Latest News » All Natural Resources News » A Father's Invention Becomes a Daughter's Business - the Texas Fireframe (R) Grate Harnesses the Laws of Physics to Make a Hotter, Easier-to-Start Fire
A Father's Invention Becomes a Daughter's Business - the Texas Fireframe (R) Grate Harnesses the Laws of Physics to Make a Hotter, Easier-to-Start Fire
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, CT, December 02, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- It all began when a research physicist with credentials ranging from Harvard to the Manhattan Project was tinkering with logs in his fireplace and invented a grate that opens up the hottest part of the fire to the room.
Austin physicist Lawrence Cranberg, PhD, drew international attention to the humble fireplace in the midst of the 70s' 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, 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."
Press Release Contact Information:
Nicole Cranberg
Texas Fireframe Company
President
P.O. Box 163771
Austin, TX
U.S. 78716
Voice: 877.806.6464
Website: Visit Our Website


