Former electric heater company Vornado will pay the government a civil penalty of $500,000 and deny any wrongdoing for failing to report incidents of heater fires from 1993 to 2004, says the CPSC. "In August 2004, CPSC and Vornado announced the recall of about one million portable electric heaters," then the company dissolved. [CPSC]
Post a comment
Comments:
Former? Everything I can find on Vornado says they are still around. I have two vornado fans and those things are awesome. ( However mine didn't catch on fire...)
Yeah, I'm confused about the "former" part. I was in the store the other day and was considering getting one. However, it's hard to come across a positive review for one of their heaters on sites like Amazon.
Wow, I am way out of the loop on that one. I used one of those space heaters for years and I think my parents still have it in their garage. Funny, I thought it was a great little heater. Guess I should email my folks...
Vornadowned!!!
Oh, crap, if they're out of business how will I buy a new one when the one I've been running literally all night every night for nine years with no fires stops working?
It's one of the best products I've ever bought.
Same here - nothing I can find indicates that they're out of business or recently changed hands in the past 3-4 years.
We've been using one of their "VH2" heaters for the past two years (bought two years ago) without a single problem.
It looks like the Vornado company was formerly owned by the "Vornado Operating Company". VOC is what was dissolved:
On January 16 of 2007, the former Coleman CEO and a private equity firm purchased the operating assets of Vornado:
In short, the parent company shut down (due to lawsuits I guess) but the "Vornado" brand is still in business and selling products.
I bought the Vornado DVTH heater 2 years ago, and it's the best heater I ever used. It's on right now in my bedroom. I wonder if this particular model of their heater has any problems and if I'm at risk for a fire.
@maestrosteve: Your model doesn't appear to be recalled.
Here's Vornado's recall statement on their webpage
[www.vornado.com]
Your heater [www.vornado.com] is still being offered for sale.
I'm sorry, I can't help but laugh at the sick humor of a heater that tends to catch fire being the best heater out there.
I understand it's probably different models. We used space heaters for years. Our old house tended to stay on the icy side. If it works, and isn't recalled, heat away! Sounds like *some* of their products are actually pretty good.
I can't say anything on their heaters, but Vornado does make some of the best fans I've ever used. They move a ton of air with minimal noise and can take quite a beating. I have a few which have been running 24/7 for years now. A few of them got pushed into service to dry out hurricane-soaked properties.
I'm another one who bought one post-2004 and has had no problems with it (well, no fire problems anyway--sometimes it makes a noise that makes me homicidal, but my house is warm and it hasn't caused any sparks).
I still think I might google the make and model and see if it was recalled.
Thank God there wasn't any wrongdoing. I was worried for them.