CPSC, Luxo Corp. Announce Recall of Portable Fluorescent Lamps
Home product recall 02-172. Announced by CPSC on Jun 4, 2002.
- CPSC: stop using it
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own notice is on cpsc.gov.
The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Jun 4, 2002. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- About 18,300 units, as CPSC gives them
- None injuries, CPSC’s notice says
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The ballast (the electrical part located in the arm of the lamp) in these lamps can overheat, short-circuit, and melt the insulating cover of the ballast, causing the lamp to fail and posing a skin burn hazard to consumers.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers with the recalled units should unplug the lamps and stop using them immediately. Contact Luxo to return the lamp and receive a replacement lamp. Luxo will extend the warranty on the replacement lamps for 3 years from the date of replacement.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- How to reach the firm: Luxo can be reached at (800) 222-5896 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Consumers may also contact the firm’s website at www.luxous.com
Which ones are recalled?
The lamps are 18-watt portable fluorescent lamps that have a black plastic housing and mount to a desk or sit on a base. Model PS355 and PS360 with serial numbers between 198076 and 244871 and between 35500001 and 36003256 are included in the recall. The PS355 model has a 34-inch swing arm and the PS360 has a 19-inch swing arm. The serial number and “MADE IN TAIWAN” can be found on a silver label located on the back of the light bulb cover. The lamps have also been sold under the names “Big Dipper” and “Little Dipper.”
About 18,300 units, as CPSC gives them.
Portable fluorescent lamps.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 1 photo on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Imported by Luxo Corp., Port Chester, N.Y.
- Office furniture distributors and dealers nationwide sold these lamps, from January 2000 through February 2002, for between $155 and $170.
- Made in Taiwan, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
Luxo has received 10 reports of these lamps overheating and shorting out the fixture. No injuries have been reported.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.