Outdoor power equipment engines may pose fire hazard
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced that Tecumseh Products Co. of Grafton, Wisconsin, is voluntarily recalling some 118,000 engines equipped with a fuel shutoff valve. The fuel line may have a small hole from which the fuel can leak. The motors involved carry date of manufacture (D.O.M.) numbers from 9121 through 9233 on the label (see illustration 1 on page 42).
These motors are used in snow blowers, augers and post hole diggers, log splitters, shredders, irrigators, and ventilating fans (the CPSC press release lists Super Vacuum and Tempest Technology Corp. brands). Manufacturers listed for the other categories of products include Ariens, Frigidaire, Garden Way, MTD, Murray, Simplicity, Snapper, Toro, Ardisam, General Electric, Brave, and Wade.
According to Tom Fox, national sales manager for Tempest Technology Corp., and Roger Weinmeister, Super Vacuum vice president, Tecumseh representatives went to the factories and updated on-site any motors that may have been involved before any products containing them left the factories. The updated motors are designated with a yellow mark on the replaced fuel line (see illustration 2 above).
Additional information is available from Tecumseh at (888) 271-4048 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. CDT Monday through Saturday.
