Thursday, December 02, 2010
The Texas Fireframe Grate Harnesses the Laws of Physics to Make a Hotter, Easier to Start Fire
A father’s invention becomes a daughter’s business: It’s been 35 years since a research physicist with credentials ranging from Harvard to the Manhattan Project invented a fireplace grate that directs more heat into the room. Now his daughter discovers a hot market for her dad’s invention.
Cos Cob, Connecticut, December 2, 2010 - - It all began when Austin physicist Lawrence Cranberg was tinkering with logs in his fireplace and invented a grate that opens up the hottest part of the fire to the room. He drew international attention to the humble fireplace in the midst of the 70’s energy crisis with his Texas Fireframe(R) grate - dubbed “The Physicist’s Fire” by Time magazine.
His daughter Nicole had just graduated from high school. Little did she know her dad would sell his invention for the next 35 years, amassing fan mail from warm, happy customers - including the governor of Texas - and someday pass the business on to her.
Someday is today. At age 93, Dr. Cranberg is taking a well-deserved rest, attributing his longevity to many years of lifting his 27-lb invention and transporting the units from the welder who makes them in central rural Texas.
Nicole, a UT grad who landed on Madison Avenue says, “I feel very proud to carry on my dad’s message, his product and his commitment to wood burning as a renewable, eco-friendly, and valid source of heat for the 40 million homes with fireplaces in the U.S. His invention makes a beautiful fire while maximizing the heat output of every log.”
In celebration of the Texas Fireframe grate’s 35th anniversary, she created a new website at http://www.texasfireframe.com, a blog, a new logo and fireplace grates in two additional sizes. But the design of the grate remains unchanged: adjustable arms open up the hottest part of the fire to the room. Instructions show how to arrange different size logs on the Texas Fireframe grate, which can handle split or unsplit logs up to ten inches in diameter.
Nicole counts herself among the ardent advocates of her dad’s smarter fireplace grate, having kept a fire going on hers for 24 hours straight when her home was without electricity last spring. (The grate was recently highlighted in a survival guide written by NASA robotics engineer Arthur T. Bradley.)
Discovering a hot new market for the Texas Fireframe grate, she added, “I’m thrilled to be marketing a product that will never go out of style, never be technologically obsolete, never need service and never burden the environment - we ship it unboxed, and at the end of its very long life, it’s recyclable. I’m especially proud to market a product that was invented by my father.”
The Texas Fireframe Company is a family business whose signature product is the Texas Fireframe grate - a fire grate that harnesses the laws of physics to direct more heat into the room and less up the chimney. The business was founded in 1975 by research physicist Lawrence Cranberg, PhD, inventor of the Texas Fireframe grate. Considered by many to be the best fireplace grate available, it’s made of hot rolled steel and comes in three sizes. Dr. Cranberg has transferred responsibility for the company to his daughter, Nicole Cranberg. For more information, please contact us at 877-806-6464 or http://www.texasfireframe.com/contact-us.html