CPSC, BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. Announce Recall of Red Devil Gas Grills
PRODUCT: Gas Grills - BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., of Natick, Mass., is
recalling about 2,800 Red Devil gas grills sold at BJ's Wholesale Club
stores. These red metal gas grills have a tripod stand. They have a logo
on the label of the lid and grill base showing a devil cooking at a
grill with the writing, "Red Devil." The lid also reads "The Portable
Outdoor Kitchen." Components sold with the grill include a heat plate,
an oversized skillet with handles, a table-safe serving trivet, and
carrying totes. BJ's Wholesale Club Stores sold these grills from about
May 2000 through June 2002 for $70.
PROBLEM: The product's design allows consumers to light the grill at an
air intake tube, instead of at the burner. Though the grill appears to
function normally, gas inside the air intake tube ignites. The tube can
reach temperatures of up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit and present a burn
hazard to consumers. In grills manufactured before August 1998, the heat
produced by lighting the grill at the air intake tube damaged the
plastic support piece, and caused the grill to fall to the ground. When
it collapses, flames from the grill can burn nearby consumers and ignite
surrounding combustibles.
INCIDENTS/INJURIES: More than 1,000 consumers returned their grills to
the manufacturers because the grills collapsed. Other retailers have
reported 44 incidents of consumers suffering burns to legs, hands and
fingers, including reports of some third degree burns, after the grills
collapsed during use. There have been no incidents reported by BJ's
Wholesale Club customers.
WHAT TO DO: CPSC urges consumers to stop using these grills immediately.
Consumers who purchased Red Devil gas grills from BJ's Wholesale Club
Stores can return them to the local BJ's Wholesale Club for a refund.
For more information, call BJ's Wholesale Customer Service at (800) BJS-
CLUB (257-2582) anytime, or visit the firm's web site at www.bjs.com.
The Home Shopping Network (HSN), QVC, Value City, Schottenstein and Wal-
Mart previously notified their customers about the hazard these grills
pose, and provided a remedy. Consumers who purchased their Red Devil Gas
Grills from another retailer, should contact the retailer. If that
retailer does not provide a refund, repair or replacement for the grill,
consumers should contact CPSC at (800) 638-2772 anytime.
About 155,000 of these grills were manufactured by e4L Inc., of Encino,
Calif., and Quantum North America Inc., of Encino, Calif. Because these
manufacturers are out of business, CPSC issued a warning about these
grills in May 2002. Additional Red Devil gas grills were manufactured by
Cadac, of Roodepoort, South Africa, and also are included in the recall.
CPSC sued e4L Inc. and Quantum North America Inc. to obtain a recall,
and an administrative law judge granted CPSC a default judgment when
these manufacturers failed to appear. The firms are liquidating their
assets under bankruptcy law. Since Quantum and e4L have declared
bankruptcy, there is no remedy available for grills bought from
retailers other than BJ's Wholesale Club, HSN, QVC, Wal-Mart, Value City
and Schottenstein stores.
About 19,300 of these grills, sold directly by e4L, were recalled
in July 1998 because the burners could disconnect from the burner pan.
The firm received 21 reports of the burners on these grills
disconnecting and one consumer suffered burns. Even if consumers
participated in this previous recall program, they should stop using
these grills since this warning addresses a different hazard.
|