Portable Heaters Recalled by Meijers and Family Dollar Stores

Recalls have been issued for a combined 24,000 portable heaters sold at Meijers and Family Dollar Stores, due to concerns that they may overheat and pose a risk for fires or property damage.  

The portable heater recalls were announced last week by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including 4,560 Meijer Touch Point Portable Baseboard Convection Heaters and 19,640 Family Dollar Store Optimus Tower Quartz Heaters.

Both brands of heaters are being recalled due to consumer complaints indicating the products can overheat and pose a fire hazard, with at least combined reports of problems, including one case of minor property damage

The Optimus Tower Quartz Heaters being recalled have model number H-5232 printed on a silver sticker located under the heater, below the words “Optimus” and “Quartz Heater.” The recalled portable electric tower heaters are 10 inches wide by 25 inches tall by 9 inches deep and have a metal caging around the front with a white metal casing and a plastic top. The top of the heaters have a caution light, a power light, and two dial knobs to turn the product on or off and to select 750 wattage or 1500 watts.

The Optimus Tower Quartz Heaters have had 10 reports of the product overheating including multiple reports of the dial knobs melting. The heaters were manufactured in China under Family Dollar Services Inc., of Matthews, N.C. and sold exclusively at Family Dollar stores from September 2012 through December 2012 for about $35.

The recalled Touch Point Portable Baseboard Convection Heaters have model number BBC-1500 and date code 0611 that can be located on the back of the product on a silver sticker. The heaters are black and measure 30 inches long by 12 inches high by 6 inches deep and have “Touch Point” printed on the front of the product.

The recalled Touch Point heaters have had at least two complaints of overheating including one that caused minor property damage. The heaters were manufactured in China by Foshan Guanmei Electrical Co., LTD., of Foshan, China and imported by Meijer Distribution Inc., of Grand Rapids, Michigan, were they were sold exclusively at Meijer stores from September 2011 through February 2013 for about $50.

The CPSC recommends that consumers stop using both recalled heaters immediately and contact Meijer Customer Service at (800) 927-8699 or visit them online at www.meijer.com for the Touch Point Portable Heaters to receive a full refund. Consumers with the recalled Optimus Tower Quartz heaters should contact Family Dollar Stores at (800) 547-0359 or visit them online at www.familydollar.com to return the product and receive a full refund.