Rheem Recalls to Repair Water Heaters Due to Fire and Burn Hazards; Sold Exclusively at Home Depot

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #16177) was formally reported on May 26, 2016. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Rheem Sales Company Inc., of Montgomery, Ala. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 54,000 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: The control panel on the water heaters can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers should immediately turn off and stop using the recalled water heaters. Consumers should contact Rheem to request a free repair by a Rheem field technician. — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC and NHTSA going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 3 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 10 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.