Pursuant to Regulation 87 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 ("the Regulations"), I, Brett Murray, General Manager, High Hazards and Specialist Services, WorkSafe New Zealand, give the following notice.
N o t i c e
1. Short title and commencement-(1) This notice is the Electricity Regulations (Prohibited Electrical Appliances - Weiss Heat Transfer System Models FV602, FV603, FV652 and FV653, Produced Prior to May 2012) Notice 2014.
(2) This prohibition is to take effect on and from the date following the date of publication of this notice in the New Zealand Gazette.
2. Prohibited equipment-The sale (including offer to sell), and use of the electrical appliances, being "Weiss Heat Transfer System Models FV602, FV603, FV652 and FV653, produced prior to May 2012", as prescribed in this notice, are prohibited.
3. Description-(1) The Weiss Heat Transfer System Models FV602, FV603, FV652 and FV653, produced prior to May 2012 ("prohibited appliances") to which this notice applies are products that are used in domestic housing to transfer excess hot air produced by heaters in one room to other rooms and intended to be mounted in the roof space, further described below.
(2) Weiss Heat Transfer Systems have been sold nationally by Mitre 10. The prohibited appliances may also have been available elsewhere in New Zealand.
(3) The prohibited appliances have known markings that include "WEISS IN JUNCTION FAN UNIT", "230-240V 50Hz", "Climate Class T", "AS/NZS 60335.2.89", "IPX2", "AIRFLOW DIRECTION" and includes the Class II double insulation symbol.
(4) The approximate overall dimensions of the prohibited appliances, being the In Junction Fan Unit and excluding the ducting and associated fittings, are: 32 x 42 x 18 cm.
(5) The prohibited appliances have a red or green coloured plastic enclosure. Mounted on top of this enclosure is a black plastic terminal box upon which the rating label is found. The unit has a single air inlet opening and either two or three air outlets depending upon the model. Fans are located internally in each outlet and, for the FV602 and FV603 models only, also internally on the air inlet.
(6) Other units, and Weiss Heat Transfer System Models FV602, FV603, FV652 and FV653 that were produced after May 2012, are not subject to this prohibition, and can be distinguished from prohibited appliances by a white and black warning label mounted on an outlet that states "Mount this fan unit as close to the outlet vents as possible" and "DONT COVER WITH INSULATION".
(7) The prohibited appliances do not have the label referred to in 3(6).
(8) Figure 1 below shows a view of one sample of the (three outlet) Weiss Heat Transfer System Model FV603, produced for identification purposes of later non-prohibited units. This item looks identical to prohibited appliance Model FV603 except for additional label close-up shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1 View of non-prohibited Weiss Heat Transfer System Model FV603. Figure 2 Close-up view of label that does not appear on the prohibited appliances.
4. Details of hazard-The prohibited appliances being Weiss Heat Transfer System Models FV602, FV603, FV652 and FV653, produced prior to May 2012 are, or may be, electrically unsafe in that:
(a) The motors used in some of the prohibited appliances have ineffective thermal protection that, in certain circumstances, results in the motor overheating and consequent fires.
(b) There have been multiple house fires involving prohibited appliances, and there is a significant risk of further fires for equipment of the same construction as those involved in the earlier reported fires.
5. Reasons for prohibition-The prohibited appliances described in this notice are, or may be, electrically unsafe, in that there is significant risk that a person may suffer harm as a result of dangers arising from use of, or passage of electricity through, the fittings. The prohibited appliances are non-compliant and electrically unsafe, as defined in Regulation 5 of the Regulations, in that they are not constructed so as to be safe under both normal and abnormal conditions (Regulation 23(1)(b)).
Dated at Wellington this 13th day of June 2014.
BRETT MURRAY, General Manager, High Hazards and Specialist Services, WorkSafe New Zealand.