Hearth Record

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Rheem other water heaters

3 reports to CPSC, the latest made Dec 27, 2024. A report isn’t a recall.

Watch it to hear when CPSC publishes new reports about it. CPSC’s own search, on saferproducts.gov

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At a glance

From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.

  • 3reports to CPSC
  • Dec 27, 2024the latest report was made
  • Oct 6, 2016the earliest
  • 0with the company’s comments
Brand
Rheem
Maker
Rheem Sales Company, IncMakers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
Product
Other water heatersCPSC’s product type: Other Water Heaters (code 133), in Home Maintenance and Structures: Plumbing & Bath
Other ways the reports write the brand (1)

“Rheem Manufacturing”

By month

1 report from January 2024 to December 2024; the most in December 2024, 1. 2 earlier reports, since October 2016, are in the table.
The numbers, as a table
Reports to CPSC by the month each was made, newest first
MonthReports
December 20241
February 20231
October 20161

How badly anyone was hurt

  • Hurt, no treatment 1 CPSC: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention 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.

Source:

CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.

  1. Hurt, no treatment

    Made Dec 27, 2024, sent to the company Jan 6, 2025, published by CPSC Jan 23, 2025

    The product, in the report: Water heater booster. Rheem y RTEX-AB7

    Hands burned by scalding water supplied by Rheem RTEX-AB7 water heater booster. Heater was set to 115F max, output water temp measured at 155F using thermometer. This matches the temperature displayed on the display of the booster heater. Unit is used a water heater booster. When hot water reaches the booster, the PWM does not go below 35% causing temperature to continue to rise above the temperature it was set to if water flow rate is low. Four of us were burned by this unit. I have tried all possible settings. Before installing this unit, I attempted to use another Rheem product which is a point of use water heater and ran into similar issues. Since the unit is unsafe, I have removed it from service and will replace it with a different product. A product labeled [REDACTED] appears to be the same product marketed by another group. The burns all of us received are minor, but serious injury could occur if an elderly person was using the faucet. While it was on, the unit became so hot that it caused my dishwasher to malfunction, melting plastic items in the dishwasher including the bottom was arm. Input water temperature from main water heater ranges from 70F to 115F in the kitchen without this booster heater operating.

    UPC
    0 20352 68703 2
    Serial number
    G182403376
    Bought from
    Amazon.com
    Bought
    Dec 20, 2024
    Where
    GRAYSON, Georgia: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Age 62, Unspecified
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    made or sold by Rheem Sales Company, Inc
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
  2. No one hurt

    Made Feb 27, 2023, sent to the company Mar 1, 2023, published by CPSC Mar 15, 2023

    The product, in the report: Rheem RTEX-27 tankless water heater

    My Rheem RTEX-27 tankless water heater exploded. The water heater is less than 5 years old and exploded. There were no injuries.

    I am reporting this incident as it could have started a fire and after multiple attempts at reporting the issue to Rheem, they have shown to be complete uninterested in the danger their product presents

    Model
    RTEX-27
    Serial number
    G341700810
    Where
    Princeton, Florida: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Unknown
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Unspecified
    As this report names them
    Brand Rheem Manufacturing, made or sold by Rheem Sales Company, Inc
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Incident, No Injury
  3. No one hurt

    Made Oct 6, 2016, sent to the company Oct 17, 2016, published by CPSC Oct 31, 2016

    The product, in the report: Raheem Professional Prestige 50 Gallon Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater

    Product: Rheem Professional Prestige 50 gallon hybrid heat pump electric water heater Serial number Q41150054 Model number PROPH50 T2 RH245

    My water heater was installed late last year in my garage. Permit was obtained, installation inspected and approved by the City after installation. I have been using the water heater in Heat Pump only ode since installation set to 140 degrees.

    This morning I came home from a drive and heard an alarm chiming on the water heater. The service icon was blinking and I found an alert for error code A004 comp.shutdown. I smelt a slight electrical burning smell and the top of the unit was warm to the touch.

    I called Rheem’s Heat Pump Water heater customer service line at 800-995-0982. I was walked through a couple of steps (confirming what the temperature sensor readings were, performing a test to see if the evaporator fan would spin). The technician on the line said that the compressor had died, could not be fixed, and that the unit would have to be replaced through the vendor that I bought it from. He instructed me to switch the unit to the “Electric-Only” mode so that I could continue using it until it was replaced. I let him know about the electric burning smell and that the unit was warm to the touch on the top, and he said it shouldn’t be a problem. Running the unit in electric only mode would bypass the compressor.

    I went inside the house, and ten minutes later I noticed the lights were flickering in the home. I walked out to the garage to investigate, and as soon as I turned the corner and saw the heater from four feet away, KABOOM. A large explosion noise sounded and a gigantic ball of sparks shot out of the top rear of the unit where the compressor is located. My wife heard the explosion and I told the family to get out of the house. Smoke was billowing out of the top of the unit, and I ran to turn off the electricity at the breaker in the garage.

    After the smoke cleared and I was sure there was no longer a danger to our lives or property, I called the same customer service number again. I told them what had happened after I followed their directions, and they said, “Well, we already told you this had to be replaced by the vendor you purchased it from”. I was incredulous, and said I don’t think you quite understand what happened. I was going to leave my house, and I might have come back to it being burnt to the ground. I was calling back to let them know they definitely shouldn’t be telling customers to keep a unit in use with a compressor failure and a burning smell like they had told me to do. Somebody could be injured or killed! The technician was more understanding at that point, maybe realizing I wasn’t exaggerating what had occurred. She said she would tell engineering about this. At no point during the second phone call was my name, product information, or anything gathered!

    I have emailed Rheem customer service. In the meantime, the water heater will be without power until I either get it replaced through the vendor (I will not be installing that model type again, I can promise you that) or get further direction from the manufacturer.

    Model
    PROPH50 T2 RH245
    Serial number
    Q411500054
    Bought from
    Hughes Supply
    Bought
    Dec 23, 2015
    Where
    Clermont, Florida: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Age 28, Male
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    Brand Rheem, 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.

Source:

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.

Source:

Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.

Back to Other water heaters

How to read a record

Four things every record does, shown on an example record made up for this guide.

An example record, made up for this guide

An example nursing home

Made up for this guide: no real place is shown

Not fully inspected in over two years (CMS flag)

11 health citations at the latest inspection cycle

The state average is 14.3.

Source:

CMS, State and US Averages and Health Deficiencies. Released Oct 8, 2026. Updated monthly.

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