Recall: W.C. Wood Company Inc. Recall of Upright Freezers and Single Door Refrigerators

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2005
Release #05-279

W.C. Wood Hotline: (866) 493-3314
CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

CPSC, W.C. Wood Company Inc. Announce Recall of Upright Freezers and Single Door Refrigerators

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announces the following recall in voluntary cooperation with the firm below. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Automatic Defrost Upright Freezers and All-Refrigerators

Units: About 112,000

Manufacturer: W.C. Wood Company Inc., of Ottawa, Ohio

Hazard: The defrost heater coil can become exposed inside the units, which poses a potential shock hazard to consumers. In some cases the exposed heater wire can also melt, or burn the unit's interior plastic food liner.

Incidents/Injuries: W.C. Woods has received 45 reports of incidents of the defrost heater coil becoming exposed. Nine of those incidents resulted in an electrical short. The others melted and burned the unit's interior plastic liner. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled single door freezers and refrigerators are 15, 17 and 20-cubic foot Automatic Defrost Upright Freezers and 17-cubic foot Automatic Defrost All-Refrigerators that can be converted into freezers. They were sold under the brand names Amana, Crosley, Danby, Maytag, Whirlpool and Wood's, which is written on the front of the unit. The manufacturer label with the model number and date of manufacture is located on the inside of the cabinet. A list of model numbers and dates of manufacture included in the recall is listed below.

Brand	Model Numbers	Date of Manufacture
Amana	AFU1567, AFU1767, AFU2067*	200209 (September 2002) through 200402 (February 2004)
Crosley	FFCR17, WCF15, WCF17, WCF20
Danby	DUF1700, DFF1708
Maytag	MQU1556, MQU2057
Whirlpool	EV150NXM, EV170NYL, EV171NYM, EV200NXK, EV201NXM, EL7ATRRK, EL7ATRRM, EL7JWKLM, EL7JWKRM*
Wood's	F15, F17, F20, F42, F47, F55, WFF15, WFF17, WFF20, RFA17, RFC17, R47F

* there are additional letters or numbers following the model numbers above

Sold at: Home improvement and appliance stores from September 2002 through February 2005 for between $400 and $1,000.

Manufactured in: Canada and United States

Remedy: Consumers should contact W.C. Wood Co. to arrange for a free in-home repair.

Consumer Contact: Contact W.C. Wood toll-free at (866) 493-3314 or visit the firm's Web site at www.freezer-repair.com

Automatic Defrost Upright Freezer

Picture of Recalled Refrigerator

Automatic Defrost All-Refrigerator