Craftsman C950.672140

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20170411-EA81F-2147404482. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Craftsman C950.672140 (This is a gas engine power washer sold by Sears in Canada under Craftsman brand and being equipped with a Briggs and Stratton engine. The washer was manufactured in United States and it was bought brand new. The machine colour is red with a tan frame and black wheels.). Incident: This is a very serious safety issue concerning a Briggs and Stratton power washer engine. My power washer was purchased at Sears , in Canada, under the Craftsman brand equipped with a Briggs and Stratton engine . The washer was purchased on Dec 14/2014 and used so far no more than 10 times, only for domestic purposes. On Apr 9/2017 I tried to use the washer, it took a while to start, much longer than usual. After about two minutes of usage, the engine exploded with a very loud bang an a cloud of black smoke.. Fragments of very sharp metal were spread around on the deck, together with hot oil. Only the fact that my BBQ was between myself and the power washer saved me of being hit with those very sharp metal fragments. When the smoke went away, I looked closely at the machine and I noticed a big hole on the side of the engine block, about 4 inches in diameter. We are talking about a power washer working perfectly fine just one week ago. The washer was stored over the winter in our sun room, cover with a protection cover, with a temperature way above freezing level. During the storage the gas tank was emptied and anti freeze fluid was added. I definitely believe that Briggs and Stratton and Sears should issue a recall notice for all of these engines or at least a warning to the customers who bought machines equipped with this type of engine. I find it very disturbing that an appliance used only several times a year could potentially hurt people, not only the users but also the families around them, children, pets etc. Not to mention the potential of the windows b