A.O. Smith Recalls John Wood Brand Oil-Fired Water Heaters Due to Fire and Burn Hazards

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #15155) was formally reported on June 2, 2015. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. A.O. Smith Corp., of Milwaukee, Wis. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 250 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: The water heater's combustion chamber can be misaligned and heat the exterior walls of the water heater instead of the water. Combustible material near the outside of the water heater can catch fire, posing fire and bur… Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers should immediately turn off and stop using the recalled water heaters and contact A.O. Smith for a free inspection and free replacement of misaligned water heaters. — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 1 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 11 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.