A Website to Check Regularly

[peter halle]

As a public service announcement type of post, I just wanted to let members in North America know that there is a website that you should check occasionally:  The Consumer Products Safety Commission.  This website has a listing of all recalls in effect.  I am posting this because just the other day I was in a Lowe's store returning extra materials and turned around and saw a flyer on the wall that was a recall for my kitchen range that had been issued in 2009.  Although I registered my range I was never notified of the recall.  In 2001 I had a fire in my house caused by a faulty fax machine.  Luckily I was there to put it out, but if not?  Again, I had registered that product and had not been notified.  The manufacturer chose to put a sticker on the ink jet refills for that machine instead of sending written notice to owners.

I am not being a sky is falling kind of guy here, just bringing it to your attention.

Here is the link:  US Consumer Protection Saftey Commission Website.

A link to the area where you can check by categories:  Searching by category  (When you select your category you need to click the find button.)

Be safe my friends!

Peter

 

[Theshipstore]

Peter  Thank You, just found a recall on one of my freezers , I had no clue about

Sal

 

[Alan m]

great site to know about. if you find one for our side of the pond can you post it

 

[peter halle]

Alan,

Ask and ye shall receive to some degree:  European Recalls

Peter

 

[ajones]

Hmmm to a small degree perhaps... certain fridges burning houses down and killing people very late to let anyone know there was an issue [sad]

 

[ghart33]

Thanks for the note, it's good to be aware.

 

[dwillis]

[scared] Great, just found my Rigid table saw with a recall notice dated 2009.  Fortunately I haven't used a stacked dado set (the cause of shaft failures), so now I have to find out if they will make repairs...

 

[TomLewis]

My radial arm saw was a subject to a recall back in 2000. Though the saw was from about 1974, they sent me half the saws components, all modified to be 'safer'. I decided to chuck the saw and stick with my AT 65.

 

[rmwarren]

Peter, thanks for posting this, you never know when you will end up being the guy who dodges the stray bullet...

RMW

 

[Deke]

Thanks very much for this. My wife thinks I am nuts for always unplugging the coffee maker (and phones and anything else charging) for fire issues, but one look at the coffee maker page convinced me I am not crazy (at least on this topic). I can't imagine there is too much money in this, but imagine an app where you could list all your appliances and tools and then receive an alert if one is recalled or the the subject of some notice. I can program google alerts to message me when anything with the string "Festool" goes on our local Craigslist (uh oh, my secret weapon is out now), so this seems doable.

 

[Paul G]

I wonder if this site has different info than www.recalls.gov, or did we just stumble upon some of that duplicate govt we're all paying for? (I keep searching that site for a recalled defective politician but they must be exempt )

 

[Slappy]

(I keep searching that site for a recalled defective politician but they must be exempt )

The defective ones haven't been re-called yet .

 

[Richard D.]

Oh my, I just found out there is a recall on the TS55!  [big grin]

 

[wow]

My wife thinks I am nuts for always unplugging the coffee maker (and phones and anything else charging) for fire issues

If you have one of those plug-in air fresheners - regardless of brand - get rid of it NOW. A member of my family is a Fire Marshall and goes absolutely CRAZY if they see any of us with one of those. Or I should say SAW any of us...since all such fire hazards have been banished from our homes permanently.

Another quick note - did you know that you need to replace your smoke/fire alarms every 10 years? They become ineffective over time. I didn't know that until just recently!

 

[gkaiseril]

My wife thinks I am nuts for always unplugging the coffee maker (and phones and anything else charging) for fire issues

If you have one of those plug-in air fresheners - regardless of brand - get rid of it NOW. A member of my family is a Fire Marshall and goes absolutely CRAZY if they see any of us with one of those. Or I should say SAW any of us...since all such fire hazards have been banished from our homes permanently.

Another quick note - did you know that you need to replace your smoke/fire alarms every 10 years? They become ineffective over time. I didn't know that until just recently!

Many smoke detectors use decaying radioactive material to detect the smoke so not only do they need to be replaced but properly disposed of. There are smoke detectory that use a only a photo optical detector so these do not have the radio active material. But there are combination units that use both types of detectors.

Besides regularly replacing the batteries one should make make sure dust is not building up on the detector. It wold also be a good idea to check the detector with me smoking paper.

When you install the smoke detector, you can write the installation date on the back of the alarm unit with a permanent marker.

Another home appliance that requires special care is the toaster oven. Many may think the oven automatically turns off like the toaster, but that might not always be the case. I have seen many designs for the timer where one can try to turn the unit off but because the know spins 360 degrees the know ends up at the "On" position. Also the "oven" is not as well insulated as large oven and the housing can become very hot. This type of appliance should never be operated unattended.

 

[GPowers]

Another quick note - did you know that you need to replace your smoke/fire alarms every 10 years? They become ineffective over time. I didn't know that until just recently!

Some have even a shorter lifespan 7 or 8 years. Others start to squawk when they have exceeded there lifespans 

 

[charley1968]

Thanx,Peter!

 

[Tinker]

I only just discovered this thread.

I am sure most of us have fire extinguishers in our shops.
Some of us carry them in our vehicles. 
They should be checked regularly.
they should be checked as a minimum once per year.
some types even shorter periods between checking.
Tinker

 

[slalom]

This is a tread that can be a life saver - literally.

By searching the site I found that my kit of Apple adapters has been recalled due to a safety hazard. Nothing like plugging a defective adapter into 220v 7.5A mains to light up your day!. Apple is shipping the replacement bits and I should have them by the end of the week. Apple gets an A for good customer service.

Had an issue with a Festool ETC125 EQ sander - Festool followed up, suggested that I take it to the dealer (beyond 30 warranty) and together we solved the problem. That is good service.

These companies know that repeat business is important.

In checking the recalls I found that my Ryobi lithium battery charger had been recalled. Apparently they can overheat and have damaged workbenches. If the charger overheats, I have seen what happens when a lithium battery gets too hot. Not something to take risks with. So I called and the process is very different. I have to call the shipping company, box up the charger and send it back. When they get the charger, they will ship me a replacement. So I asked "How am I to charge my batteries in the interim?". Answer, "Buy another tool with a charger and battery". Ok it is Ryobi. Not the best tools, but before I was making furniture for others, it was what I could justify to my wife and CFO.

I think I will buy another tool, a Festool.  [smile]

 

[danbox]

I wonder if this site has different info than www.recalls.gov, or did we just stumble upon some of that duplicate govt we're all paying for? (I keep searching that site for a recalled defective politician but they must be exempt )

What are you saying? Politicians don't act in the best interests of the people that they are supposed to represent.