If you’ve got an electric fireplace, stove or fireplace insert you'll want to check your fireplace remote controls. Dimplex and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of 700,000 remote control kits for electric fireplaces and stoves.
The problem is that the plug-in wall unit may overheat. Dimplex has received 5,000 reports of this happening including 19 reports of damage beyond the remote control and one house fire in Columbus, OH with significant property damage.
Dimplex is sold at a handful of stores in the Austin area, including Lowe’s, Churchill’s Fireside & Patio Furnishings, Direct Buy, Garden Ridge and Louis Shanks. To find locations where they may have been sold in your area go here. They were sold between January 1998 and December 2008 for between $200 and $1500 for the fireplaces and stoves and includes remote control kits replaced under warranty.
The recalled remote control kits are used with Dimplex, Electraflame, Symphony, Optiflame, Electralog and Charmglow brand electric fireplaces, stoves and fireplace inserts. They include a black or dark gray hand-held remote control and also a black or dark gray wall unit that plugs into an electrical wall outlet. Recalled model numbers include 47-1001, 47-1010-R and APT-1315. The model number is printed on either the plug-in unit or the hand-held remote control. The fireplace or stove's brand name is printed on both units.
Go here to get a full list.
If you have one of these you should stop using the remote control kits, unplug the power cord from the remote control kit's wall unit, remove the wall unit from the electrical outlet and contact Dimplex for a free replacement kit. Consumers can continue to operate the fireplace or stove by plugging the fireplace or stove's electrical cord directly into an electrical outlet.
For additional information, contact Dimplex North America toll-free at (866) 673-9880 anytime, or visit the company's Web site.
