NEWS from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Originally issued July 9, 2001, Last Revised July 11, 2006 Release # 01-189

CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772 Any Questions call us at 760-746-5504

CPSC Announces Recall of Furnaces in California

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing a recall of about 30,000 furnaces sold in California. Seven firms are covered under this safety recall, which were sold under their own labels, but were manufactured by Consolidated Industries Inc. The units involved are gas-fired horizontal furnaces equipped with steel "NOx" rods installed above the burners and are commonly called NOx rod furnaces. These furnaces pose a substantial risk of fire.

CPSC has received 50 reports of fires associated with the 140,000 horizontal furnaces manufactured by Consolidated Industries Inc. No injuries have been reported.

All the furnaces can be identified by the steel rods installed above the burners. The firms participating in this recall are Amana Company, L.P., of Amana, Iowa; Bard Manufacturing, of Bryan, Ohio; Carrier Corporation, of Syracuse, N.Y.; Goettl Air Conditioning Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz.; Goodman Manufacturing Company L.P., of Houston, Texas; Heat Controller Inc., of Jackson, Mich.; and The Trane Company, a division of American Standard Inc., of Tyler, Texas.

 
Private labelers sold these furnaces in California under the following brand names and model numbers, which are written on a label on an outside panel of the furnace.

 

Home, hardware and specialty stores, and independent contractors sold these furnaces in California from January 1983 through December 1992 for about $2,000.

Consumers should check to see if their furnace is part of this recall immediately. If you have questions regarding your Furnace please call Kenny Heating and Air at (760) 746-5504

CPSC issued a safety alert warning about these furnaces in September 2000. Consolidated Industries (formerly Premier Furnace Co.), which was liquidated under Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws, manufactured approximately 140,000 of these furnaces for sale in California between 1983 and 1994 under many different brand names. About 110,000 of these furnaces were manufactured and distributed under the Premier/Consolidated labels. They include the brand names Consolidated, Premier, Addison, and Weatherking.

CPSC staff believes that the Consolidated, Premier, Addison, and Weatherking furnaces are defective and should be replaced or repaired.

These furnaces are normally installed in attics, although some may be installed in crawl spaces. The great majority of these furnaces were installed in homes in California. Some, however, were installed in home in Nevada, near the California border.

The Commission is warning consumers to have their gas-fired furnaces inspected by a licensed heating contractor to determine whether the furnaces are subject to this safety alert. The contractor also should determine whether the burners and/or heat exchangers of units are damaged, or whether wood under or near the furnaces shows signs of damage, such as charring or blackening. If this is the case, the furnace should be replaced immediately or repaired.

Consolidated or Premier furnaces with model numbers starting "HAC", "HBA", "HCA", or "HCC" and ending with an "X" in the last three characters (e.g. X, RX, RXC, RXD) and Addison Products Company Addison and Weatherking furnaces models beginning with "GHC" and ending in either "CC" or "DX" are included in this safety alert.
 

 The Bitterness of Poor Quality is Remembered

Long after the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten!