I am watching a segment on Cold Fire on the season premier of Pitchmen on the Discovery channel. :)
Ed, thanks for calling to let me know. I am recording a repeat of the show so that I will see the whole thing.
Kind of fun to see the folks I deal with, as I have never met them face to face.
Jim
Update, I played around with Google search (I advertise with Google Adwords) and see that Cold Fire has really flooded the market with dealers. I guess that is one way of getting sales. Really sucks for those of us who have carried the product for many years. Brake Buddy did that a number of years ago. It seemed that every other booth at the RV rallies had Brake Buddy. Now you don't see them at all. I think that folks make a big mistake by not developing a small loyal network of dealers. Oh well :(
Quote from: rv_safetyman on August 19, 2010, 08:09:49 PM
Update, I played around with Google search (I advertise with Google Adwords) and see that Cold Fire has really flooded the market with dealers. I guess that is one way of getting sales. Really sucks for those of us who have carried the product for many years. Brake Buddy did that a number of years ago. It seemed that every other booth at the RV rallies had Brake Buddy. Now you don't see them at all. I think that folks make a big mistake by not developing a small loyal network of dealers. Oh well :(
Well, for what it's worth, I believe in the small loyal network of customers, and as long as you continue to carry cold fire, I will buy it from you, Jim. :)
What is cold fire?
Cold fire is a liquid that is added to water for use in a fire extingushier. It greatly increases the fire fighting capability of the water. Jack
Oh, thanks Jack. We will have to look into some of these safety items for the new bus. I know when we had the fire yrs back in the gm, the regular ol fire extinguisher did nothing.
I just watched the Pitchman episode on my DVR. Cold Fire seemed to do pretty good on sales, but they also spend a significant amount on buying up advertising time.
Do these little cans of Cold Fire really work?
They work but they are only good for about a minute or less.....that will put out a small fire or knock down a bigger one long enough to get a bigger extinguisher. I have 5 or 6 of the little cans in the car and the bus but i would not expect them to do a lot. I do have 4 different sizes of the larger extinguisher that i got from Jim. One in the front bay on one side and one on the other side of that bay so that i can access an extinguisher from either side of the bus. The other 2 are by the drivers seat and by the kitchen. Jim has a video that he made showing what these can do. Gives me a lot of peace of mind having them. :)
Well, I was going to drop the subject, but (typically ::)) I can't.
First of all, I am still convinced that Cold Fire is among the very best fire suppression materials. Halon is still the best in ENCLOSED areas (displaces the oxygen). CO2 is also very good, but not practical for our needs. Dry powder is TERRIBLE. Not much fire fighting capability and makes a terrible mess. That mess can be very destructive to aluminum and electrical connections (not allowed close to aircraft or hangers).
While Cold Fire (and similar) products are very good suppressing agents, they are not miracle solutions. You still need the volume of material to match the size and type of fire that you are fighting. As Ed noted, the 2.5 gallon extinguisher put out three tire fires (three car tires fueled with diesel and gasoline) with one charge of the extinguisher. I am pretty comfortable that that size extinguisher will put out any fire you would encounter in a large RV **IF** you catch it early enough.
The cans that they show have a limited fire fighting capability. They still use the good Cold Fire material, but have a limited volume. I have put out SMALL diesel/gasoline (think kitchen pan size) fires with one can but it was a challenge. I think what the show on the program was realistic.
Aerosol cans can't be classified as "fire extinguishers" per NFPA regulations. The manufacturers dance around that with various phrases such as "stops fires", but you will not see the term "fire extinguisher" on the label or in the advertising.
I was disturbed by the theatrics of the show, but I don't think anything was faked. The part with the "pitchman" setting himself on fire was particularly hokey and over-the-top in terms of theatrics.
Now for the rant (you knew it was coming right ;D):
I contacted the manufacturer and asked why we distributors were not notified about the show and the "new" product. Turns out that the aerosol can they display on the show is only available to the infomercial company. It is not available to Cold Fire distributors. That suggests to me that the "Pitchman" show was "staged".
I am quite concerned about the image of the product. I am of the strong opinion that infomercials are generally about inferior products. They use huge hype to make the product look good. Pat and I often watch them (sadistic entertainment?), and then Google the product. Almost without exception, the general tone of the relies is that the product is not nearly as good as the infomercial would suggest.
>>>>end rant>>>
I guess all is not bad. The Google AdWord report of my "campaign" showed a big spike in folks visiting the website.
Jim
Update. I forgot to add a big THANKS to my very loyal bus customers (Ed, Craig, Jack and all the rest of you). Makes it all worth it.
I don't think the show was "staged" as Jim put it. While I haven't seen the infomercial on TV since I record what TV I do watch, I don't think they would have created a website and offered the product for sale if it wasn't real.
The products are real and the infomercials recorded on the show seem to be real. Of course, some of the stuff is staged. The part were they sit and listen to person after person pitch their ideas doesn't seem real. I also doubt that if it wasn't TV that they would spends thousands to fly cross country to talk to the inventor about their success/failure.
Cold Fire seems to be a great product. It is something along with a TPMS that I really should have in my bus. If anything, the TV show is putting a spotlight on the product regardless if the little cans are a good idea or not.
Thought I would update this "saga". Kind of a behind the scenes comment on the goings on with the infomercial industry.
I got a call from the owner of the Cold Fire manufacturing company (son of the inventor) on Friday. Seems that the lawyers for the company that is doing the infomercial and selling the product DEMANDED that every published website with Cold Fire spray cans IMMEDIATELY remove any mention of the spray can version of the product from the website. The cans I USED to market are not the same cans that are being sold by the infomercial company (it is the same suppression material), but the infomercial company maintains that they "bought" the rights to Cold Fire spray cans regardless of the format.
In talking to the Cold Fire owner, two things were obvious. First, he invested a huge amount of money on this project. I won't publish the number, but it was way into the 6 figure range. Secondly, it seemed obvious to me that he was sorry that he got involved with the project. I think he has pixxed off all of his loyal distributors and I think he will take a long time to recoup his cost.
I want to make it very clear that I still believe that Cold Fire is an amazing product (at least two major racing organizations approve its use: NHRA and IRL). However, I think the infomercial approach might tarnish its reputation.
Jim