If you bought kerosene heater fuel this summer for a cabin, shop or camp stove, check the bottle. Sunnyside Corporation has recalled about 960 of its one-gallon 1-K Kerosene Heater and Appliance Fluid portable fuel containers because they lack a required safety device.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on August 13, 2026. No injuries have been reported.

How to tell if you have one

The recall covers containers marked with batch number 26082. The batch number is printed on the upper right of the front of the bottle.

The product is a white plastic container with a white cap and a multicolour label reading “sunnyside” and “kerosene,” with labels on both front and back carrying warning statements and distributor information.

The bottles were sold on Amazon and at Do It Best hardware stores from May 2026 through July 2026, for around $13.

Why the CPSC pulled them

The containers were sold pre-filled with kerosene but do not have flame mitigation devices. That puts them in violation of the mandatory safety standards under the Portable Fuel Container Safety Act.

A flame mitigation device is a flame arrester — typically a fine metal mesh in the container’s opening. Its job is to stop an external flame from travelling back through the spout and igniting the vapour inside the container. Fuel vapour, not liquid fuel, is what ignites, and a container without an arrester can flash back and rupture.

The CPSC describes the risk as a deadly risk of flash fire and burn hazard. The realistic scenario is pouring fuel near an ignition source that is still hot or lit — refilling a heater that has not fully cooled, or topping up near a fire.

What to do if you have one

Stop using the bottles immediately and put them out of reach of children.

To claim a refund, Sunnyside asks consumers to write “RECALLED” on the bottle with a permanent marker, photograph it, and email the photo to info@sunnysidecorp.com. The company is offering a full refund.

Do not put the fuel in household rubbish. Kerosene is hazardous waste. Dispose of or recycle the containers through your local hazardous waste procedures, in line with state and local regulations.

The wider point about fuel containers

The flame mitigation requirement is relatively recent, and it applies to portable fuel containers generally, not only kerosene. If you keep fuel in the bed of a truck, a trailer or a shop, it is worth checking whether your cans have an arrester at the spout.

Older cans predating the requirement are common in garages and are not recalled — they were legal when sold. That does not make them equivalent in a flashback scenario, which is worth knowing when you decide what to keep and what to replace.

It is also a reminder that fuel stored for seasonal use tends to be bought once and forgotten. A recall issued in August will not reach someone who bought fuel in May and put it on a shelf until the first cold night.

Where to check

The full notice, including photographs of the product and the batch marking, is on the CPSC’s recall page for the Sunnyside kerosene fuel containers.

The CPSC maintains a searchable recall database at cpsc.gov/Recalls, which is the place to check gear before a trip rather than after one.

This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed, fact-checked and edited by Leonidas Clark before publication. Recall details can be updated; confirm current information with the CPSC before acting.