Federal regulators are telling consumers to stop using a cheap immersion water heater sold on Amazon and eBay, and they are backing that warning with a legal power the Consumer Product Safety Commission has not used in nearly four decades.
CPSC, acting through the Department of Justice, filed an imminent hazard action under Section 12 of the Consumer Product Safety Act against the makers and sellers of certain Lakkzoom immersion water heaters. The agency says the heaters can ignite within minutes when they are partially or completely out of water, posing a risk of serious injury and death.
About 98,000 units reached U.S. households. CPSC says it is aware of 235 reports of fires involving them.
The consumer instruction is unusually blunt because there is no repair and no refund program. Anyone who owns one is told to stop using it and throw it away.
What Regulators Are Asking a Federal Court to Do
The Justice Department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Cixi Miaojie Electrical Appliance Co. Ltd., identified as the manufacturer, and Changsha Jiayi Tianzhuo Trading Co. Ltd., identified as the retailer and importer. Both are based in China.
The complaint alleges the heaters are imminently hazardous consumer products and seeks a court-ordered mandatory recall. These are allegations. Neither company has been found liable, and the case has not been decided.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department is asking the court to act quickly, stating that "this complaint seeks the urgent recall of these products" to protect consumers.
Section 12 lets the government sue to remove a product it believes presents an immediate and unreasonable risk of death, serious illness or severe personal injury. CPSC Acting Chairman Peter Feldman said "Congress enacted Section 12 to ensure that the Commission could seek swift judicial relief" when a product presents an imminent hazard.
What the Product Looks Like and Where It Was Sold
The heaters are metal tubes with circular or heart-shaped holes stamped into the metal, with plastic end caps in black, yellow or pink. The brand name Lakkzoom and model numbers 1500W, 2000W, HT1500W, also identified as MJ-R13, or HT2000W may appear on a purchase receipt.
They were sold on Amazon.com and eBay.com from September 2022 through July 2026. Immersion heaters of this type are typically used to heat water in buckets, tubs, foot baths and small pools, which is why they turn up in households, dorm rooms, garages, and rental units rather than in a single identifiable market.
CPSC assigned the action Product Safety Warning number 26-642. Consumers who experienced a fire, injury or defect are asked to report it at SaferProducts.gov.
Why Section 12 Almost Never Gets Used
Most CPSC actions are voluntary recalls negotiated with a company that agrees to notify buyers and offer a remedy. That system depends on a cooperative firm with a U.S. presence.
It breaks down when the seller is an overseas third-party marketplace vendor that will not respond. CPSC has run into exactly that pattern with this product category before. In an earlier warning about Laboomkey electric immersion water heaters, the agency said the importer was unwilling to conduct a recall, and there was no remedy for consumers. A separate warning about HAIYEATBNB immersion heaters said the manufacturer was unresponsive to agency requests.
In those cases the agency's only tool was a public warning. Section 12 gives it a way to ask a court to compel a recall instead. That is the accountability question this filing raises: whether a warning-only approach is adequate when a hazardous product keeps reappearing under new brand names on the same marketplaces.
The Household Burn and Fire Risk
The failure mode described by CPSC is specific and easy to trigger. The device is designed to be submerged. If it is energized while partly or fully out of the water, it can overheat and catch fire within minutes.
That is a realistic household scenario. Water levels drop as a tub is used or a bucket is bumped. A unit left plugged in after a bath drains is exactly the condition the agency describes.
Burn and smoke inhalation risks fall hardest on people who cannot move away quickly, including young children, older adults with limited mobility, and anyone using the device in a small enclosed space such as a bathroom or a garage. Households in multi-unit buildings carry an additional exposure, since a fire in one apartment threatens neighbors.
There is no safe operating workaround. The recommended action is disposal, not careful use.
What Consumers Should Do Now and What Happens Next
Check receipts and order histories on Amazon and eBay for purchases of an inexpensive immersion or bucket water heater made between September 2022 and July 2026. The brand name or a model number may appear in the order record even if the packaging is long gone.
If a unit matches the description, unplug it, stop using it, and dispose of it. Do not resell it, donate it or pass it to a family member. Federal law prohibits selling products subject to a recall.
Consumers who want ongoing notice can sign up for CPSC recall alerts, and can check the agency's recalls and warnings index before buying similar low-cost appliances online.
Because there is no refund program tied to this warning, buyers may want to contact the marketplace where the purchase was made to ask about its own return or reimbursement policy. That is a marketplace question, not a CPSC remedy.
The case now moves through the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A court could order a mandatory recall, which would compel notification and a remedy. There is no announced timetable.
CPSC may expand the warning if additional models or sellers are identified, and the fire count could rise as more incidents are reported. MedicalDaily will monitor the docket, any expansion of the warning and whether the marketplaces involved take independent action.
The confirmed fact today is that federal regulators consider these heaters dangerous enough to invoke a power they last used in 1987. The most affected households are those that bought a low-cost immersion heater online in the past four years. The reasonable action is to check and discard. The central uncertainty is whether a court will order a recall, and how many of the 98,000 units are still in use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hazard? CPSC says the heaters can ignite within minutes if they are energized while partially or completely out of water, creating a risk of serious injury and death from fire.
Which products are affected? Lakkzoom immersion water heaters, models 1500W, 2000W, HT1500W, also identified as MJ-R13, and HT2000W. They are metal tubes with circular or heart-shaped holes and black, yellow or pink plastic end caps.
Where were they sold? On Amazon.com and eBay.com from September 2022 through July 2026. About 98,000 units are covered.
Is there a refund? No refund program has been announced. CPSC instructs consumers to stop using the heaters and dispose of them. The court case seeks a mandatory recall.
How many fires have been reported? CPSC says it is aware of 235 reports of fires involving these heaters.
What is Section 12? It is a provision of the Consumer Product Safety Act that allows the government to sue to remove a product presenting an immediate and unreasonable risk of death, serious illness or severe injury. This is the first use since 1987.
Have the companies been found responsible? No. The complaint contains allegations. The defendants have not been found liable and the case is unresolved.
