Dimplex published a product safety notice dated 28 February 2022 covering the Solar Collector models FK8000 and SOL202COL1. The notice appears on the manufacturer's product safety notice page, which lists it above an earlier notice dated 7 July 2020 for A Class Water Cylinders1.
The page links to a separate document for the solar collector notice, titled "Product Safety Notice-solarcollector.pdf"1. The text of that document is not reproduced on the page, so the specific fault, the affected production dates and the remedy for the FK8000 and SOL202COL have not been reported in the material available1.
The same page carries a recall notice for Dimplex dehumidifiers, which is separate from the solar collector notice and covers different products1. For the affected dehumidifiers the page states:
"STOP USING IT immediately by switching it off at the mains socket and unplugging the dehumidifier from the socket."
The dehumidifier recall covers two groups of models1:
| Models | Serial numbers | Date of manufacture |
|---|---|---|
| DXDH10N, DH212 | Starting with 0, 1 or 2 | Prior to August 2012 |
| DXDH10N, DXDH16N, DXDH20N, FTE10, FTE16, FTE20 | Starting with 501 through to 652 | All products manufactured in 2015 and 2016 |
For those dehumidifiers the page directs owners to a helpline: "Call our Helpline on 0344 879 3588 so we can arrange a replacement product."1 No equivalent instruction, telephone number or replacement arrangement for the solar collector notice is given on the page1.
Why it matters for households
A solar thermal collector sits on the roof and forms part of the system that heats a home's hot water, so a safety notice affecting a collector is a matter for the household that owns it rather than for the installer alone. The FK8000 and SOL202COL are named as the products covered by the 28 February 2022 notice1, which gives owners of those models a specific reference to check against their own installation paperwork.
What the notice actually requires of an owner is not set out on the page. The dehumidifier recall on the same page is explicit, telling owners to stop using the product, unplug it and call a helpline for a replacement1; the solar collector entry carries no such wording in the text available1. Households therefore have a model reference and a date but no stated fault, no stated action and no stated remedy for the solar collector1.
For a home's energy independence, the practical effect depends on whether an affected collector has to be taken out of service or replaced. A solar thermal collector that is switched off or removed reduces the share of hot water the home produces itself, and any gap would fall back on the cylinder's immersion heater or the boiler. None of that has been reported for this notice1.
What happens next
The page gives no deadline, no recall period and no next steps for the solar collector notice beyond the link to the notice document1. The only contact route published on the page is the helpline number attached to the dehumidifier recall1.
Sources1 cited
- Product Safety Notice | Dimplex UK, dimplex.co.uk