A quarter-million mini-fridges are recalled after reports of smoking, sparking and fire

About 250,000 compact refrigerators sold as dorm-room and desk-side accessories are being recalled after regulators tied them to nearly two dozen incidents of smoking, sparking, melting or outright fire. The company behind the popular mini-fridge line says the failure traces to the electrical switch inside the unit’s power supply rather than to the compressor or cooling system itself.

The recall covers several of the brand’s best-known product lines, meaning a large share of the units already in bedrooms, offices, dorm rooms and garages nationwide could be affected by the defect regulators identified.

The defect behind the Cooluli recall

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recall, announced August 13, 2026, covers roughly 250,000 Cooluli 10-liter and 15-liter mini-fridges across the Infinity, Classic, Glow Beauty and Vibe series, all of which share an internal power supply with two power-input ports on the back of the unit. The manufacturer, Ningbo Iceberg Electronic Appliance Co., of China, has received at least 19 reports of units smoking, sparking, burning, melting or overheating. Those incidents caused more than $80,000 in combined property damage, and the CPSC notice records one report of a smoke-inhalation injury linked to the defect.

Why a small appliance drew a fire-hazard recall

Mini-fridges are typically treated as low-risk appliances because of their small size and light power draw compared with full-size refrigerators, but the failure mode described in this recall centers on the electrical switch, not the refrigeration components. A short circuit in that switch can generate heat and, in the more serious reported cases, ignite nearby plastic housing or an adjacent power cord, a pathway to fire that has little to do with how the unit cools. NBC Chicago reported that the units were sold almost exclusively online, primarily through Amazon.com and the manufacturer’s own site, from January 2019 through October 2024, at prices between roughly $80 and $120.

How the fix differs from a typical recall

Rather than requiring owners to return the entire appliance, Cooluli’s remedy targets the specific component identified as the failure point: the power cord and its connection to the internal power supply. Owners are directed to visit Cooluli’s website and enter their unit’s model and batch numbers to confirm whether it falls within the recalled population. Those with an affected fridge are told to unplug it immediately, cut the existing power cord to prevent accidental reuse, and photograph the model and batch numbers for verification. Cooluli then ships a free replacement DC power cord along with a permanent sticker designed to cover the unit’s AC port, a design change intended to prevent the specific short-circuit pathway identified during the CPSC’s investigation.

What the incident pattern suggests about long-service appliances

The five-year sales window covered by the recall, from 2019 through 2024, means some of the affected units have been in continuous or intermittent use for years before the defect was identified, a pattern common to small-appliance recalls where a failure rate low enough to avoid early detection still adds up to dozens of incidents once enough units have aged in the field. Because these fridges are frequently used in bedrooms and near bedding, the CPSC’s fire-and-burn-hazard classification reflects not just the likelihood of ignition but the elevated risk of a fire starting in a space where an occupant may be asleep or otherwise unable to react quickly.

What to check before plugging one back in

Consumers who own any 10-liter or 15-liter Cooluli fridge from the affected series should treat the model and batch check as a first step rather than an optional one, since visual inspection alone cannot reveal whether a specific unit’s internal switch is at risk of shorting. Until the replacement cord and port cover arrive, the CPSC recommends the unit remain unplugged rather than continuing in occasional use, given that the reported failures occurred during normal operation rather than under any unusual load or misuse.

The dual power-input design at the center of this recall is common across small personal appliances that are meant to run from either a wall outlet or a vehicle’s 12-volt socket, since it lets manufacturers sell one unit for both home and travel use. That flexibility, however, means the internal switching circuit has to safely handle two very different power sources, and a fault in the component that manages the switch between them can create exactly the kind of short-circuit risk described in the Cooluli recall. Appliances with a similar dual-power setup, from portable coolers to some space heaters, rely on the same basic principle, which is part of why regulators tend to scrutinize that switching hardware closely whenever a fire pattern emerges in a specific product line, especially one sold in the volume Cooluli reached over a five-year run.

Manufacturers increasingly encourage buyers to register a small appliance online at the time of purchase specifically so they can be notified directly if a recall is later announced, rather than relying solely on the buyer to see a news report or a retailer’s own notice. Registration rates for inexpensive, low-profile appliances such as mini-fridges tend to run well below those for major purchases like a washing machine or a range, since fewer owners think to fill out a warranty card or online form for a product bought mainly as a dorm-room or desk-side convenience. That gap is one reason regulators lean so heavily on public recall notices, retailer outreach and marketplace-seller records to reach the full population of owners once a defect like this one surfaces.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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