Dial Replaces 1990 D5500 Evaporative Water Cooler Pump

PRODUCT: Dial Manufacturing, Incorporated's model D5500 all blue evaporative water cooler pumps sold in 1990 and 1991 with "1990 Taiwan" inscribed on bottom.

PROBLEM: Some of the pumps may have misaligned motor bearings that cause the pumps to fail and under certain conditions, catch fire.

WHAT TO DO: Call 1-800-350-3425 and ask for the returned goods department or write to Dial Manufacturing, Inc., 2252 Grand Av., Phoenix, Arizona 85009 for a free replacement.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Dial Manufacturing, Inc. of Phoenix, AZ, CPSC, has voluntarily initiated a replacement program for 150,000 Model D5500 evaporative water cooler pumps sold in 1990 and 1991. Some of the pumps may have misaligned motor bearings that could cause the pumps to fail and, under certain conditions, catch fire.

A total of 119 pump fires have been reported to Dial since 1990. Ninety-eight of the fires reported occurred in the El Paso, Texas area. Most of the fires resulted in property damage to the cooler cabinets and/or home roofs. No injuries were reported.

Evaporative coolers, commonly known as swamp coolers, are designed to blow moist cool air through ducts into a residence. They are generally found in the drier climates of the western and southwestern United States. The box shaped evaporative cooler cabinets are constructed of plastic or metal and are often installed on top of house roofs.

A water cooler pump such as the Dial D5500 model is located inside the cooler cabinet. The pump functions to draw supplied water from the reservoir at the bottom of the cabinet to the distribution system at the top. Water then saturates the cooling pads located vertically inside the vented cabinet. Outside air is cooled and humidified as it is pulled through the pads by the cabinet blower. The blower then forces the moist cool air into the house.

Because of the corrosive nature of the cooler environment, economy pumps such as the D5500 reportedly last only one season. However, some of these pumps are still in service.

The 1990 Dial D5500 cooler pump has a blue plastic housing and has "1990 Taiwan" inscribed on the base plate. Consumers who identify this blue cooler pump should stop using their evaporative coolers until the pump is replaced.

Dial will replace any 1990 blue D5500 cooler pump free of charge with a new 1991 red and white D5500 pump or a 1992 red and white D5000 pump. Consumers should call Dial toll free at 1-800-350-3425 and ask for the returned goods department or write to Dial at 2252 Grand Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85009.

CPSC is announcing this replacement program as part of its mission to protect the public from the unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with consumer products. The Commission's objective is to reduce the estimated 28.5 million injuries and 21,600 deaths associated each year with the 15,000 different types of consumer products under CPSC's jurisdiction.