Real Flame Explains Gel Fuel Differences
June 13th, 2011
NAPA Fuel Stories / NY Times and GMA
Good morning. On Saturday June 11, the New York Times ran a story on NAPA Home Inc. EthanolGel Fuel and discussed in detail two cases in which a consumer was badly injured using this product. The link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/nyregion/a-firepot-a-safe-label-and-2-horrible-explosions.html?_r=1
This morning Good Morning America ran a story as well and that link is: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/injuries-result-exploding-ceramic-pots-send-flaming-gel/story?id=13825462
Both of these stories are focused on NAPA Home Inc. and their ethanol based fuel. At this time, NAPA Home Inc. is the only company involved in these incidents. However, both stories also speak very generally of gel fuels as a category.
We would like to clarify that our pour gel fuel is not the same product and does not have the same qualities. The main ingredients and formulas are much different and in our tests have not shown the same burning characteristics.
Key differences about Real Flame:
- Real Flame pour gel is an Isopropyl Alcohol - not Ethanol - based gel fuel. It is a proprietary formula specifically designed and tested for use in our products. It has been sold safely in the US for close to 30 years.
- Real Flame Gel Fuel has been thoroughly tested by independent labs and has proven to be safe when used as directed. Furthermore it has been approved for burning by the Atlanta, Chicago, and Las Vegas Fire Departments to be used at industry trade shows. Records of those tests are on file.
- The labels of our pour gel and canned fuel were designed in conjunction with, and approved by Health Canada, which regulates these types of products and whose standards for labeling are very strict and beyond US requirements.
- This ensures that your customers are well informed regarding the safe use of this flammable gel fuel product.
- We have included pictures of our existing Real Flame Pour Gel labels. You can see that in the directions we boldly state not to add fuel to the reservoir while it is burning.
- Real Flame has been designing, testing and introducing gel-fueled fireplaces for the past 30 years. We have a very reputable name in the industry and the safety of our customers is our top priority. We have compiled years of testing data that demonstrates that commitment.
Our thoughts go out to the injured, and today we have voluntarily contacted and spoken with the US Consumer Products Safety Agency to help them better understand gel fuel technology and to assist them in any way we can.
In the meantime, you can be assured that when used as directed our product continues to be very safe, with more than 250,000 bottles of pour gel sold in the past two years without a single incident.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this please feel free to contact me at anytime.
Best Regards,
John Ridgeway
jridgeway@realflame.com
Vice President Sales and Marketing
Real Flame Company