Safety regulator, American Standard Companies Announce Recall of Trane and American Standard Accessory Electric Heaters
Recall 04122 · Apr 20, 2004 · American Standard Companies
37,000
units affected
37,000
units affected
Facts
- Recall number
- 04122
- Date
- Apr 20, 2004
- Company
- American Standard Companies
- Units affected
- 37,000
- Product
- Trane and "American Standard" brand accessory electric heaters
- Product type
- Electric Heaters
- Hazard
- Fire
The product
The 240-volt accessory heaters are used to provide supplemental heat in the heat pump or electric heating system. The accessory heater - model number BAYHTR1415BRKAC manufactured between April 14, 2003 and February 6, 2004 - is located inside the air handler cabinet usually found in the basement, attic, equipment closet or crawlspace of a consumer's home. The horizontally or vertically installed air handler is a painted metal cabinet with the Trane or American Standard name plate on its front. Air handler model numbers are found on the outside of the air handler door. Consumers with one of the recalled units are being directly contacted by the independent dealer that installed it. If you had a Trane or American Standard heat pump or electric heating system installed between April 2003 and February 2004, and have not yet been contacted by your installer, write down your air handler model number and call your installer to see whether your air handler could contain a recalled heater. You may also visit the firm's website to see whether your air handler could contain one of the recalled heaters and, if so, call your installer. To avoid electric shock, do not open the air handler door. Only a professional installer should open the air handler door to determine if you have a recalled accessory heater.
What can happen
Overheating of the wiring in the accessory heater can lead to wall thermostat fires.
The fix
Consumers who have not yet been contacted by independent dealers should immediately contact their installer to determine if they have a recalled unit. Consumers may arrange for a free inspection and repair through their installer.
Incidents and where it was sold
- Incidents
- There have been four reports of thermostat fires. Two of the fires resulted in several thousand dollars in property damage. No injuries have been reported.
- Sold at
- Independent Trane or American Standard dealers nationwide for about $140.
Related pages
Questions and answers
What should I do with the recalled trane and "american standard" brand accessory electric heaters?
Consumers who have not yet been contacted by independent dealers should immediately contact their installer to determine if they have a recalled unit. Consumers may arrange for a free inspection and repair through their installer.
What is the hazard?
Overheating of the wiring in the accessory heater can lead to wall thermostat fires.
A recall means the maker found a safety problem and offers a free fix; it does not mean every unit has the problem. Units affected are as reported by the company. Popular models sell more and so have more recalls and complaints. Official public data; texts are shortened. Contact the company named above for the remedy.