be a bad idea (replace an old Heatilator-type). Here's another company that does the Rumford thing - http://www.rumford.com/rumfordize.html.
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> Thanks for the link.  Attractive and probably a lot cheaper.  But, my wife really likes that pull down glass door.  She's had it with smoke in the living room.  To her, the Renaissance is a civilized fire. * I just hope it won't burn up the logs like a normal open fireplace.*




I'm pretty sure they will. It is still a fireplace.

I wonder if the heat loss is minimized on those at all?


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## rorser (Dec 23, 2010)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

> I just hope it won't burn up the logs like a normal open fireplace.[/b]



I'm pretty sure they will. It is still a fireplace.

I wonder if the heat loss is minimized on those at all?[/quote]
They are somewhat sealed and use piped in outside air for combustion.  They have a little flapper valve on the air intake.  At least I am not in Minnesota.


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## sctazmon (Jan 6, 2011)

I am a proud and one of the few owners of a Renaissance Rumford 1000. I live in Northern Cal and I had to have an EPA 2 certified unit to meet code in my rebuilt house. I wanted a real open fireplace -- not a wood stove made to look like a fire place. This was basically the only option for me. It was a little more than $9k installed.

To sum it up - I LOVE it!

Burns like a champ. You can burn fast, or trim it down to a glow. Wife loves it with the glass door lowered. It hardly produces any ashes because it burns so hot.

While it makes a beautiful addition to my room and it is made to be a showpiece, it is surprisingly efficient. It really kicks out the heat for a fireplace and is much much more efficient than my traditional brick fireplace in my other room. My visitors always comment on how much heat it throws out. I burn in it every night and I've had it for about 4 weeks. So far, so good...

Note: I saw the fireplace on display and burning at Blaze (http://www.blazefireplaces.com) in San Francisco before I purchased.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Paul


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## rorser (Jan 6, 2011)

sctazmon said:
			
		

> I am a proud and one of the few owners of a Renaissance Rumford 1000. I live in Northern Cal and I had to have an EPA 2 certified unit to meet code in my rebuilt house. I wanted a real open fireplace -- not a wood stove made to look like a fire place. This was basically the only option for me. It was a little more than $9k installed.
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> To sum it up - I LOVE it!
> 
> ...


Thank you so much Paul for posting this msg.  I just cannot find anyone who has these units in their homes.  I would like to ask a few questions, but want to put some thought to them first.  I appreciate your willingness to discuss your unit with me.
For now, I will just ask if you have had any trouble with either of the doors (glass or screen), and for how long have you had the unit installed?
Gratefully, Richard in Santa Cruz, CA


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## nelraq (Jan 6, 2011)

Hi Rorser,

Before you spend $9K on a Rumford, have a look at the Masonary fireplaces.  Tempcast makes a good one.  It comes in kit form and the mason puts it together with your choice of finish -brick, stone, slate etc.  Properly positioned, these fp's will heat your home with only 1, 2 or 3(very cold) loads of wood per day.
They have a large glass door through which you can watch the spectacular fire.

I put one in my last house.  It cost me about $8000 12 years ago.  Of course, this was going to be my last house -so I could justify the expense.

Three years later I decided I wanted a farm, so sold the house and moved down the road!!


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## sctazmon (Jan 6, 2011)

rorser said:
			
		

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I've owned it for about 3 months, but started using it when I moved in about 4 weeks ago - doors work perfectly.


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## rorser (Jan 7, 2011)

see following msg.


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## rorser (Jan 7, 2011)

nelraq said:
			
		

> Hi Rorser,
> 
> Before you spend $9K on a Rumford, have a look at the Masonary fireplaces.  Tempcast makes a good one.  It comes in kit form and the mason puts it together with your choice of finish -brick, stone, slate etc.  Properly positioned, these fp's will heat your home with only 1, 2 or 3(very cold) loads of wood per day.
> They have a large glass door through which you can watch the spectacular fire.
> ...



Wow, that is quite a unit.  I am in central coast Calif. so it may be more than I need.  
I suspect that the part of the unit that shows (the door) will be a little small to esthetically fit with what we are trying to accomplish.  I will check the specs.  Thanks for the tip.  
Looks like that unit with its masonry would really radiate some pleasant heat into the room.


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## rorser (Jan 9, 2011)

sctazmon said:
			
		

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Well Paul,
It sounds like a marvelous unit.  Your fireplace goals sound identical to mine.  I am happy to hear that it does throw out heat, as I will be spending a lot of time cutting and splitting wood, and would be a mite ticked if all the heat went up the chimney.  
How long does it take to burn through 3 good sized logs (say, 6--8") with the glass down?
Do you place your wood vertically or horizontally?
I am considering the new 1500 model which is pretty much the same, but larger.  Have you seen it?
Thank you for your help,


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