Weil-McLain Recalls Boilers for CO Hazard

[hausdok]

Washington, DC - Release #07-020

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Weil Mclain of Michigan City, IN, announced a voluntary recall of gas boilers due to a carbon-monoxide (CO) poisoning hazard.

According to the CPSC release, these boilers are made for use with natural gas but may be mis-labeled, indicating that they are approved for use with L-P (liquid propane) gas. If they are installed and plumbed to L-P gas, incomplete combustion can occur and pose a risk of CO poisoning. The alert states that consumers should immediately stop using these boilers unless otherwise instructed.

The recall involves about 16,000 Weil-McLain Ultra Series Gas Ultra 80, Ultra 105, Ultra 155, Ultra 230 and Ultra 310 condensing, high-efficient, gas-fired boilers for space heating. The user's manual and installation manual have "Ultra Gas-Fired Water Boiler" on the cover and the boilers are wrapped in a glossy silver/flat black jacket and either stand on the floor or are wall-mounted.

Serial numbers of the affected boilers range from CP5071716 through CP5327000 and can be found on a bar-coded label on the lower right-hand side of the boiler when the front cover is removed.

These boilers were sold by plumbing and heating wholesale distributors, plumbers and contractors nationwide from May 2005 through July 2006 for between $4,000 and $7,000.

So far, according to the CPSC, two consumers sustained CO poisoning when their boiler was incorrectly connected to L-P gas. CPSC says that any consumers that have had a Weil-McClain boiler connected to L-P gas, and have not already been contacted by their installer, should contact the installer or a heating professional for a free safety inspection. If the boiler was not installed with a propane conversion kit, one will be installed at the time of the inspection at no charge.

Heating professionals may contact Weil McLain Technical Service at (219) 879-6561 for more information. Consumers can contact Weil-Mclain toll-free at(866)426-6172 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.weil-mclain.com.

To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled product, go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07020.html