Recall Register

Portable Water Heaters Recalled

CPSC recall 78085. Recall date: . Last publish date of the CPSC notice: .

Hazard, in the words of CPSC

Electrocution/Electric Shock

CPSC recall 78085 has the recall date 18 Oct 1978. The notice names the firm Rhinehart. The CPSC record gives no number of units. This register puts the recall under the hazard Electric shock. CPSC gives the product type Electric Water Heaters.

Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.

CPSC publishes these words. Source: CPSC recall notices, section About the U.S. CPSC, read on . The hazard, the remedy and the incident text on this site are the words of the CPSC recall notice. Newest CPSC recall on the register: .

More of the notice

The hazard and the remedy are at the top of the page. Each quotation is the text of CPSC.

CPSC recall 78085: incidents, units, products and firms
UnitsThe CPSC record gives no number
Description
October 18, 1978 Release # 78-085 Portable Water Heaters Recalled WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 18) -- Rhinehart Manufacturing Co., Spencerville, Ind., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), today warned consumers about a possible serious shock hazard stemming from its "Miti-Mite" portable, immersible electric water heater. About 15,000 to 25,000 heaters have been sold since production began 15 years ago. The heaters are primarily used to heat small quantities of water in rural areas without hot water facilities. The heater is to be plugged into a standard electrical outlet. It consists of an exposed, resistive heating element contained inside a disc-shaped, perforated, aluminum case. This perforated case allows water to flow inside and directly into contact with the heating element, presenting a dangerous shock hazard if the appliance is "on" and immersed in water. To date, CPSC knows of no injuries involving the Rhinehart heaters. The heater does not bear a model number, but can be identified by the label "Miti-Mite" embossed on top. The heaters are sold in outlets such as hardware stores. They presently sell for about $4-$5 and distribution may be…
ProductMiti-Mite portable immersible electric water heaters, Electric Water Heaters
ManufacturerRhinehart

Recall notice: The page that CPSC publishes for one recall of a consumer product. It states the product, the hazard, the remedy and the incidents.

Hazard: The way a product can cause harm, in the words of the CPSC recall notice. This site also puts each recall under short hazard names.

Remedy: What the manufacturer or the firm does about a recalled product. The agency record states the remedy of each recall.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

The recall in context

Units in this recall
not givenMedian of 1978: not given
CPSC recalls of 1978
43
Recalls of 1978 with one of the same hazards
26%
Recalls of 1978 in the category Electric Water Heaters
5%
Recalls on the register that name Rhinehart
1

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. CPSC recall 78085. https://recallregister.com/product/3949-portable-water-heaters-recalled/. Source: CPSC Recall Retrieval Web Services. Data through .

Sources

Source
US Consumer Product Safety Commission
Licence
US government work, public domain
Data retrieved
30 Sep 2026
Newest CPSC recall on the register
24 Sep 2026

The CPSC notice is the authority. The hazard names come from the hazard text of CPSC. The category is the product type that CPSC gives. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

Does CPSC recall 78085 report injuries?
The CPSC record of recall 78085 has no incident or injury text.