Product Recall: Milwaukee Power Plus, Chicago Pneumatic, and Extractor battery packs

1 million portable battery packs for cordless tools made by Milwaukee Electrical Tool Co. have been recalled as they may explode, posing a laceration hazard. Reported injuries have included cuts, bruises and hearing loss.

Here’s the scoop from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission news release:

Hazard: If a vent on the battery cell is damaged or compromised during use, the battery can explode and pose a laceration hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Milwaukee Electric Tool Co. has received 35 reports of incidents, including 11 injuries from battery packs exploding while in use. Injuries include minor cuts, bruises and some hearing loss.

Description: The recalled batteries are used to power drills, saws, radios, flashlights, wrenches and Extractor windshield glass removers. The recall includes 14.4 and 18 volt 2.4 Ah NiCd Milwaukee Power Plus, Chicago Pneumatic, and Extractor battery packs manufactured between July 1999 and February 2004. The brand name can be found on a label on most battery packs. However, some 14.4 Volt 2.4Ah packs did not have “Power Plus” on the label. The battery packs were sold both with tool kits and as individual battery packs. Battery packs manufactured after February 2004 are not included in this recall.

Consumers are advised to stop using the affected battery packs immediately and contact Milwaukee Electrical Tool to arrange a free replacement.

You can phone Milwaukee Electric Tool Co. at 1 (800) 729-3878 between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

You can also download the the Battery Pack Recall Safety Notice (PDF) from the manufacturer website.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 15th, 2007 at 11:11 pm and is filed under Tools, Safety, Product Recalls. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.