13,000 Tankless Water Heaters Recalled

Published: December 30, 2011
By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
3Comments

Carbon monoxide poisoning threat prompts recall of certain tankless water heaters.

Even though tankless water heaters are a great way to save on water and energy costs, it appears some models are not without problems.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a voluntary recall of about 13,000 Navien instantaneous or tankless water heaters, manufactured by a South Korean company. The water heaters contain an unstable connection that can cause the water heater’s vent collar to detach and cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

The water heaters are white with “T-Creator” and “NAVIEN” on the front.

To get further information about model numbers and actions to take, visit the CPSC site, or call Navien at (800) 244-8202.

And while we’re talking about ways your home can kill you, every home should have a carbon monoxide alarm outside sleeping areas.

Have you switched to a tankless water heater? How has it worked out for you?

Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Lisa Kaplan Gordon is a HouseLogic contributor and builder of luxury homes in McLean, Va. She’s been a Homes editor for Gannett News Service and has reviewed home improvement products for AOL.

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Geoff, You have got to be kidding us? Most asbestos products are in very old homes, pre 1960, and the homes with some asbestos siding or roofing would cost 20,000.00 to 50,000.00 or more for disposal when people hire contractor like you. Typical homeowners cannot afford to hire an abatement contractor that charges 20.00 a minute per man. I know the deal and it's no big deal. The old asbestos wrapped furnace and heating pipes have the type of material that is more dangerous to work with. It's easy to simply wet the siding or roofing down while taking it off and toss it away in plastic bags. I have taken dozens of buildings apart with asbestos products and as long as the worker uses a tyvek suit, a quality respirator and eye protection it's not a big deal. It's big for you because you charge crazy money for scaring people into thinking they will die if they don't hire a licensed abatement contractor. Homeowners do the right thing and don't call an abatement contractor, because once you do they will notify the authorities that you have asbestos in your home and you will then be forced to hire an expensive company and it will cost well over 5 to 10 thousand even for the smallest job. The amount of asbestos used in the old drywall, flooring is so small, it would never hurt anyone. The pipe wrapped asbestos is the stuff to be careful with. Don't get suckered, do the work yourself on a weekend when no one is looking.
Posted by Rue on January 29, 2012

Please put the word out...because many have obviously forgotten: IF YOU REMODEL YOUR HOME, and IF that home was built before 1988...PLEASE have it checked for ASBESTOS! There are too many people who still DON'T REALIZE that they're disturbing asbestos when they cut into drywall, vinyl flooring, wall paper and roofing...to name just a few building materials. The average age of an American house is 32 years old, according to a study by HARVARD. That's prime age for asbestos in vinyl flooring, wall paper and roofing materials. There are countless homes built before 1977, and all of them have, or will likely be, remodeled in the near future. Asbestos is still out there, but unfortunately, information campaigns are limited to shipyard workers. The typical asbestos exposure happening today is the home owner performing his own renovation work. It's not safe..especially for the children living in homes that are being remodeled. Another issue is lead-based paint. What I've found in my own business (Consultant) is that if there's asbestos in the gypsum board system, there's lead based paint on the wall, too. Please, do the right thing; have an asbestos inspector come out and take samples. Once you get the report back, you can adjust your plans accordingly or hire an abatement contractor to remove both materials (lead and asbestos). Some states will let the homeowner do the work themselves. I know for a fact that Oregon does, but California does not. I was an employee of Oregon DEQ and I received my training from UC Berkeley, in California. Please help spread the word...asbestos is STILL out there.
Posted by Geoff on January 26, 2012

Thanks for posting this, Lisa. I just had two clients who opted for the tankless water heaters and hope that they chose a different brand!
Posted by Debe on January 04, 2012

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