SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20240228-2D8D0-2147340725. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: SunJoe SUNJOE 4 in1 14amp Electric Blower Vacuum Mulcher (SunJoe 4 in 1 Outdoor Blower Vac. Purple.). Incident: During use of SunJoe 4 in 1 electric blower vac I noticed and smelled a cloud of smoke coming from the plug that connects units power source. I immediately turned off the unit and removed extension cord, which is the only method of operation. Upon examination I saw rubber from the extension cord melted onto and around the Sunjoe blower vac plug prong and the same to the extension cord input. To be sure the Sunjoe unit was at fault and placed me and my property at risk of injury or worse, I plugged a different power tool into the extension cord without incident (although the damge from the Sunjoe unit has compromised the extension cord and I will no longer use it due to the partially melted input). This result confirmed the Sunjoe blower vac was a safety risk and had a dangerous internal flaw. I immediately phoned Sunjoe, who failed to express any concern, told me my product was out of warranty and only offered me a 20% discount on a replacement tool which was out of stock!! Even after submitting photos of the damaged faulty unit, their response was the same. They didn't care about the risk of injury or death their product exposed me to or that it could have started a fire and burnt down my home. They only cared about profitting from their negligence in this product's design!