Helpline to locate faulty water boilers gets 1,500 calls

ALMOST 1,500 calls have been made to a helpline set up to locate more than 500 faulty water boilers sold mainly in Cork and Kerry.

To date, the faulty boilers have led to five fires, the most recent of which occurred in Kinsale.

GeminoX, the French domestic appliance manufacturer, has warned that, depending on the configuration and operation of the cylinder, the risk of a fire hazard cannot be ruled out in certain cases.

The company made the plea last week following a consistently poor response to its recall which has been under way since 2007.

However, the National Consumer Agency confirmed there had been an overwhelming response to the latest drive to locate the faulty boilers.

The helpline received 1,300 calls and 140 at-risk products have been identified between Monday and Friday last week.

Between 2001 and 2006, approximately 700 GeminoX boilers were imported by Aquatech Ltd in Cork, of which about 500 remain to be located and refitted, primarily in the Cork and Kerry region.

The company has urged people to check their hot press, and for any person who has the GeminoX Ebs immersion cylinder to immediately stop using the unit.

People who have one of the cylinders are advised to keep the unit switched off until a refit has been carried out. GeminoX is also encouraging any tradesperson who installed one of the company’s water cylinders to contact the company helpline.

The risk of overheating comes from the black plug-in connectors located at the bottom of the grey box at the front of the cylinder and on top of the cylinder.

* Concerned customers have been advised to contact the company helpline at 1850 427 947 or email [e-mail].