I wanted to do a quick post about the recent Goodman Furnace recall. In my service area I see Goodman Furnaces almost daily. As a matter of fact, I use Goodman Furnaces almost exclusively in my rental properties. Recently there was a significant recall on these units so I wanted to explain the issues and point people in the right direction as to where to go to get this remedied.
The Hazard
Here is the description of the problem from the manufacturer: The molded plastic drain pan located at the bottom of the evaporator coil, when installed with a residential condensing gas furnace in an up-flow configuration, can overheat, melt, and deform, posing a fire hazard. Goodman has received 23 reports of fire involving the evaporator coil drain pans. These incidents have resulted in significant fire and smoke damage to residences. No injuries were reported.
Daikin is the parent company of Goodman and they manufacture many different brands Including Diakin, Goodman, Amana, GMC, Etc.
Manufacturers Description of the Recall
This recall involves evaporator coil drain pans paired with residential condensing gas furnaces that are installed in a vertical, or “up-flow,” configuration. Furnaces in this configuration that were installed or repaired with a new evaporator coil drain pan between January 2019 and November 2021 are affected by this recall. Only evaporator drain pans with serial numbers with prefixes ranging from 1901 through 2101 are covered by this recall. The evaporator coil, which sits atop the vertically installed furnace, will either be cased or uncased. The evaporator coil’s serial number is displayed on a label attached to both cased and uncased models. For cased evaporator coils, the serial number is on the label attached to the coil case. For uncased units, the serial number is on a label attached to the front of the coil. It may be necessary to determine the brand and model number of your existing furnace in order to provide the correct repair kit. In most instances, the furnace brand and model number can be found on your furnace on the “Energy Guide” label. For all other instances, please refer to the instructions on Goodman’s model verification tool at: http://www.recallrtr.com/drainpan The model number of the outdoor condenser your furnace is paired with may also be required. The model number can be found on a label attached to the outdoor condenser.
Where do I go, What do I do?
Proceed to www.recallrtr.com/drainpan to determine if your furnace installation has the recalled evaporator coil drain pain installed. Contact Goodman Manufacturing Company to register for the free repair by a qualified technician. Consumers should visit Goodman’s recall website to use a model verification tool for the evaporator coil, furnace, and outdoor condenser. Goodman’s model verification tool provides step-by-step instructions for determining if your gas furnace system is subject to this recall. Goodman will also assist consumers in gathering information on their units including the drain pan serial number, the furnace model number and brand name, and the model number for the outdoor system.
Recall Chek
On every residential inspection performed by Zuehlke Inspections, LLC we provide a complimentary Recall Chek report to for our clients. After each inspection our clients get a report showing all of their appliances and whether there is a potential recall or not. Also with this service there is ongoing monitoring of their appliances and if there is a future recall they are automatically notified by email. Our clients are even able to update their appliance list if they replace or add appliances on an ongoing basis. It is a really helpful tool in getting recall information to consumers.
After this recall was published I have been getting the recall notices for past clients (I get copied on the recall emails) To Date, I think I have gotten over 50 of these emails. I get a few each day it seems, meaning at least that many of my past clients are a part of this recall.
If you get a notice, please check out the recall website and get signed up for the repair.
As always, I hope you took some value from this post and if you have any home related questions, please let me know at the email address below.
-AZ
Aaron M. Zuehlke is the owner and inspector at Zuehlke Inspection Service, LLC, a full-service home inspection company serving Southern Wisconsin. Specializing in Home inspection, Radon Testing, Mold Testing/inspection, Residential Thermal Imaging, and Manufactured Home Foundation Certifications. He also manages several rental properties through Zuehlke Properties, LLC. He can be reached by email at Aaron@Zuehlkeinspections.com or by calling the office at 608-931-7485.