OEX Folding Savo Stove: Recall, Safety and What Owners Should Do

The OEX Folding Savo gas stove was recalled on 6 June 2024, together with the OEX Folding Novo, because the gas hose may degrade over time, leading to a gas leak and possible hose ignition¹. If you own one, stop using it and check it against the recall notice before it goes anywhere near a pan. The notice was issued by Local Authority Trading Standards under PSD number 2405-0060, and it covers both a recall of the product from end users and a withdrawal of the product from the market¹.

That matters for a household preparing for power cuts, storms or a gas failure, because a folding gas stove is exactly the sort of backup cooking kit people buy and then leave in a cupboard for two years. A hose that degrades quietly in storage is the failure mode the recall is about. The stove is a compact single-burner camping stove in the OEX range, and its sibling model, the OEX Folding Novo Stove, is the same kind of backup cooking kit.

This page sets out what the recall means, how to check whether your stove is affected, how to use any camping stove safely in an emergency, and where to get help. It does not cover prices, and it does not rank the stove against other products.

OEX Folding Gas Stoves recall: what owners should do now

The action for an owner is short. Stop using the stove, find the recall notice, and follow what it asks you to do with the unit. The notice records that the product is being recalled from end users as well as withdrawn from the market, which means the regulator's concern extends to stoves already sitting in people's homes and cupboards, not only to stock still on a shelf¹.

A folding gas stove earns its place in a household plan because it cooks when the mains are off. Official guidance on food safety in a power cut says you can cook food and heat water for food preparation and cleaning using a camping stove, barbecue or bottled gas stove, checking the manufacturer's instructions for safe use⁴. That is the role the Savo would have filled. The recall does not change the principle that a backup stove is useful; it changes what you do with this particular model.

The same official guidance carries the warning that decides how you use any replacement. It asks you to check the manufacturer's instructions for safe use of these appliances, as most are designed for outdoor use only⁴. A folding camping stove is outdoor kit by design. Cooking on it in a kitchen, a porch or a tent moves it into a space where carbon monoxide can build up, and that is a separate danger from the hose fault.

If your stove is affected, do not pass it on. A recalled appliance given to a neighbour, sold at a car boot sale or left in a charity shop bag carries the same fault to someone who has not seen the notice. Keep it out of use until you know what the recall asks of you.

Recall and withdrawal: what each measure means for owners

The notice uses two terms that are often read as one. A recall of the product from end users means the product is being called back from the people who already own it. A withdrawal of the product from the market means it should be taken off sale and retailers should stop advertising it¹. The OEX notice applies both measures to the Folding Novo and Folding Savo¹.

The distinction matters to a household in two ways. First, a recall is aimed at you: it is the signal to check your own cupboard, not just to notice that a shop has stopped selling something. Second, a withdrawal explains why the stove may vanish from shelves while owners still have one at home. Seeing it disappear from a retailer's range is not evidence that your unit is fine.

The same pairing of measures appears across product safety work. When the Office for Product Safety and Standards required the withdrawal of certain Belling, Stoves and New World gas range cookers with gas grills, the effect was that the products should be removed from sale and retailers must stop advertising them⁵. Withdrawal is a market measure. Recall is the one that reaches into your kitchen.

For a prepping household, the practical lesson is to keep a record of what backup cooking kit you own and when you bought it. If a recall is later published, you can match the model in minutes rather than trying to remember which stove is in which box. Registering an appliance where the maker offers it is the same idea: it means you can be contacted easily if there is a safety recall of your product⁶.

Checking whether your stove is affected

Checking is a paperwork exercise, not a test burn. Read the model name on the stove or its box and compare it with the recall notice. The notice names the OEX Folding Novo and the OEX Folding Savo gas stoves and gives the PSD number 2405-0060¹. If your stove matches, it is affected. If you cannot read the model name, treat the stove as suspect until you can.

Do not light the stove to see whether it seems alright. A degrading hose can look and behave normally right up to the point where it leaks, and the recall exists precisely because the fault develops over time¹. Official guidance for gas camping equipment is blunt about the standard: check that the appliance is in good order, undamaged, and that hoses are properly attached and undamaged, and if in doubt, get the hoses replaced or do not use it².

The same discipline applies to the rest of the household's gas kit. Northern Ireland's official gas safety guidance advises regularly getting your appliances serviced⁷. Portable gas heaters should be maintained⁸. None of that replaces the recall notice for a named model, but it sets the habit: gas appliances are checked, serviced and replaced on a schedule, not run until they fail.

• Find the model name on the stove body, the box or the instruction booklet.
• Compare it with the OEX Folding Novo and Folding Savo named in the notice¹.
• Check the PSD number 2405-0060 against the notice if you are unsure¹.
• Stop using any stove that matches, and keep it out of use until you know what the recall asks¹.
• Check the hose on any other gas appliance for damage and proper attachment, and replace or retire it if in doubt².

If your stove is not the recalled model, the check still has value. It tells you the state of your backup cooking kit before you need it, which is the whole point of keeping one.

Using a camping stove safely while you sort out a replacement

A replacement stove, or any stove you already own, has to be used in a way that does not create a second emergency. The official position is clear that most camping stoves, barbecues and bottled gas stoves are designed for outdoor use only, and that you should check the manufacturer's instructions for safe use⁴. Read the maker's instructions for your own appliance before the first use and keep them with the stove.

Carbon monoxide is the danger that catches households out, because it has no smell and the stove looks as though it is burning cleanly. Official advice on reducing the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning over winter is to act on the signs: if you see any of them, turn off your appliances, open your windows and have an appropriately registered engineer check the appliance as soon as possible⁹. A camping stove used in a confined space is exactly the kind of appliance that advice is aimed at.

The fire and rescue services add the kitchen side of the same message. Make sure your cooker is or has been fitted properly¹⁰. Double-check that your oven, stove and other kitchen appliances are turned off¹¹. Those habits carry over to a temporary stove: set it up deliberately, use it deliberately, and put it away and turn it off afterwards rather than leaving it to be knocked over.

A stove guard is worth knowing about for the fixed cooker in your kitchen, though it is not a substitute for outdoor use of a camping stove. The sensor monitors the hob, sensing heat, the rise in heat, smoke, steam and human presence, and it warns the user with a visual and audio alarm if a dangerous situation is likely to occur; if the user is not in attendance and does not take action and does not press the reset button, the power to the hob or cooker will be cut¹². That is protection for a mains cooker, not a licence to bring a camping stove indoors.

Replacing a worn gas hose

A hose is the part of a gas stove most likely to let you down, and it is the part the OEX recall turns on. Official guidance for gas camping equipment says to check that the appliance is in good order and undamaged and that hoses are properly attached and undamaged, and if in doubt, get the hoses replaced or do not use it². That is the rule to work to, whether the stove is under recall or not.

Replacement is a job for the right part, not a universal hose cut to length. Check that the appliance is in good order and undamaged and that hoses are properly attached and undamaged; if in doubt, get the hoses replaced or do not use it⁷. If a flexible hose on an LPG patio heater shows signs of cracking, splitting or other deterioration, it should be exchanged for new hose manufactured to BS EN 16436-1 Class 2⁸.

• Check before each season that the appliance is in good order and undamaged and that hoses are properly attached and undamaged².
• If in doubt, get the hoses replaced or do not use it².
• Replace a deteriorated patio heater hose with new hose manufactured to BS EN 16436-1 Class 2 if it shows signs of cracking, splitting or other deterioration³.
• Have gas appliances serviced regularly⁴.

For a household that keeps a stove for power cuts, the hose check belongs on the same list as testing torches and rotating water. A stove that has sat in a shed through a winter is exactly the appliance whose hose you want to look at before the night you need it.

Storing the stove so it is ready when you need it

Storage is where a backup stove either stays usable or quietly becomes a hazard. Keep the stove and its gas cartridge or cylinder in line with the maker's instructions, and keep the instructions with the kit so the next person to use it can read them. Check before each season that the appliance is in good order and undamaged and that hoses are properly attached and undamaged¹.

A backup stove is only part of a cooking plan. The Backup Stove Kit Checklist sets out what to keep with it, and the Camping Stoves for a Power Cut guide explains the types available if you are replacing a recalled model. If you are choosing between fuel types, Gas Cartridge or Spirit Burner Stoves sets the two side by side by what they do and who they suit.

Store fuel as the maker instructs, and keep the stove where it will not be knocked or crushed. A folding stove is compact enough to be buried under other kit, which is how hoses get damaged without anyone noticing. A labelled box with the stove, the instructions and a note of the purchase date solves that.

Where to get help with a recalled stove

Start with the recall notice itself, which is the only place that sets out what the maker and the regulator want done with an affected unit¹. If you have lost the notice, the product safety pages on GOV.UK carry it under PSD number 2405-0060¹.

If you have a concern about the safety of a product, report it to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service³. You do not need to have had an accident. A suspicion that a stove, hose or connection is unsafe is enough, and reporting helps catch a problem that may affect other households.

For appliances more generally, Electrical Safety First keeps an online product checker you can use to see if any of your appliances have been recalled¹³, and a list of recalled items that explains what to do with your recalled appliance¹⁴. Further information from manufacturers on defects, or appliances that have been recalled, can also be found on the Electrical Safety First website¹⁵.

If your wood burner or solid fuel stove is not burning correctly, contact the company or shop that sold it to you, or contact the British Solid Fuel Appliance Manufacturers' Association for advice¹⁶. That route is for solid fuel appliances rather than gas camping stoves, but it is the same principle: go back to the seller or the trade body rather than living with a fault.

For a gas appliance you think is faulty, the official advice is to turn off your appliances, open your windows and have an appropriately registered engineer check the appliance as soon as possible⁹. If you smell gas, treat it as urgent and get out and call for help rather than hunting for the leak yourself.

What the stove can and cannot do in an emergency

A folding gas stove is a cooking tool, not a heating system and not a power source. In a power cut its job is to heat water and cook food, which official guidance recognises as a legitimate use of a camping stove, barbecue or bottled gas stove when the mains are off⁴. It will not warm a room, and it must not be asked to.

That limit is worth stating plainly because a cold house tempts people to bring outdoor kit inside. The carbon monoxide risk from fuel-burning appliances in enclosed spaces is the reason the outdoor-use instruction exists⁴. A stove that cooks a pan of soup outdoors is doing its job. The same stove in a closed kitchen is a different and dangerous thing.

For the wider picture, the Heating and Cooking Without Mains Power or Gas section covers the alternatives, and Is It Safe to Use a Camping Stove Indoors? answers that question directly. If you are replacing a recalled Savo, the OEX brand page lists the maker's other models, including the OEX Folding Novo Stove, which is caught by the same recall¹.