This household air conditioner can shoot flames from its circuit

An electrical component in certain Amana through-the-wall air conditioners and heat pumps can emit flames if it shorts, according to a September 3 recall from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The agency says the snubber circuit is the part at issue and calls the problem a fire hazard capable of causing serious injury. The units are made by Daikin Comfort Technologies Manufacturing and sold under the Amana name.

The recall covers about 4,633 units in the United States, plus roughly 126 in Canada. Daikin had received two reports of a control-board component shorting when the notice was issued; the CPSC said no injuries had been reported at that point. That absence does not change the instruction attached to the recall: stop using a covered unit and contact the manufacturer for a full refund.

The recall is limited to through-the-wall Amana units with PB model numbers

These are not ordinary window units. The recalled products are Amana Through the Wall, or TTW, air conditioners and heat pumps, commonly installed in hotels, apartment buildings and commercial spaces for individual-room climate control. The CPSC says the covered model numbers begin with PB, and the model and serial-number sticker sits on the front edge of the base pan, behind the front cover.

The agency lists PBC092J00AA, PBC093J00AA, PBC122J00AA and PBC123J00AA as air-conditioner models, along with PBH092J12AA heat-pump units. A label can settle the question more reliably than an exterior resemblance: Amana sells more than one kind of room-cooling equipment, while this notice identifies a narrow group of through-the-wall machines.

The CPSC’s full recall record includes photographs of the unit and label, while Daikin’s recall page provides the manufacturer contact route. The Commission’s recall index is its public entry point for product-safety actions; the federal Recalls.gov portal explains how agencies publish them, and its SaferProducts.gov reporting system accepts reports of dangerous consumer products.

Daikin distributed the units nationwide from April 2025 through June 2026. The listed prices ran from $625 to $900, another reason the remedy is a refund rather than a small replacement part sent through the mail.

A snubber circuit is a small part with a serious failure mode

The CPSC describes the fault plainly: the snubber circuit can emit flames if it shorts. A snubber is an electrical arrangement used to manage voltage spikes in a switching circuit. The recall does not say that every unit will fail, and it does not ask owners to diagnose the circuit themselves. Its safety finding is that a short in that component can create a fire hazard.

That distinction matters in a room appliance that may be left running for long periods. The agency has documented two reports of a control-board component shorting, even though it had received no injury reports by the recall date. A report of a short is the sort of early signal a recall is meant to act on before a fire becomes an injury report.

The warning applies to the recalled product, not every air conditioner with an electrical smell, noise or cooling problem. Any appliance that sparks, smokes or smells of burning should be taken out of service and evaluated safely, but the refund procedure in this notice is tied to the identified Amana models and serial-number label.

Daikin requires a cut cord and photo to issue the refund

Daikin’s remedy is a full refund. The CPSC says consumers should contact Daikin Comfort Technologies Manufacturing, provide contact information, cut the unit’s power cord, and upload a photograph showing both the serial number and the cut cord. The steps are meant to document that the recalled appliance has been disabled before payment is made.

Daikin’s recall contact number is 833-730-0939, available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. The company also directs customers to its Amana PTAC recall page. The CPSC identifies the importer as Daikin Comfort Technologies Manufacturing of Houston, Texas, and says the covered products were made in India.

Owners should use the manufacturer’s or CPSC’s contact information rather than a number found in a marketplace listing or an unsolicited message. Recall notices often attract copycat communications, while the agency’s product page gives the recall number, 26-734, and the exact model family that qualifies.

Why the label check comes before any disposal decision

The front label determines whether a machine is in the recalled group; the date of purchase alone does not. A property manager with a bank of similar-looking wall units may find that only some carry the PB-prefix model numbers. A hotel or apartment building also may have more than one owner or service contractor involved, which makes preserving the model and serial information useful before the unit is removed.

Federal law prohibits selling a product subject to a recall, the CPSC notes in its notice. The practical consequence is simple: a covered unit should not be passed along as a used appliance. The public record identifies the fire risk, the unit family, the two reported shorts and the refund path; those are the facts a building owner or resident needs to act on, without guessing about other Amana equipment.

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

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