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Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

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Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#11

Post by globular-toast »

jmalicki wrote: post #5
x______________ wrote: post #2

Initially assumed it was due to some sort of contamination or production defect. Turns out people leave perishable and fermenting foods in the thermos, and after a while when opened, the pressure lifts the lid of the thermos at quasi-unimaginable speeds, striking the curiously unsuspecting humans straight in the face, with some instances causing permanent damage to vision. Coffee is hot, but a pressure release system…

I'm a little surprised it's a recall - is there some expectation that it should have pressure release? Can you not sell simpler products legally?

The whole point of Thermos is to keep things warm for a long time. That means pressure. It's a basic safety feature.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#12

Post by ludicrousdispla »

pizza234 wrote: post #3

Happened to me once. I was emptying one of my child’s thermoses in the bathroom when it suddenly "exploded" and sprayed the contents all over the bathroom walls. Quite a remarkable day :) I didn't consider it a defect, though. I can hardly imagine cheap products adopting this solution.

I would have thought they could design the screwtop so that it would relase pressure before fully disengaging the lid from the flask.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#13

Post by getcrunk »

jmalicki wrote: post #7
traceroute66 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is there some expectation that it should have pressure release? Scroll down in that article to the section with photographs of "recalled" and "not recalled" lids side by side.

Why is there an expectation that it should be a required feature?

Well for one, so it doesn’t get recalled after getting a reputation for making people blind

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#14

Post by teruakohatu »

ludicrousdispla wrote: post #12
pizza234 wrote: post #3

Happened to me once. I was emptying one of my child’s thermoses in the bathroom when it suddenly "exploded" and sprayed the contents all over the bathroom walls. Quite a remarkable day :) I didn't consider it a defect, though. I can hardly imagine cheap products adopting this solution.

I would have thought they could design the screwtop so that it would relase pressure before fully disengaging the lid from the flask.

That is what I was wondering. I would have thought it would need to be opened at eye level for the contents to hit the eye before being depressurised.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#15

Post by cucumber3732842 »

getcrunk wrote: post #13
jmalicki wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is there an expectation that it should be a required feature?

Well for one, so it doesn’t get recalled after getting a reputation for making people blind

[flagged]

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#16

Post by mschuster91 »

globular-toast wrote: post #11
jmalicki wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a little surprised it's a recall - is there some expectation that it should have pressure release? Can you not sell simpler products legally?

The whole point of Thermos is to keep things warm for a long time. That means pressure. It's a basic safety feature.

> The whole point of Thermos is to keep things warm for a long time. That means pressure.

That by far is not enough to forcefully yeet out the cap, probably not even if you take it to an Antarctic research base in -40 °C outdoor weather.

People forgetting about content that ferments however? Kaboom.

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#17

Post by alentred »

jmalicki wrote: post #5
x______________ wrote: post #2

Initially assumed it was due to some sort of contamination or production defect. Turns out people leave perishable and fermenting foods in the thermos, and after a while when opened, the pressure lifts the lid of the thermos at quasi-unimaginable speeds, striking the curiously unsuspecting humans straight in the face, with some instances causing permanent damage to vision. Coffee is hot, but a pressure release system…

I'm a little surprised it's a recall - is there some expectation that it should have pressure release? Can you not sell simpler products legally?

Yes, the article seems to be not detailed enough. They show the pictures, and it is evident what the pressure release valve is, but I agree that by this logic any container or any steel water bottle is dangerous. Maybe there is some other additional feature that makes it particularly dangerous compared to other models (like, the new seal keeps higher pressure, or the lid needs fewer rotations to disengage, etc.) that is not explained here and makes all the difference. Older models didn't even have a pressure relief valve, did they?

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#18

Post by mschuster91 »

traceroute66 wrote: post #8
jmalicki wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is there an expectation that it should be a required feature?

> Why is there an expectation that it should be a required feature? What point are you trying to make here ?!?! Given that it should be there, it is quite clearly a product feature on Thermos jars. So, of many examples that cross my mind.... let's say you were a long-term user of Thermos products. There's your "expectation". I assume it probably features in the product literature that comes in the box too.

> Given that it should be there

I've never seen a thermos-style container with a pressure relief in my life. However, I'm European, it appears that in the US (a country where you have to write disclaimers on microwaves that you shouldn't dry hamsters in them) common sense has been going down the toilet.

Frankly, I'm all for a bit of darwinism here. It's bewildering that there are people who think it's a good idea to open a thermos that has been fermenting for days if not weeks without a lot of caution!

Re: Over 8M Thermos jars and bottles recalled after 3 people lost vision

#19

Post by Aachen »

traceroute66 wrote: post #4

I too from the headline assumed it was some sort of chemical contamination during manufacturing. But then I read the words "The malfunction is due to multiple models of containers missing a pressure relief function in the center of the stopper." How non-existent does your quality assurance have to be in order to miss such a critical, obvious and easy to identify flaw ? Looking at the published photographs, you don't…

I've never seen a thermos bottle with a relief valve. Not sure if all manufacturers in Europe have nonexistent QA or if it's just not a thing that's commonly needed since you can't heat the contents up in there anyway (it's not like an insulated water boiler, which does have a release valve). Never considered that someone might leave food in there long enough to build up explosive pressure. Feels a bit like saying a missing cat detector function in microwave ovens points at them having no quality control
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