CPSC, Emerson Tool Company Announce Recall of Wet/Dry Vacuums
Home product recall 04-053. Announced by CPSC on Dec 16, 2003.
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The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Dec 16, 2003. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The exhaust blower ports on the wet/dry vacuums are large enough for a small child to reach inside and touch the spinning blower wheel. This poses a laceration hazard to small children.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should contact Emerson toll-free number to request a free insert. The insert is installed inside the blower port, to eliminate the hazard.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- How to reach the firm: For more information, consumers should call Emerson Tool Company toll-free at (866) 288-8143 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.wetdryvacrecall.com
Which ones are recalled?
The recall involves Craftsman 16-gallon and RIDGID 12- and 16-gallon wet/dry vacuums. The vacuums are used to pick up wet and dry debris. Another feature of the vacuum is the blower, which provides additional cleaning functions. Product Description Retail Price* Model Number Serial Number** RIDGID 12 Gallon Wet/Dry Vac $74.00 WD12450 01310-02193 RIDGID 16 Gallon Wet/Dry Vac $94.00$119.00$119.00$139.00$139.00 WD16350 WD16600 WD16650 WD17350 WD17351 01309-02168 99168-02155 01311-02162 01313-0204 502043-02178 Craftsman 16 Gallon Wet/Dry Vac $139.00 $139.00 $119.00 $293.00 $293.00 113.170250 113.170260 113.17033 113.292670C 113.295670C 02049-02210 98240-00236 02156-02219 99281C-00319C 00227C-02122C * Retail price listed in U.S. Dollars. ** Serial Number Range provides the first five characters of the serial number/date code listed on the product’s data plate
Craftsman 16-gallon and RIDGID 12- and 16-gallon wet/dry vacuums.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 2 photos on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Made by Emerson Tool Company, a division, Emerson Electric Co., of St. Louis, Mo.
- Home Depot stores and RIDGE Tool distributors nationwide, from March 1999 through October 2002, and Sears Roebuck and. Co. stores nationwide, from September 1998 through October 2002, for between $70 and $300.
- Made in United States, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
Emerson Tool Company has received 10 reports of children inserting their arms into the ports and receiving minor cuts and abrasions to their fingertips.
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.