The Recall Desk
Our severity:SevereCPSC·06080·Announced 2006-02-01

DESA Recalls Portable Propane Convection Heaters Due to Flashback Hazard

DESA Heating Products is recalling about 54,500 portable propane convection heaters because the burners can flashback, causing fire or property damage.

What this means for you

Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 4/5 (Severe).

The hazard poses a serious risk of illness, injury, or structural failure. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.

Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a structural defect in a heating product that has resulted in reported fires and property damage, meeting the criteria for a Severe rating (score 4) due to significant injury/property-damage reports.

Plain-English summary

DESA Heating Products of Bowling Green, Ky., is recalling about 54,500 40-80,000 BTU Portable Propane Convection Heaters. The affected models include Reddy Heater (RCP80VC), All-Pro (SPC-80CC), MASTER (TC80VC), Universal (80-CC), and Dayton (6BY73). These heaters have serial numbers between 017390000 and 017632220 and were sold at home centers and hardware stores nationwide from August 2005 through December 2005 for between $100 and $130.

The recall is due to a hazard where the burners can "flashback," meaning fire burns inside the burner tube rather than out the end. This can cause the lower portion of the burner tube to get hot enough to ignite combustible material under the heater. DESA has received 40 reports of incidents possibly caused by this hazard, including six reports of fires and 34 reports of minor property damage such as scorching of the flooring. There have been no reports of injury.

Because the firm is out of business, a remedy is no longer available. Consumers should stop using the heater immediately and discard the product. Consumers can call the CPSC hotline at 800-638-2772 for more information.

The recalled product

Product
40-80,000 BTU Portable Propane Convection Heaters
Manufacturer
DESA Heating Products, of Bowling Green, Ky.
Category
Consumer Product — Heating Equipment
Hazard
Affected units
54,500

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

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