Richmond gas water heaters
3 reports to CPSC, the latest made Sep 14, 2023. A report isn’t a recall.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own search is on saferproducts.gov.
At a glance
From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.
- 3reports to CPSC
- Sep 14, 2023the latest report was made
- Jan 4, 2016the earliest
- 0with the company’s comments
- Brand
- Richmond
- Maker
- Rheem Sales Company, IncMakers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
- Product
- Gas water heatersCPSC’s product type: Gas Water Heaters (code 118), in Home Maintenance and Structures: Plumbing & Bath
By month
The numbers, as a table
| Month | Reports |
|---|---|
| September 2023 | 1 |
| March 2021 | 1 |
| January 2016 | 1 |
How badly anyone was hurt
- Emergency room 1 CPSC: Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received
- No one hurt 2 CPSC: Incident, No Injury
As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.
The reports, as CPSC published them
Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.
Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.
CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.
-
Emergency room Made Sep 14, 2023, sent to the company Sep 18, 2023, published by CPSC Oct 2, 2023
The product, in the report: Richmond Water Heater LP Gas- 40 Gallon
A Richmond Water Heater LP Gas- Pilot Explosion Occured When I Attempted To Light The Pilot, Blowing Debris Into My Eyes !!!!! I’m Still Seeing A Eye Specialist !!!!
- Model
- Model No. 6G40-32PF3
- Serial number
- Serial No. Q292205167
- Bought from
- M.S. Gatlin Building Supply - Waynesboro,Ms 39367
- Bought
- Oct 13, 2022
- Where
- Waynesboro, Mississippi: Other
- Who was involved
- Age 68, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Richmond, made or sold by Rheem Sales Company, Inc
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received
-
No one hurt Made Mar 4, 2021, sent to the company Mar 25, 2021, published by CPSC Apr 8, 2021
The product, in the report: Richmond Essential 40 Gallon 6 Year Natural Gas Tank Water Heater, Model Number 6G40-36F3, installed August 2020 Model 6G40-36F3 UPC 020352640846
6 month old water heater failed. Co suggested it’s a part that they know isn’t the problem, but the real problem part has failed in so many units, it’s nationally back-ordered. They claimed it’s the pilot light assembly, sent a warranty replacement, which did not fix the problem. They now claim to be “building” a gas control valve for me, which is the part that everyone but the consumer seems to know is the problem.
- Model
- 6G40-36F3
- UPC
- 020352640846
- Serial number
- Q302015956
- Bought from
- Menard’s
- Bought
- Aug 2, 2020
- Where
- Southfield, Michigan: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Unknown
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Unspecified
- As this report names them
- Brand Richmond, made or sold by Rheem Sales Company, Inc
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
No one hurt Made Jan 4, 2016, sent to the company Mar 11, 2016, published by CPSC Mar 25, 2016
The product, in the report: Natural gas water heater.
Richmond natural gas water heater model # 6RHE50. Water heater continually over heats the water. I have water heater set on 110 degrees and unit heats water to 134 degrees. The water heater seems to heat the water hotter every time it runs. Richmond/Rheem has replaced this water heater once after it was only a month old. They have sent 2 different service men out to work on water heater and they cannot find a reason this unit does this. I’ve made countless phone calls into Rheem and cannot get them to do anything about this issue. I spent an hour on hold today 1/4/2016 waiting to speak to senior support and never got to speak with anybody and they went home without taking my call. I have very small children in this house and i’m worried that one of them will get get burnt. I’ve taken two days off work to deal with their repairmen and can’t get this water heater fixed. Rheem told me the only way that they could make this water heater heat correctly is to completely empty the water heater every time i use hot water. So basically if i want to wash my hands with hot water i have to shut the water heater off use all 48 gallons of hot water and plug unit back in to heat the water. Sounds like quite a waste of hot water. This is a energy star unit that overheats water, so i’m sure it’s wasting more energy then it’s saving. This problem has been going on since the first unit was installed on 8-30-2015 and the second unit on 11-7-2015.
- Model
- 6RHE50
- Serial number
- A461404786
- Bought from
- Menards
- Bought
- Aug 26, 2015, about then
- Where
- Unspecified: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Unspecified
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Unspecified
- As this report names them
- Brand Richmond, made or sold by Rheem Sales Company, Inc
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
CPSC’s disclaimer
Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.
Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.
Sources
Sources
-
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.
Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.