I remember seeing this issue on the news a couple of years ago.  Because of it I mention to buyers of any homes (very few of them here in Yucca Valley) that I've heard of potential problems with certain attic furnaces.

Joseph, My partner and I sold a home in Apple Valley California that had one of these recalled furnaces in it.  It could not close escrow unless our client agreed to have it replaced because the gas company would not turn on the gas.  We were lucky she had the money and still wanted the house.  But it was touch and go for awhile.  Good Point.

Joseph, how do you keep up on recalls.  I try my best, but I have to say, that I only really concentrate on ones that can result in fire or electrocution.  It is getting to the point where you could make the whole inspection entirely about recalls if you wanted to.

Jim, I've seen some real estate companies that have a disclosure they cleint's have to sign alerting them to the issue.

Kathryn, it certainly can cause problems in the real estate transaction.  Hopefully the inspection is done early on to allow time to iron out the details.

Charles, I subscribe to recalls at the CPSC website.  I concentrate on major recalls also that have to do with major household appliances.  In general, if it's built in China it has too much lead  :-)

Joseph- OK so if I don't want to crawl up into the attic can you tell me the basic year of recall.  MY attic furnace was bought and installed at the end of 2004.

Kathy, I'm not trying to step on Joe's toes, but the CPSC listed a broad range of years;

"Home, hardware and specialty stores, and independent contractors sold these furnaces in California from January 1983 through December 1992 for about $2,000."

You should be OK, but.......Sometimes a furnace will be left sitting around in a warehouse and be two years old before it makes it into someones home.

Since the recall was not issued until 2001, there is still a slight chance.

P.S.  Great post Joe.

Kathy, I just added to this post, but you can click on any of the underlined words in the post to go to a website with further information.  Wesley (above) pretty much summed it up.  I doubt yours would be included because of the year it was bought, it would have had to of sat in a warehouse for about 10-years.

Wesley, you did a great job summing it up.  Thanks for the compliment also.

Joseph- Thanks......I hear the word recall, and well the Consumer in me jumps out and wants to go check everything RIGHT NOW :)  thank you and Wesley both for the detailed information.....I really appreciate it.

Nice work, Joseph!  I have seen horizontal furnaces in crawl spaces, and rarely in attics, but they are few and far between.  Good catch!

Kathy, you're welcome.

Derek, I believe the recall is isolated to California, you may want to check with your local home inspector.  Thanks for stopping by.

Really interesting how things like that can be local.  Sometimes I think people don't realize how widespread some problems are.

Gene, you know how California is.  Trying to come up with the latest and greatest and so on and so on... well, someone goofed... big time.