SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20200624-B1397-2147371498. Severity: No Incident, No Injury. Product: Generac 0058961 (Home standby propane powered electric generator). Incident: In March 2020 I received a letter from the Generac Company stating that there is a potential corrosion problem with a part called a "plenum" that could cause a fire and risk to life and property. The letter states that it is recommended that the unit be inspected by a qualified technician and if the unit is found to have a corrosion problem, Generac will absorb the cost of inspection and part replacement. However, they will not offer to pay the approx. $80 cost of inspection if the technician does not find a corrosion problem with the subject part. In my opinion, if Generac knows there is the potential of part corrosion that could cause a fire and risk life and property, then they should be liable to pay for the inspection, bad part or not. The consumer should not have to pay to inspect a product they designed to verify if a flaw exists. Generac should know that these units are highly likely to experience humid weather conditions and should have designed the part using a material that does not corrode and this risk would not exist. This notification should be treated the same way as a product recall. I am asking for help from the CPSC to investigate this matter and on behalf of myself and other Generac generator owners, to hold Generac responsible to cover the cost of the inspection. It is likely some owners will not want to pay $80 to have the unit inspected and thus creating the potential for fire and risk to life and property. Please advise. Thank you.