Majestic Fireplaces have for many years produced a varied range of fireplace inserts and freestanding stoves that are ideal for adding a modern fuel appeal to a traditional fireplace. Combining both the best in modern materials and models to burn any fuel Majestic fireplaces and their subsidiary Vermont Castings have a nationwide network of approved Majestic fireplace dealers.
So where can the Majestic fireplace range enhance the design appeal of a fireplace? To answer this question fully it would be helpful to consider the anatomy of a fireplace. Mantel, surround and grate styles have varied according to fashion but the basic structural elements of a fireplace have not radically changed over the centuries. The early combination of a large stone or brick opening with a chimney built over it evolved from the obvious fact that smoke rises, rather than from a scientific understanding of how a well devised flue system functions. Open wood and later coal-burning fires were very inefficient and it was not until Benjamin Thompson, known as Count Rumford, produced his thesis on the principles of fireplace design in 1799 that smaller grates and improvements in the internal shape of the opening were introduced.
It is from these early principles that Majestic Fireplaces have developed their range of vented fireplace inserts. Count Rumford, in his essays on fireplaces proposed that the flue should be a specified proportion of the fireplace opening and that the area immediately above the fire should be narrowed down to form a throat. The throat causes the rising air to speed up as it passes through the constriction, thus improving the draft up the chimney. To improve the efficiency of the fire further, he argued that the fireplace itself ought to be smaller and it should be lined with firebrick. The sides, he suggested should be splayed to reflect the heat into the room, and the fireback be made one-third the width of the opening. Also the upper part of the fireback was to slope forward to further reflect the heat. A smoke shelf formed at the throat by the sloping back helped prevent rainwater falling into the fire and was also thought to improve the air circulation within the flue.
So the efficiency of an open fire depends not only on the supply of air but also on the size of the flue compared with the size of the fireplace opening. Count Rumford recommended that the cross-sectional area of the flue should be about a tenth of the size of the opening. However, fireplaces tended to be smaller in the nineteenth century. Modern manufacturers such as Majestic fireplaces favour a ratio of one to seven, and there are sizing charts available.
Using these basic principles the designers of fireplace inserts at Majestic fireplaces and Vermont Castings have developed a range of inserts that are as efficient as possible in not losing too much heat up the chimney. Indeed by using their recommended stainless steel flue liners traditional chimney efficiency can be increased by up to 20%. In the search for greater heat efficiency Majestic fireplaces have introduced a range of gas fireplace inserts that fit easily into traditional fireplace openings. Majestic fireplaces have not ignored the ventless fireplace market and models for many settings and fuel types are available. For details of Majestic fireplace dealers then the world wide web should be your first port of call.
