Family Dollar Stores Recalls Optimus Tower Quartz Heaters Due to Overheating and Fire Hazards
Home product recall 13-186. Announced by CPSC on May 9, 2013.
- 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 May 9, 2013. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- Refund what’s offered
- About 19,640 units, as CPSC gives them
- Reported injuries, in the notice (needs attention)
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The heaters can overheat posing a fire hazard.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should immediately unplug and stop using the heaters and return the product to any Family Dollar Stores location 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).: refund.
- How to reach the firm: Family Dollar Stores at (800) 547-0359 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.familydollar.com, then click on Product Recalls in the Help section at the bottom of the page.
Which ones are recalled?
Optimus Tower Quartz Heaters are portable electric tower heaters that are about 10 inches wide, 25 inches tall and 9 inches deep. The heaters have a white metal casing with a white plastic top, a wire cage protecting the heating elements and vent slits at the bottom. The front section of the top has the brand name Optimus, a power light, a caution light and two dials. One dial turns the heater on or off and selects the power of either 750 watts or 1500 watts. The other control knob selects the heat range between high and low. The rear section of the top has fire, high temperature and shock warnings and diagrams of the heater being used in 750 watt mode and 1500 watt mode. Model number “H-5232” is on a silver sticker on the bottom of the heater below the words “Optimus” and “Quartz Heater.”
About 19,640 units, as CPSC gives them.
Portable Heaters.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 3 photos on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Imported by Family Dollar Services Inc., Matthews, N.C.
- Family Dollar Stores from September 2012 through December 2012 for about $35.
- Made in China, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
Family Dollar Stores has received 10 reports of overheating, including some reports of temperature knobs melting. The firm has not received reports of injury, fire or property damage.
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.