Recall alert: 1.4M breaker boxes recalled due to overheating, fire hazard

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By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Schneider Electric and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced the recall of 1.4 million of the company’s electric breaker boxes.

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The breaker boxes, electrical panels and load centers were sold under the name Square D QO Plug-on-Neutral Load Center.

They were installed in homes, RVs and commercial buildings such as restaurants, manufacturing facilities and warehouses, among other locations.

The devices can overheat and cause a thermal burn or be a fire hazard.

The circuit breakers that are part of the recall had covers that were made between Feb. 1 2020 and Jan. 12, 2022, the company said.

Outdoor load centers have a manufacturing date printed inside the cover or the door.

An electrician can find the date codes that are not visible to a homeowner on load centers that are installed in a home.

The recall involves the following catalog or part numbers:

CQO116L100PGRBQO130M200PRBQOC30UFWG
CQO116M100PRBQO140L200PGRBQOC30UFWGW
CQO116M60PRBQO140M200PRBQOC30US
CQO124L125PGRBQO142L225PGRBQOC32UF
CQO124M100PRBQO142M200PRBQOC32UFW
CQO140L200PGRBQO142M225PRBQOC40UF
CQO140M200PRBQO1816M200PFTRBQOC40UFW
NQC20FWGQO816L100PRBQOC40US
NQC20FWGWQOC12UFQOC42UF
NQC30FWGQOC12USQOC42UFW
NQC30FWGWQOC16UFQOC42US
QO112L125PGRBQOC16UFWQOC54UF
QO112L200PGRBQOC16USQOC54UFW
QO112M100PRBQOC20U100FQOC60UF
QO116L125PGRBQOC20U100FWQOCMF30UC
QO116M100PRBQOC20U100SQOCMF30UCW
QO120M100PRBQOC20UFWGQOCMF42UC
QO120M150PRBQOC20UFWGWQOCMF42UCW
QO120M200PRBQOC24UFQOCMF54UC
QO124L125PGRBQOC24UFWQOCMF54UCW
QO124M100PRBQOC24USQOCMF60UC
QO124M125PRBQOC30U125CQOCMF60UCW
QO130L200PGRBQOC30UF
QO130M150PRBQOC30UFW

The list of affected boxes can also be found at Schneider Electric.

Schneider Electric is contacting retailers, distributors, homeowners and anyone else who may have purchased the circuit boxes. If they have not been contacted, then purchasers and installers are being instructed to reach out to Schneider Electric to arrange to have the load centers inspected by an electrician to determine if repairs or replacements are needed. The inspection and any repairs are free.

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So far, there has been a single report of a loose wire found.

For more information, call Schneider Electric at 888-778-2733 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday or visit the company’s website.