Aloha Breeze Electric Heaters Recalled

Approximately 281,000 portable electric heaters have been recalled, because of their potential to overheat and cause fires. Customers are called upon to cease using the heaters and contact their importer.

According to a press release issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the heaters were manufactured in China, imported by Aloha Housewares Inc., and sold at Wal-Mart stores starting in July, 2005 and ending in July, 2007. They were priced at approximately fifteen dollars each. Seven incidents regarding these products have been reported, including heaters catching fire, melting, or producing smoke. Fortunately there have been no injuries reported, although there was one incident of minor damage to other property.

The heaters have a white exterior and have "Aloha Breeze" printed on them. There is also a power indicator light on the front of these units. Their model number is 05226. The press release indicates that electric heaters of this model with the date codes "07/05", "08/05", and "11/05" have been recalled. The date code and model number can be determined by looking at a silver label on the bottom. Refer to the 2nd included photo for the label's appearance and indication of where the relevant numbers are located.

Consumers who own these electric heaters are requested to stop using them and contact Aloha Housewares either by telephone or e-mail. Their telephone number is (800) 295-4448 and they can be called from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (central time, Monday-Friday). The press release indicates that they can also be reached at the e-mail address ahitexaslg@aol.com. Consumers are to receive a free replacement heater.

The "Completed Listings" section on eBay.com indicates that one of the fans of this model was sold on eBay in the past two weeks, so it is quite possible that more of them were re-sold there in earlier months; consumers may want to check the model numbers and date codes of any Aloha Breeze fans they own, regardless of whether or not they were purchased at Wal-Mart.

According to wikipedia.org, heating large areas and/or for a long period of time with electric heaters is usually not considered to be inexpensive or environmentally friendly. However, it indicates that using electric heaters for occasional heating of relatively small areas can be cost-efficient.

Aloha Breeze products also include various types of fans and other heaters, including a tower fan which can be purchased from Wal-Mart.

SOURCES:

1. Consumer Product Safety Commission, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07296.html
2. eBay, http://www.ebay.com/
3. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_heater