White-Rodgers Recalls Home Heating and Cooling Thermostats Due to Fire Hazard

News provided by

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Apr 30, 2014, 10:30 ET

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Recall Summary

Name of Product: Home Heating and Cooling Thermostats

Hazard: The alkaline batteries used in the thermostat can leak onto the circuit board posing a fire hazard.

Remedy: Consumers should check thermostats for battery icon on the left side of the blue lighted screen, if the battery icon is not shown, contact White-Rodgers to receive a free repair or a replacement thermostat.

Consumer Contact: White-Rodgers toll-free at (888) 624-1901 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or online at www.white-rodgers.com and click on "White-Rodgers 1F8x-04xx Thermostat Recall" at the lower left corner of the homepage for more information.

Photos are available at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/White-Rodgers-Recalls-Home-Heating-and-Cooling-Thermostats.

Recall Details

Units: About 740,000 in the United States and 403,000 in Canada

Description: This recall involves four models of White-Rodgers digital thermostats. The thermostats are white with blue lighted screens and have one of the following names printed on the front of them: "COMFORTSENTRY," "DICO," "Emerson," "Frigidaire," "Maytag," "Nutone," "Partners Choice," "Rheem," "Ruud," "Unico," "Water Furnace," "Westinghouse," "White-Rodgers" or "Zonefirst." The thermostats have a battery door on the top left corner. There are three or four buttons to the right and also below the thermostat screen. Recalled thermostats do not show a battery icon on the left side of the blue lighted screen.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received seven reports of burn damage to the thermostat, including two involving minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.

Sold at: Heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment manufacturers and distributors and at hardware retailers nationwide from January 2006 through December 2013 for about $30 to $70.

Distributor: White-Rodgers of St. Louis, Mo., a division of Emerson Climate Technologies.

Manufactured in: China.

Note: Health Canada's press release is available at http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2014/39279r-eng.php

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.

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CPSC Consumer Information Hotline
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SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission