"Spas, Hot Tubs, and Whirlpools"

CPSC Document #5112

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: TruHeat Response Hotline: (800) 858-2122
December 14, 2001	CPSC Contact: Mark Ross
Release # 02-068	(301) 504-0580 Ext. 1188
	TruHeat Media Contact: Daniel R. Gravelyn 616-752-2000

CPSC and TruHeat Corp. Announce Recall of Spa Heaters

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), TruHeat Corp., of Allegan, Mich., is voluntarily recalling about 142,000 spa heaters sold with Hot Spring® and Tiger River® spas. The spa heaters have an internal electrical connection that can overheat and ignite the heater and spa, posing a fire hazard.

CPSC and TruHeat have received 192 reports of the heaters on these spas failing, and 22 reports of these incidents resulting in fire damage outside the heater or spa. No injuries have been reported.

These are No-Fault® 6000 model spa heaters sold with Hot Spring® and Tiger River® spas. The spa brand name is written on the control panel. The spa heater brand name and model number are on a label on the side of the heater. The spa heater is located behind a removable panel on the front of the spa. Read the owner's manual for instructions on turning off power to the spa before accessing the spa heater. This recall only includes spas installed in 220-volt applications.

Independent spa dealers nationwide sold spas with these heaters from January 1997 through January 2001. The price for these spas is between $4,000 and $9,000.

TruHeat is contacting its customers about this recall and providing them with a free insulation kit. Consumers who have not been contacted should immediately call the TruHeat Response Hotline at (800) 858-2122 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET, any day of the week, to determine if their spa heater is part of this recall. To avoid all risk of an incident pending receipt of an insulation kit, consumers are advised to shut off their heaters until a kit is installed. If the spa is in a location where it is exposed to freezing temperatures and the heater is shut off (pending receipt of a kit), the spa should be drained according to the owner's manual to prevent damage to the spa by freezing water.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. For information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call the above numbers or visit the web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/103.html. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.