Dec 16, 2022
An update following the safety notice issued on 30 November 2022 relating to Lifeline Vi and Vi+ units containing Lithium-ion batteries.
Tunstall is conducting an in-depth technical and quality investigation, working with our battery supplier and external independent experts. This follows four reported instances where units containing Lithium-ion back-up batteries overheated and ruptured. In at least two of these instances, the hub was situated in close proximity to external heat sources.
The analysis carried out to date has shown that this could have been a result of a battery defect, possibly exacerbated by external factors (such as a heat source). We are working to identify the root cause so that we can ensure appropriate actions are taken. No further reports of similar issues have been received since our previous letter.
We are also continuing to investigate why some Lithium-ion batteries have depleted faster than expected. Whilst these investigations are ongoing, we will continue to repair or replace units as per our standard procedure.
In the meantime, all battery notifications into your Response Centre should be acted on as soon as possible. In addition, as set out in our previous notice, customers and installers must follow the instructions in our installation and programming guide, which can be found here.
Units can be definitively identified using the part number, as detailed in our first letter. The serial number can also provide guidance, as the first four digits represent the week and year the unit was produced. For example, 4319 xxxxx means that the unit was manufactured in week 43 of 2019. Please note that all units produced from this date will most likely have a Lithium-ion battery.
The safety, health and wellbeing of our customers remain Tunstall’s primary focus and we will update you with the findings of our investigations as soon as possible. In any event, we will provide you with another progress update during the week commencing 9 January 2023.
If you have any immediate questions, please contact your account manager. You can also raise any safety concerns directly by contacting us at Safety@Tunstall.com.