Vintage Sanyo fan sparks fire, leads to two deaths

This past Monday, an old electric fan (circa 1970) that was produced by Sanyo reportedly "caused a fire" which led to the death of two people in Tokyo. Apparently, a fire broke out "due to decay in the motor and other parts" of the fan, but the firm has denied that there were design flaws "or any other defects" to blame. Interestingly, the company has purportedly received "23 similar reports since 2000, including two involving people who suffered burns," but recalling a device made nearly four decades ago isn't exactly high up on the feasibility list.

[Bob @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:04PM]

Those cheap bastards need to buy a new fan. I am in an apartment and change fans about once a year.

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 24th 2007 12:51PM]

Japanese-made portable fans are/were built with quality and they tend to last for more than 30-years and their air delivery is more than the traditional ordinary POS that's sold in the U.S. and therefore people tend to keep them.

[johnnyg0 @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:06PM]

I didn't even knew a fan could last this long.

a fanboy, on the other hand...:)

[John Doe @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:31PM]

Can blow and blow and blow and blow.

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 24th 2007 12:52PM]

Yes, Japanese-made portable fans whichs is the type Sanyo use to made tend to last for more than 30-years. Matsushita Electric, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and NEC all produced them in the past, very reliable quality for a premium, of course. However, Sanyo was never in the top tier Japanese fan manufactuers although their fans DID performed and delivered very good air, the quality of their materials was not there, like the ones made by Matsushita Electric.

[John B @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:11PM]

I don't understand why this is even an item worthy of Engadget. Antiquated hardware catches fire and others report the same thing. What the hell?! The hardware is 40 years old; no doubt that the motor was expected to have been worn out. How is this news that deserves to be reported? Oh, and - horrors! - 23 other people reported it! If this was the latest product line, okay, maybe it deserves a recall notice, but ... 40 year old hardware fails and gets the front page of Engadget?! Are you guys intentionally trying to reduce yourself to attract the Digg crowd or something?

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:44PM]

Seriously, calm the fuck down with those exclamation points. I'm sure this was just small news used to pass the time. No need to throw a god damned tantrum because it wasn't up to your expectations.

[John @ Aug 23rd 2007 5:50PM]

Wow, you're probably one of the losers who bitches about Engadget reporting on anything Apple does; we've gone a small while without a lot of Apple posts, so now you have to bitch about something else, right? No one made you read it...

[MB @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:22PM]

"I don't understand why this is even an item worthy of Engadget."

Because Engadget is a public service organization.

This loyal Engadget reader bought a Sanyo Dynamic Wide fan in 1969 in order to get a night's sleep in a very warm climate. I still have it and used it as recently as this year.

Thank you, Engadget. The fan is now in the basement where it can't hurt anyone.

Please let us know if you see any consumer alerts about 1969 Akai M-9 reel-to-reel tape recorders.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Aug 24th 2007 12:02AM]

"Wow, you're probably one of the losers who bitches about Engadget reporting on anything Apple does; we've gone a small while without a lot of Apple posts, so now you have to bitch about something else, right? No one made you read it..."

Actually, it's quite the contrary. I can't get enough of Apple news or anything related to the iPod/iPhone. But that's beside the point.

Funny that you say "you have to bitch about something else" when it is you who started it all with your childish ranting. Der.

[Mike @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:11PM]

Ummmmm, the fan was how old? I'd almost EXPECT a fire at that point.

[jack @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:18PM]

sanyo make fans?

[mudlouse @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:22PM]

yes, in the same sense that samsung makes mobile phones, fridges, washing machines and mp3 players

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:09PM]

Samsung also makes battleships, oil tankers, cargo ships, M109 howitzers,Amphibious Assault Vehicle, turbo compressors, diesel/turbine engine overhauls, and many things you would never imagine.


http://www.samsungtechwin.com/
http://www.samsungtechwin.com/main/sitemap_html.asp

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:24PM]

Link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999304

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:16PM]

Samsung's Appliences were made by Maytag until Maytag was bought out by Whirlpool.

[Mike Dayoub @ Aug 25th 2007 1:22PM]

Sanyo makes lots of fans for computers. Do you trust them?

[daedalus @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:24PM]

like back in the good old days when Mitsubishi made TVs... ... wait... they still do?

[Matt B @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:26PM]

So that is where "fanning the flames" comes from.

[rouge @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:30PM]

LOL

[chocochoi @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:30PM]

Sanyo fans built in the 70s were great; simple and sturdy.

The thing is, fans built nowadays don't have this problem because they frikkin break before any rubber insulation would start degrading in the wires to cause a problem.

[Cardbored @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:38PM]

That god for cheap products, keeping us safe from fires

[Alexander @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:51PM]

yes... Thank the big boogy man in the sky for cheap parts made nowadays.

Try and buy a fan that was made in the USA, from all USA made parts.

[andy @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:40PM]

Actually, this REALLY shouldn't happen.


The underwriters laboratory (UL) testing is designed to ensure that any conceivable failure mode results ONLY in damage to the device. The device can be unrecognizeable, but if it damages anything else, it fails and doesn't get UL approved. That's usually death for a product because of the potential liability. You would assume that these fans were UL approved, so the proper question to ask:

What's wrong with the UL tests?

[Pal @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:48PM]

Well, they probably didn't have 40 years to spare to test it properly.

[andy @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:04PM]

Pal, You're a little dense apparently, so I'll try again.


"Any conceivable failure mode" means break something every way possible and see what happens. This includes hooking all electrical connections up wrong, ESD testing, water testing, humidity, temperature, etc.

Or even more simply, things don't "just stop working because they're old". There is a short, an open circuit, parts worn down until it ate itself; something broke. Point being, however it broke, that should have been anticipated and tried out to see what happens, assuming the device was to be UL approved. This means that UL missed something because they didn't anticipate whatever failure mode these fans had.

There, now I feel like a teacher: I've wasted a ridiculous amount of time explaining something to a little smartass who didn't know what he was talking about and will actively attempt to avoid learning about the topic. To be this good, you must be a high school kid, no?

[Ben @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:43PM]

Should've bought a hunter fan. Those things last for years. My last house had a hunter fan that came original when the house was built .... and the house was built in 1929. Still ran perfectly ... you couldn't reverse the motor but you could change the direction of the blades to blow up or down.

Would've kept it if the damn previous owners hadn't painted over it and ruined the original look.

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 24th 2007 12:51PM]

"Should've buy a Hunter Fan?" Are you crazy, those POS ceiling fans are useless they would had burn the entire neighborhood. Casablanca is a bit more reliable, than Hunter, but still is far away for the quality level of the Japanese ones., they will NEVER be like the Japanese manufacturers. and Beside the Japanese do not use ceiling fans, the story is referring to a portable fan E.G. desk, stand, wall or orbit., which is the most common type use in Japan.

[Mike Dayoub @ Aug 25th 2007 1:28PM]

I've got a blog with tons of stories of things left plugged in smoking up and causing fires. Xboxes, laptops, chargers, space heaters, etc. I've developed and patented a power strip with smoke detecting shutoff, so a lot of these fires can be stopped before they get to full ignition. The power strip shuts off power to whatever's attached to it when it detects smoke.
I haven't found a manufacturer to license and build it yet. Keep your eyes peeled for me. SmokeShutoff.com