SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Overheating

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20240201-36430-2147341322. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Frigidaire FFHT2045VB1 (Basic level refrigerator without any internet connections, no icemaker, etc.). Incident: Having had a new (1-1/2 year old) Frigidaire Refrigerator fail last month, I got to talking to the repair person, who explained he has been seeing compressors fail frequently since the switch to R600, which is butane. Anecdotally, I began to wonder if R600 (butane) was implicated in what seems to me as an increase in home explosions. (What can I say, I was an ICU Burn Nurse for 30 years, I think about this stuff.) I realize the overwhelming number are probably attributable to archaic gas lines, but it did make me wonder. And, I only have access to my own observations, which are often skewed and no substitute for nationwide data. I had filed a complaint with CPSC regarding the failure, the company's refusal to take responsibility, etc. and I had mentioned this concern at the end of the complaint. CPSC e-mailed a reply and suggested I file a complaint at this e-mail address, so I leave the research in your capable hands. I want to make crystal clear that my refrigerator did not do anything except stop working. I just wondered, after my conversation with the repair person, if the problem could be wider than just compressors failing and actually concern overheating, fan failures and then explosions. Also, manufacturer date is a guess since the form would not accept Don't Know or N/A in that spot, but it was manufactured before 4/13/2022 when I bought it new.