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AFCI Breaker Recall Info (A Home Inspection Informational Blog)

By Joseph Lang

Home Inspector with Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection

March 02, 2009 01:40 AM

Part of being a good home inspector is being familiar with recalls. One such recall is listed below.

AFCI breakers were instituted for safety beginning in 2002 and are required in bedroom circuits. They provide protection against arcs, which could lead to scorching, overheating and fires. They are a good safety item. However there was a recall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission on some Square D AFCI breakers with blue reset buttons, as shown below. These are located in main electrical panels.

Recalled AFCI breaker. By Pillar To Post a Rancho Cucamonga home inspection company.

As a home inspector I have information for recalls on my laptop and print them out for additional information for my clients. You can look up the Consumer Product Safety Commission on the internet for further information about recalls, and even sign up to be alerted by email for future recalls.

If you have one of these breakers with a blue reset button, please contact a qualified electrician to make sure it's not recalled. If you would like the info sheet I give to my clients, email me through this site and I'll email it to you.

I hope this gives you a little more information about a home inspection and its value. Be safe out there.

Posted by Joseph Lang of Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection

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Charles Buell

Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA

Seattle Home Inspector

Joseph, good info. I would add that these breakers that had a problem were manufactured between March 2004 and September 2004 so would effect houses that were built or remodeled around that time period.

Mar 02, 2009 02:46 AM

Joseph Lang

Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Home Inspector, Southern California

Great point Charles. I always debate with myself on how much info to put in the blog since I don't want to make it too long, but the dates are certainly important. Of course I want to remind anyone that even though they were made in 2004 they can sit on the shelf in warehouses for a while, so maybe give it a 2-3 year period of homes to be cautious about. Have a great week Charles, I always appreciate your input.

Mar 02, 2009 03:22 AM

Marlene Bridges

Village Real Estate Services, Inc. - Laguna Hills, CA

Laguna Homes|Laguna Condos|Laguna Real Estate

Hi Joseph - Great point about recalls. Good for you for keeping them readily available by storing them in your laptop that you take to appointments.

Mar 02, 2009 04:35 AM

Thanks Marlene. I'm doing another post about the recalled attic furnaces, those are certainly an issue here in Southern California. Kepp your eye out.

Mar 02, 2009 04:45 AM

Sidney Kutchuk - Realty Works Temecula Kutchuk - Realty Works Temecula

Realty Works Temecula - Temecula, CA

Realty Works Temecula

Thank you for the info Joseph, I will keep this in the back of my mind. We have many homes here in Temecula and Murrieta that were built around 2002...many are now vacant so when showing or previewing I will look out for this if I have someone putting an offer in on one of these homes.

Mar 02, 2009 02:31 PM

Jane, I'm glad you can use the info. There sure are a lot of vacant houses these days. I would estimate that over 90% of the inspections we perform are vacant houses... crazy.

Mar 02, 2009 03:42 PM

Kathy McGraw

CELLing Realty - White Water, CA

Riverside County CA Real Estate

Joe- Oh my it's about midnight right now, but come morning I am going to go check my circuts as I had done some electrical upgrades during that time. Thanks for once again giving us some good info.

Mar 03, 2009 06:08 PM

Kathy, if you need the info from the CPSC, send me an email.

Mar 04, 2009 05:05 AM

Anonymous

Joseph Fleischaker

I have had so much trouble with this issue. Inspectors recommends the replacement of the AFCI due to the fact that it had a blue test button without checking to see if infact that is the recalled AFCI.

Now the buyer wants them replaced even though no one can answer if they are infact the recalled breakers.

The recall notice clearly explains the description of the recalled breaker: "The recalled Square D QO® and Homeline® Arc Fault Interrupter circuit breakers are used with 15- and 20-amp branch circuits. They are required to be installed in bedroom circuits in accordance with the 2002 National Electrical Code. The recalled units were manufactured after March 1, 2004, and have a blue test button. The AFCI circuit breakers have one of the following date codes – CN, DN, EN, FN, GN, HN, or JN – stamped in red on the breaker label located just above the wiring terminal. The recalled units also have one of the following catalog numbers printed on a label on the front of the breaker: QO115AFI, QO115AFIC, QO120AFI, QO120AFIC, QOB115AFI, QOB120AFI, HOM115AFI, HOM115AFIC, HOM120AFI, HOM120AFIC, QO115VHAFI, QO120VHAFI, QOB115VHAFI, or QOB120VHAFI."

Inspectors need to become more responsible in their descriptions and inspections. This can become such a heated issue, and it doesn't need to be if the inspector did their job and actually inspected the breaker. But inspectors are not licensed electricians so thay cannot inspect the breaker, but they are licensed to recommend replacement. Does that make any sense?

Apr 17, 2012 03:55 AM

AFCI Breaker Recall Info (A Home Inspection Informational Blog)

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