⚠️ E4 Product Safety Notice – IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

Borg & Overström 230V E4 Dispenser. 

All reported incidents have affected older dispensers. There have been no reports affecting units with serial numbers starting with ‘25’. However, as a precautionary measure, all E4 dispensers should be included for immediate and corrective actions.  

To date, we have recorded 140 cases of compressor starter relay failures within our supplier’s refrigeration system. In each instance, the failure caused excessive current to flow through the compressor, which then blew the protective fuse on the Compressor Control Board (CCB). This safety feature prevents chilled water from being dispensed but contains the issue. The only exceptions were three units where the fuse did not blow before the overcurrent escalated, creating a thermal fire risk. 

Based on field data to date, the observed failure rate is 140 units out of 20,000 units supplied — equivalent to approximately 0.7%. While the likelihood is low, we take each case seriously. The majority of failures have been safely contained by the protective fuse on the Compressor Control Board (CCB), which prevents escalation and ensures the unit fails safely. We are working closely with our supplier to address the root cause, and are implementing corrective measures to further reduce this likelihood going forward. 

Yes, Trading Standards have been made aware, and we are in communication with them for ongoing advice and support in this case.  

In the best interest of safety, your E4 dispensers should be switched off, pending the implementation of the interim dispensing solution addressed below. If this instruction is not followed (which we do not advise), you should ensure, in any event, that your E4 dispenser is switched off when the location is not occupied, i.e., overnight and on weekends. 

Switching off the unit on the back panel will be sufficient. However, you can unplug the unit as an extra precaution. 

For the sake of safety, please instruct your customer to switch off their E4 dispenser until the interim solution outlined below is implemented. They should be instructed to do so; if that instruction is not followed (which you do not advise), they should, in any event, ensure that their E4 dispenser is switched off when the location is unoccupied, i.e., overnight and on weekends. Please inform them that you are arranging for your engineer to visit the site and perform the interim resolution (compressor isolation), as outlined below. 

Instructions are provided as an attachment to the email. This is the document titled ‘TI 0303.3 - E4 Model Range Compressor Immobilisation’. This has been sent to the main contact for you to distribute to your technical team as necessary. All resources are also available on the dedicated support web page here.

From start to finish, the procedure will take 2-5 mins. 

Yes, provided your engineer has followed our instructions for the interim resolution (compressor isolation), the unit will continue to dispense both hot and ambient filtered water. The Sparkling button will also still work, but the water dispensed will be ambient filtered water. The Chilled button will not be operational*. 

* (Only applicable to early units with serial number range from 2305xx to 2309xx after 90mins but resettable by switching the power off/on. Not applicable to units with serial numbers 2310xx and after. )

All Borg & Overström products are tested to the required international regulatory standards for electrical safety and performance. At the point of manufacture, each dispenser undergoes 100% functional and electrical safety testing, including:

• Earth continuity and insulation resistance checks to ensure electrical safety.
• High-voltage (dielectric strength) testing to confirm component and assembly integrity.
• Leak and pressure testing of the water system to verify system safety.
• Functional run testing of key features (chilled, ambient, sparkling, and hot dispensing) to validate correct operation.

In addition, our products are independently certified against IEC 60335 (Household and Similar Electrical Appliances – Safety), which provides third-party assurance of compliance with international electrical safety standards. Beyond this, we also operate enhanced in-house quality checks and reliability testing to ensure our products consistently meet safety expectations and Borg & Overström’s performance standards. 

If you wish to implement the interim resolution whilst waiting for the permanent resolution, yes. If your end-user customer is prepared to wait until the permanent resolution can be implemented, only one visit will be required. 

Details regarding compensation will be shared in a future update. There is nothing confirmed at this time. 

Following the recent issue, we have conducted a comprehensive internal root cause analysis (RCA) and engaged two independent external parties to review and validate the identified failure mode. Their assessments align with our findings. In parallel, we are working diligently with our supply chain to ensure that an improved component is introduced, with enhanced testing and quality assurance measures in place. These combined actions give us strong confidence that the risk of recurrence has been addressed. 

Manufacturing of the E4 model range has been paused until further notice.  

Some components are shared across our product range. However, each model is individually validated and tested against defined performance and safety thresholds enabling us to constantly assess reliability, providing us the mechanism to issue advice in the event of any elevated risk. This approach ensures that our products are maintained within stringent safe operational parameters, and that reliability is progressively enhanced across the range.

Corrective action to replace the compressor starter relay switch will be communicated as soon as it becomes available. Please visit the Compressor Relay Support page on our website for the latest information.  

All parts necessary for rectifying the issue will be provided free of charge, including for units outside the warranty period. 

Yes, it is essential that a competent person performs the work. 

As long as the customer switches off the dispenser, it is safe. Your technicians will need to reach customer sites as soon as possible. 

We will provide you with the necessary parts to upgrade the units, enabling them to be installed. 

All products currently on order or in production will be pre-fitted with upgraded components as soon as they become available. 

Instructions and a video will be released when the replacement parts are ready for dispatch. All resources will be posted on the dedicated support web page here. 

We will provide this information once the implementation time has been ascertained.  

No. The required tools are of the usual type used for routine maintenance. 

There is no need to return any dispensers to B&O for repair. The corrective action is straightforward for your technicians to complete. On-site corrective action is the fastest way to reinstate dispensers to full working order.