Rasmussen Gas Logs & Grills is truly committed to helping our dealers succeed, and we're proving that through action. On August 16th, we held the introductory call for the new Dealer Business Alliance program.

DID YOU MISS THE CALL?

If you did, here's the link to download the MP3 recording:

This introductory call provides an overview of what this DBA Conference call program is all about, why we're investing time and resources into conducting these calls, and most importantly, what you can expect to get out of the program.

We are looking forward to holding these highly informative and valuable calls. Over the next few weeks, we will be establishing the schedule for these calls and will send out that information to you as soon as we have it finalized.

Download the MP3 now.

Bromic Radiant Patio Heater Training

Wednesday, August 24, 2011, we streamed live over the web the Bromic Radiant Patio Heater training that was conducted at our Whittier facility by the Technical and Sales Directors of Bromic. They were gracious to visit us from Australia to perform this valuable training.

If you were unable to attend the live session, you may view recordings of the training at http://www.livestream.com/rasmussenonline. The recordings are broken up into six chapters, totaling about 2 hours, 22 minutes, and will remain at this site for a while for your convenience.

The initial feedback from those who viewed the training live, either in person or online, were very favorable. They felt it was informative, helped them gain a better understanding of the Bromic line and its place in the market, and feel that it will help them be able to make sales.

Please direct any questions you may have about the Bromic line to me. Also, be sure to stay tuned to www.radiantpatioheater.com for the new videos that were referred to in the training.

Mr. Rasmussen Goes to Washington

After one and a half years of saying that gas logs would not be included in Department of Energy (DOE) rule making on gas fireplaces, on July 22 they wrote new rules that did indeed bring gas logs into their regulation. Under the proposed rules, gas logs would either:

• (1) have to comply with minimum fuel efficiency levels (not practical for gas logs, since these products do not include the enclosure or the flue;
• (2) be declared as "decorative" by having a gas input of 9,000 BTU/hour or less (yes, just nine thousand – think about 12 pilot lights lined up next to each other – not very decorative); or
• (3) meet the following requirements to be excluded from the rule:
  • (a) Be certified to ANSI Z21.60
  • (b) Sold without a thermostat, and void the warranty if one were ever installed;
  • (c) "Expressly and conspicuously identified" on the rating plate and in advertising that a gas log set is a "Decorative Product: Not For Use As A Heating Appliance; and
  • (d) Not be equipped with a standing pilot light, after July 1, 2014.

On Thursday, September 1, 2011, Rett Rasmussen and other industry leaders will testify before a public meeting at DOE headquarters in Washington, DC. Rett is a Certified Gas Engineer by the American Society of Gas Engineers, has been designing gas log sets for over twenty years, and has been on many technical committees that have developed and maintained national standards for gas logs and other fireplace products. Rett has identified some flaws in their research and will attempt to "set them right". Rett will provide a report of his experience in a special email next week.

Tom Parks from Coastroad Hearth & Patio in Shallotte, NC, (http://coastroadonline.com) sent in this photo of our Rumford Tipi logs (RF-T60LOG with TNA30E-LP burner) installed in a masonry Rumford-style fireplace. Installing a gas log set that is in alignment with the orientation of the opening is important for achieving a "natural" look. The vertical lines of the Rumford Tipi were made for tall openings like this. A traditional horizontal log stack, while looking skimpy, would also have a difficult time fitting into the narrow read width found in Rumford fireplaces. The result's of properly sizing the log set to the fireplace opening speak for themselves.

Read more about Rumford fireplaces on www.RasBox at http://goo.gl/6vNT8

Please send in your installation and business successes to us and we'll give your some press here.

We want more feedback!

We've been hearing some positive reports from the field that 2011 is shaping up well, especially compared to the past couple of years. What's do you see? What actions have you taken that have had positive results?

Please email to rett@rasmussen.biz a picture and a paragraph that we can share in this newsletter. Photos showing unique installations or special touches would be helpful. Such an idea exchange could be quite valuable – you might find that next big idea for your shop that has proven results from another area of the country. We'll provide full attribution to those contributions that we use, with a link back to your website (which helps increase your search engine ranking).