HY-C started as a chimney cap manufacturer in 1947. And while we’ve continued producing chimney caps for over 75 years, our business has expanded quite a bit in that time. Since 1999, we’ve started or acquired many new brands and dipped our toes into an array of new product categories.
One of the first questions we get from retailers and distributors when exploring new sales partnerships is, “What kinds of products do you have to offer?” And that’s exactly the question we’re going to answer here.
In this guide, we’ll lay out all the product categories we serve. And while we won’t include every single product we make (because that list stretches into the hundreds for the chimney cap category alone), by the time you’re finished here, you’ll understand what products HY-C has to offer, and how those products can augment your business’s selection.
Chimney Caps
As we mentioned, we’ve been making chimney caps for over three quarters of a century. They’re what we know best. HY-C offers the widest selection of chimney caps of any manufacturer in America, and in partnering with HY-C, you’ll be able to offer them to your customers.
We make chimney caps from galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and copper for single-flue and multi-flue chimneys. And even if one of our dozens of stock chimney caps doesn’t fit your customer’s home, HY-C manufactures custom chimney caps, too.
Wood Burning Furnaces
Over a decade ago, HY-C acquired Fire Chief, an industry leader in wood burning central heating furnaces. After integrating Fire Chief into HY-C, we worked to create additional furnaces under our Shelter brand name as well.
While HY-C furnace models have come and gone over the years due to EPA regulations, we currently offer:
- The Fire Chief FC1000E wood burning furnace
- The Shelter SF1000E wood burning furnace
Many of the original Fire Chief staff are still with us today, and they continue to work within the EPA’s regulations to develop new indoor and outdoor furnaces.
Fireplace Grates
Through the years, our hearth product offering has grown quite a bit. As we developed more and more chimney caps and furnaces, eventually, it made sense to start making fireplace grates, too.
Manufactured under our Liberty Foundry Co. brand name, most of our fireplace grates are cast iron (with the exception of our Steel Bar Grate Series).
Currently, we make five lines of fireplace grates:
- The Franklin G Series
- The G500 Sampson Series
- The G800 Series
- The G1000 Series
- The GT SAF-T-GRATE Series
- The Steel Bar Grate Series
Available in several sizes and with a variety of features from line to line, these grates fit just about any size of wood burning fireplace and hold up season after season.
Log Racks
As we developed more and more wood burning-related products, we thought it would be helpful for our partners to manufacture wood storage solutions as well. So we began making log racks under our Shelter brand, and we offer them in a couple different styles:
- Our standard log rack (in small, medium, extra-large, and extra-large tall)
- A crescent-shaped log rack (available in two sizes)
We also offer an adjustable log rack, a log rack extension kit, a DIY log rack bracket kit, and a log caddy for easily transporting split firewood. We create covers that fit all of our standard log racks, too, to keep firewood dry and well-seasoned.
Stove Boards
Many heating appliances (especially pellet and wood stoves) require ember and thermal protection against the heat they radiate. Yet many of these appliances are installed within close proximity to combustible materials (i.e., drywall or wood floors).
The solution? Stove boards — a mineral fiber board wrapped in steel that provides the thermal and ember protection that pellet stoves and wood stoves require. We offer stove boards in a variety of sizes and colorways to accommodate the aesthetics and logistics of most wood burning appliance installations.
Smokeless Fire Pits
In 2014, we expanded further into the wood burning and hearth products space by acquiring Flame Genie, a fire pit manufacturer. These smokeless fire pits work by combining low-moisture pellet fuel and a bottom-to-top airflow design to create a truly smoke-free wood burning experience.
We manufacture two models of smokeless fire pits: the original 16” Flame Genie and the 19” Flame Genie Inferno. Both models are available either in unpainted stainless steel or galvanized steel with a black powder coat finish.
Heat Reclaimers
In 2014, in addition to Flame Genie, we also acquired Magic Heat — a line of wood stove heat reclaimers. The inner workings of a heat reclaimer are complex, but in short, the device is installed on the chimney pipe of a pellet stove or wood stove. As heat travels up the flue, a fan on the back of the heat reclaimer blows that heat back into the room, increasing the overall heat output of the stove.
Our current selection of Magic Heat heat reclaimers are compatible with wood or coal burning appliances only (but are not compatible with gas heaters). We manufacture two models — one to fit 6” stove pipes, and one to fit 8” stove pipes.
Fireplace Accessories
Rounding out our collection of hearth products is our group of fireplace accessories: fireplace firebacks and our fireplace smoke guards.
Firebacks are used in a fireplace to reflect additional heat back into the room, increasing the heat output of the fireplace. Made from either stainless steel or galvanized steel, the fireback sits in the back of the firebox and can be angled on its stand to reflect heat optimally.
Smoke guards are installed on the top and front of a fireplace. Their purpose is to prevent smoke from exiting the firebox and pouring back into your home. They do so by decreasing the surface area of your fireplace opening, thereby improving the draw of your flue, keeping smoke moving up the chimney.
Wildlife Exclusion
In 2018, we introduced our HY-GUARD EXCLUSION brand to serve the wildlife exclusion market. Living spaces across the country have vulnerable spots on them (like dryer vent openings, chimneys, foundation vents, and soffit vents) where animals of all sizes can get in. HY-GUARD’s wildlife exclusion devices cover these openings to keep critters out.
Our exclusion product category is complex, because every product is developed both for the size and habits of certain critters. But the line can essentially be narrowed down into two product types: exclusion screens and exclusion guards.
Screens are installed over flat openings like soffit vents and foundation vents. Guards are designed to cover protrusions like dryer vents and roof vents. We also manufacture Pest Armor — a style of screen made with tighter metal mesh designed to keep insects out.
Rotary Cleaning
Over the past few years, we’ve developed a few drill-powered cleaning implements. These rotary cleaning tools utilize the torque of a drill to clean faster, better, and more efficiently.
We currently make four rotary cleaning tools, all designed for unique purposes:
- LintEater for dryer vents
- SootEater for chimneys
- GutterSweep for gutters
- SpinAway for all-purpose cleaning
All of these products exist under our Gardus brand name and come with additional bells and whistles to make their respective cleaning jobs simpler.
Outdoor Power Equipment Upgrades
Finally, in 2023, we acquired Good Vibrations — a line of outdoor power equipment upgrades. These devices are used on lawn tractors, riding mowers, weed eaters, and other lawn care tools to make mowing easier and more efficient.
Consisting of hitches, hitch pins, mower starter handles, and much more, Good Vibrations is our biggest departure from our traditional fall and winter product lines into something designed especially for spring and summer.
Our Good Vibrations product guide takes a closer look at each product in the line to give you a sense of what they are and how they work.
How Do You Start Selling HY-C Products?
And that’s it — the entire HY-C product catalog from top to bottom. Whether you’re a distributor or a retail buyer, there’s a good chance that your business is a great fit for at least some of the products we manufacture.
But how do you start stocking and selling HY-C products?
It all starts with becoming a HY-C sales partner. After a simple, straightforward onboarding process, you’ll have access to the entire scope of our product catalog. Whether you’re a small company or a multinational retailer, you’ll be able to stock products that will help to increase your average ticket price, facilitate incremental sales, and grow your company’s revenue.
If you need any help through the sales partner onboarding process or you have questions about finding the right products for your business, one of our account managers will be happy to help. Their mission is to ensure you have all the tools you need to transport, display, and sell HY-C products as effectively as possible, no matter how your business operates.
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