Vent Pipe Recall Resurfaces

Advisory Report - September 2000

Vent Pipe Recall Resurfaces
In case you've missed the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) recall of about 250,000 pipe systems in consumers' homes back in 1998, you may want to read on.  U.S. Inspect consultants continue to find the recalled pipe systems in residential homes.

According to the CPSC's February 1998 press release, virtually the entire furnace and boiler industry together with the manufacturers of high-temperature plastic vent (HTPV) pipes have joined with the CPSC to announce a recall program.  The program will replace, free of charge, the pipe systems in question.  The HTPV pipes could crack or separate at the joints and leak carbon monoxide, presenting a deadly threat to consumers.

To determine whether you have HTPV pipe systems that are subject to this program, you should first check the vent pipes attached to your natural gas or propane furnaces or boilers.  Vent pipes subject to this recall program can be identified as follows:

• Vent pipes are plastic.
• Vent pipes are colored gray or black.
• Vent pipes have the names "Plexvent," Plexvent II" or "Ultravent" stamped on the vent pipe or printed on stickers placed on pieces used to connect the vent pipes together.
• For furnaces, only HTPV systems that have vent pipes that go through the sidewalls of structures (horizontal systems) are subject to this program.
• For boilers, all HTPV systems are subject to this program.
• Other plastic vent pipes, such as white PVC or CPVC, are not involved in this program.

Consumers can contact the CPSC at (800) 758-3688 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. EST, seven days a week, to verify that their HTPV pipe systems are subject to this recall program.  Consumers with eligible systems will receive new, professionally installed venting systems free of charge.  Additionally, consumers who already have replaced their HTPV pipe systems may be eligible for reimbursement for some or all of the replacement costs.