White-Rodgers Recalls Home Heating and Cooling Thermostats Due to Fire Hazard

This recall involves four models of White-Rodgers digital thermostats. The thermostats are white with blue lighted screens and have one of the following names printed on the front of them: "COMFORTSENTRY," "DICO," "Emerson," "Frigidaire," "Maytag," "Nutone," "Partners Choice," "Rheem," "Ruud," "Unico," "Water Furnace," "Westinghouse," "White-Rodgers" or "Zonefirst." The thermostats have a battery door on the top left corner. There are three or four buttons to the right and also below the thermostat screen. Recalled thermostats do not show a battery icon on the left side of the blue lighted screen.. Recalled by White-Rodgers of St. Louis, Mo., a division of Emerson Climate Technologies.. Units affected: About 740,000 in the United States and 403,000 in Canada.

The alkaline batteries used in the thermostat can leak onto the circuit board posing a fire hazard.

Consumers should check thermostats for battery icon on the left side of the blue lighted screen, if the battery icon is not shown, contact White-Rodgers to receive a free repair or a replacement thermostat.

This recall was issued by the CPSC on April 30, 2014. Severity: Moderate. Recall number: 14166.