Wire Feed Welders Recalled by Star Asia USA Due to Burn Hazard
Home product recall 10-298. Announced by CPSC on Jul 13, 2010.
- 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 Jul 13, 2010. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- New Instructions or Refund what’s offered
- About 9,000 units, as CPSC gives them
- Not said injuries, in the notice
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The wire welder’s torch does not have a cold contactor as erroneously stated on the packaging and instruction manual. Without this feature, the welder generates an electrical arc immediately upon contact with the welding material, posing a burn hazard to consumers.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumer should immediately stop using the wire welders and contact Star Asia to obtain a corrected instructions manual and packaging or for instructions on returning the product for a full refund.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- What the company offers to fix a recalled product or vehicle: a repair, a replacement or a refund, as the recall notice says. For a vehicle, dealers make the safety repair free. Follow the notice’s own steps, or contact the company it names. Source: CPSC; NHTSA (49 U.S.C. 30120).: new instructions or refund.
- How to reach the firm: For additional information, contact Customer Service at (800) 386-0191 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. PT.
Which ones are recalled?
The recall involves the Vaper 90 amp flux wire feed welders with model number 41181. The wire welders are red and black. “Vaper” and “90 amp flux wire welder” can be found on the product’s operation panel. The model number can be found on the top right hand corner of the package and on the first page of the users manual.
About 9,000 units, as CPSC gives them.
Wire feed welders.
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?
- Imported by Star Asia USA, LLC d.b.a Titan, Kent, Wash.
- Pep Boys, Auto Zone and various other auto parts and tool centers nationwide from October 2006 through March 2010 for about $170.
- Made in China, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
None.
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.