SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20240112-C3AA9-2147342807. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Comfort Zone Industrial CZ230ER (7500 W Electric Utility Heater). Incident: I purchased a Comfort Zone 7500W electric utility heater (Model # CZ230ER) in November 2022. In late November of 2023 the unit started throwing error code E1 (Overheat Safety Cut-Out). I checked the troubleshooting guide and was able to clear the error by resetting the power to the unit and it continued to run normally for a week or so until the E1 code reappeared. After performing a power reset on the unit a couple more times, I observed signs of overheating as there was evidence of burning paint on the discharge louvers. I immediately disconnected power to the heater and removed the unit from its mounting. Upon further inspection I discovered additional evidence of overheating as the entire top of the unit was discolored from excessive heat and the overheat safety relays on the control circuit board were badly charred. It is my belief that this situation presented a significant fire hazard.