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Heating & Cooling and water sports may not seem to go together, but this summer they do!  Flame Heating, Cooling & Electrical is a proud sponsor of two of Michigan’s favorite water races this summer, the Jarvis Restoration Gold Cup Hydroplane Races and the Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Sailboat Race.   Though the Gold Cup Races have already passed with the Spirit of Qatar winning this 2010 Gold Cup, the Mackinac race is still on the horizon for Flame.

The Port Huron to Mackinac race was started in 1925 and it runs from Port Huron, Michigan, just north of the Blue Water Bridge up to Mackinac Island.  It is considered to be one of the longest races that takes place on fresh water.  This over 80 year tradition in Michigan is enjoyed by many, and boat sizes can range from smaller (under 30 feet) to much bigger (80 feet).  This year’s Mackinac race is starting on Saturday July 17th.  There are celebrations held at Port Huron the night before the start of the race and on Mackinac Island when all the boats arrive. 

If you’re free, come join Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical and many others at Pure Michigan’s Bayview Mackinac race this year!  Contact Flame if you have any questions about our participation in the Mackinac race and the Gold Cup Races. 

Information found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Huron_to_Mackinac_Boat_Race andhttp://www.byc.com/mack/  Image found at:  Pure Michigan Connect

Want to learn more about the race?  Check out this insider’s opinion

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Gold Plans, Gold Plans-you are probably sick of hearing all about them on either this blog, the website, Facebook or Twitter.  Yet, there is a reason we keep screaming about them.  They are a good investment.  It is simply a matter of numbers:

• Flame has a $98 diagnostic fee for a technician to simply come out to your home, whether he stays there 5 minutes or 5 hours.  This is used to cover labor, time, gas, truck where and the excellent service Flame provides.
• On top of the $98 diagnostic fee, you may also have to purchase parts which could be over $100.
• An annual inspection for your furnace or air conditioner costs $129.50.  These are very important to maintaining your unit and making sure it has a long life.

98+100+129.50=$327.50

1 Gold Plan for 1 Unit = $161

With a Gold Plan your diagnostic fee is waived, and you receive a free annual inspection plus 10%  discount on parts, service, electrical work and duct cleanings. Which adds up to….

10% of $100 (for parts) is $10

$161 + $10 = $171

If in one year you get an inspection, have just 1 service call and only buy 1 or 2 parts… it would cost you $327.50 without a Gold Plan and only $171 with one!

With the Gold Plan you will also receive discounts on generators, water heaters and home comfort systems as well as you will have priority on emergency calls.  Now do you see why we talk so much about it?  It’s really the best deal since sliced bread.

Sign up for a Gold Plan

Contact Flame for More Information

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I’ll be honest.  Sometimes, not all the times, but sometimes it is a tad bit difficult to find inspiring topics to write a heating/cooling blog about.  Some bloggers just write about their life, but that may be boring for you which is why I decided to do some research today.  I searched on the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration NEWS and looked at their blogs.  I found one that I liked so much, I decided to re-post it on the Flame Furnace Blog:

When The NEWS hopped onto Facebook over a year ago, we set the goal to get more “fans” on the social media site than Alan Thicke. And with the help of our loyal readers we were able to take down that pompous, Canadian has been/never was.

Now that we have been on Twitter for awhile (twitter.com/achrnews), we decided it was time to revisit the sitcoms from the 1980s and capture yet another impressive victory. So we set our goals high — the highly respected father Heathcliff Huxtable. Yes, The NEWS was planning on beating Bill Cosby like a drum.

Then a funny thing happened. We got online and found out that Cosby has over 1 million visitors. Not going to lie to you, we were a bit shocked. Time to reframe the goal. Let’s go after Rudy! Sure she was cute in the 80s, but we were almost positive that she had gone down the road of Todd Bridges, Corey Feldman, and Danny Bonaduce and was probably a huge mess. Well, it turns out Rudy is a very well-adjusted adult. She graduated from college and still gets work in the industry and is rolling with close to 10,000 Twitter followers. We just can’t catch a break.

We then set our sights on Theo, a.k.a., Malcolm Jamal Warner. Surely two of the Cosby kids could not have turned out to be well-adjusted adults. And Warner uses three names so the odds that his life has gone off the tracks seemed fairly high. But foiled again, we found out that he has kept his nose out of trouble and is a contributing member of society. And Warner also has more than 9,000 followers. Dang the luck.

But we keep looking. And we have our target: Phylicia “Claire Huxtable” Rashad and her 669 followers. There is no reason to dislike her, but we have manufactured reasons since she is in shouting distance of our 355 followers. Here are the reasons we shall destroy her in a Twitter war:

1. She rode Bill Cosby’s coattails farther than Tom Arnold did Roseanne’s.

2. She accepted Ahmad Rashad’s wedding proposal on national TV only to divorce him and keep his last name. Not sure why, but that bugs us.

3. She has one of those diacritical marks over the last “a” in her last name. How annoying is that? And we can’t even put it in this blog because we can’t figure out how to type that in Microsoft Word.

Time for her to be taken off her high horse. Just go to twitter.com/achrnews and follow The NEWS. In addition to getting great links to breaking industry news, you also have the satisfaction of propelling the HVAC industry to a victory over a 1980s sitcom icon. Who’s with me? Let’s Go!

Kyle Gargaro
Managing Editor. E-mail him at kylegargaro@achrnews.com.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and that it was more entertaining to you than tales of what I ate this morning for breakfast (a bowl of cereal: Fiber One and Special K Vanilla Almond mixed together)

Remember, if you have any questions on heating, cooling, and electrical services…you can always Contact Flame!

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With winter out of the way and the warm spring months coming to an end, it is only a matter of time before the blazing summer heat hits your home. Act before it is too late and secure your home with one of Flame’s systems for optimal temperature. From now until May 14th 2010 Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical will be running our Pre-Summer Clearance Sale. Don’t wait until the first heat wave to acknowledge your cooling needs. Considering the harsh economic times and the importance for comfort in your home this summer Flame Furnace is hosting this sales event to help you out.

Purchase a new furnace, air conditioner, or make the most with this offer and purchase a new system and receive up to 40% off. On top of that we are offering free estimates. With all of these savings there is no reason to wait for the summer heat to attack. Take advantage of our offers before it is too late. Use the contact form below our sales team today for details and to schedule your free estimate. Don’t forget to ask about the other perks you get for choosing Flame. Just talk to one of our comfort consultants about the rebates form Bryant and Flame’s own stimulus offer. Also you could quality for a tax credit from the federal government.

Act Fast! May 14th is right around the corner!!! Schedule your appointment today to take advantage of this great offer!

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Adding an addition to your home?  Great!  Two things to think about (besides carpet, paint, counters etc…)

1. Electricity- Electrical outlets are very important (as you will find out if you do not have any).  Flame has certified electricians that can wire and put in electrical outlets in your home.  Make sure to think carefully about where you want these (for example in terms of a TV, phone, lamps etc…)
2. Radiant Heat-sometimes it is not necessarily very cost effective to add central heating to your addition…another solution is to use radiant heating, which heats under your floors or in your walls and does not need duct work! (also-if you are putting in a new bathroom, heated floors in the bathroom are great!)

In the midst of deciding between tile or wood, cream or eggshell paint, or drapes or blinds….remember these other decisions and that Flame can help you out!  Contact Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical.

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Happy Birthday to Flame!  Happy Birthday to Flame!  Happy Birthday to Flame, Happy Birthday to Flame!

In celebration of Flame’s 62nd Birthday, you can get a furnace inspection for just $62! Taking up this offer is a great way to save money and prevent more reoccurring problems in the future.

Therefore, celebrate Flame’s birthday by getting your furnace checked out!  Contact Flame for more details!

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Good News!  Now there is one more place to find Flame-they have created their very own Twitter account! If you have a Twitter account, simply search for FlameHeating.  (If you do not have a Twitter account-ask your kids, they will know what it is!)

As always, if you have any questions about anything you see on here or Twitter-feel free to Contact Flame!

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I know it’s only the second week of October, but it is time to start thinking about preparing your home for the cold months of winter.  (This means more than just buying some Hot Chocolate mix and pulling out Christmas lights!)  Here are few things that can be done around your home, to make sure that it is prepared!

Air Conditioner:

• Make sure to cover the top! This keeps leaves out from inside of the unit where they can build up and also keeps snow off of the blades
• The sides are not as important and the cover should not go all the way down to the ground.  Have it stop about 5 or 6 inches from the top, to allow air to come in and keep the unit dry
• Shut the power off:  This can be done either by a breaker on the electrical panel or with the disconnect switch which is often located outside near the condensing unit (the “air conditioner”)

Furnace:

• Get a furnace inspection!
• Also, remember to change your filter about every month or so
• Have your ducts cleaned (though this only needs to be done every few years) and check (if you can, or have a professional do it) to make sure there are no leaks where you could lose your nice warm air before it gets to you
• enjoy the heat…

Chimney:

• Make sure to keep the floo closed when you are not using the fireplace, this will keep drafts and cold air out-making your home warmer and heating bill lower.  (However, make sure that is is open when you are using it!)
• If you do not have one already, see that there is a screen of some sort on top of your chimney to keep out birds etc…
• It is not a bad idea to have your chimney inspected just to make sure there is nothing in there!
• If you do not have a gas fireplace, make sure that you have wood!

Around the House

• Insulation!  Adding insulation to your attic increases your home’s temperature
• Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan to clockwise, this pushes warm air down
• Insulate pipes-wrap them in foam to make sure they do not freeze and burst on really cold nights
• Clean out gutters from all those leaves!  If they remain there, snow and water cannot drain properly which could lead to water entering your home

Just when you thought you may not have stuff to do around your house, you now have a whole ‘nother list of chores!  These are important to keeping your home warm and your equipment running properly in the cold months.  If you have any questions at all, you can Contact Flame!

Also!  Check out Flame’s Helpful video about winterizing your Air Conditioner! Click here!

Here are some other sites where I found much of my info about “Winterizing your Home”

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107899 “10 ways to winterize your home-now” -Christopher Solomon

http://homebuying.about.com/od/buyingahome/qt/92607_WinterHom.htm “Winterizing your Home:  Preparing your Home for Winter” -Elizabeth Weintraub

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Big News!  Because they are aware of how important annual furnace and air conditioner inspections are for your unit, Flame is offering $40 off an inspection if you book your appointment by September 15!  A furnace inspection can help to save money in the long run because it will check for problems or potential problems before they become huge problems.  Also, it is wise to have your furnace looked at before it is first started up, because you probably want to make sure it is working before the temperatures drop!You can also consider signing up for the Gold Plan which gives you free annual inspections as well as priority on calls and discounts on certain parts.  Contact Flame to schedule your inspection today! 

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If you are from around Metro-Detroit, there is a good chance that you have seen at least one red Flame Furnace truck.  These trucks drive all around Metro-Detroit helping customers with their furnaces, air conditioners, duct work, generators, electrical wiring and more!  Who knows?  You may have seen a truck in the driveway of your neighbor, or even of your own home!  Though it could possibly be just a fun car ride game to try to spot all the red Flame trucks, Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical has decided to reward you for your good eyes!

Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical is giving away a weekend stay at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, Michigan during a contest that lasts from September 8 – October  19!  When you spot a Flame truck, make a mental or written down note of where you spotted it (think of the crossroads).  Then when you get home, simply go to www.flamefurnace.com and click to enter the contest.  Or you could click right here.  However there are some rules to this contest, here are some important ones:

•  You must be 18 years old or older to enter
• You must live in the state of Michigan
• Flame Furnace employees as well as their family members cannot enter
• Contest winner will be posted on the Flame website, every Monday at 2 p.m. starting September 14 (entries must be entered by the previous Sunday to count for that week)
• Only one entry per household per week and only one win per household for the entire contest

For more rules and regulations, you can read the full list here. Therefore, keep your eyes pealed for those red trucks and best of luck! 

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