The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall for 1.4 million Flushmate II 501-B pressure-assisted flushing systems manufactured from September 3, 1996 through December 7, 2013. In addition, about 17,300 were sold in Canada.
As reported by the CPSC, the system can burst at or near the vessel weld seam releasing stored pressure. This pressure can lift the tank lid and shatter the tank, posing impact and laceration hazards to consumers and property damage. Flushmate has received 1,446 reports in the U.S. and 7 reports in Canada of the units bursting, resulting in property damage totaling about $710,000, including 23 injury reports with one requiring foot surgery.
The systems, installed inside toilet tanks, have a date code/serial number that is 15 characters long and is located on the label on top of the Flushmate II 501-B unit. The first six numerals of the serial number are the date code. The date code range for units included in this recall in MMDDYY format is 090396 (September 3, 1996) through 120713 (December 7, 2013). The model code is 10 characters long and is located on the same product label. The model code starts with M and ends with F. Units included in this recall were sold individually and installed in toilets manufactured by American Standard, Corona, Crane, Kohler and Mansfield.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Flushmate II 501-B systems, turn off the water supply to the unit and flush the toilet to release the internal pressure. Consumers should contact Flushmate to request a free Flushmate replacement unit installation by a technician. This recall was conducted voluntarily by the company, under CPSC’s Fast Track Recall process. Fast Track recalls are initiated by firms who commit to work with CPSC to quickly announce the recall and remedy to protect consumers.
Flushmate, of New Hudson, Mich. is a division of Sloan Valve Company. Consumers can call toll-free at 844/621-7538 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and between 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday, or go online at www.flushmate.com and click on “501-B Recall” in the blue box on the top of the page for more information.