Issue: Consumer Product Safety Alert – Immediate Action Required
Remedy: Field Retrofit or Replacement
Dear Valued Customer,
Recently, we became aware of a design deficiency in our 1/2″ ‘Firomatic’ Fusible Safety Valve part number 12130. This bulletin covers ONLY the 1/2″ FPT version p/n 12130, previous p/n B200F.
Under certain conditions, if the valve is exposed to temperatures exceeding the handle’s temperature rating and the valve ‘fires’ or actuates, the stem may not travel far enough to properly seat the valve and shut off the flow of fuel. This could result in a dangerous situation if there is a ruptured fuel line downstream of the valve. There have been no reports of this situation arising, but the potential for this issue to occur does exist. This does not affect the valve’s operation when used as a manual shut off valve.
The current design of the 12130 – 1/2″ FPT valve and handle assembly was in production prior to R W Beckett’s acquisition of the Firomatic® product line. We have been unable to determine exact dates for any changes made to the design by previous manufacturers. Therefore this bulletin covers all Firomatic® 1/2″ FPT valves, whether using our part number 12130 or the obsolete part number B200F, used by Highfield Manufacturing. Suspect valves can be identified by the name ‘Firomatic’ cast into the body of the valve. See illustration below.
A re-design of the 12130 valve will be available pending agency approvals and manufacturing process lead times. We are anticipating the re-designed valve to be available by January 1, 2017.
Action Required
Please immediately begin identifying suspect valves in service for retrofit. Retrofit kit part number 12130VR will be available from any Beckett Distributor or by contacting our Customer Service Department. A $50.00 Labor Allowance will be paid for each valve retrofitted. Instructions for adding the kit to installed valves are included with the kit. Estimated completion time to perform retrofit is less than 10 minutes.
To retrofit an existing valve, approximately 3-1/2″ of clearance above the top of the valve stem will be required. If there is not enough clearance to proceed with the retrofit, the valve will have to be replaced or an additional valve will need to be installed downstream. Availability of replacement valves is pending (see above). Along with credit for the valve, a $125.00 Labor Allowance will be paid for each valve replaced.
Contact information is contained within the retrofit application provided below.
Firomatic® Valve
Firomatic® Valve with retrofit installed
Download the retrofit application form.
*One form per retrofit/replacement. Form must be filled out completely for credit and labor allowance to be processed.