Home Depot Water Heater Recall Issued Due to Fire Risk

About 54,000 water heaters sold exclusively at Home Depot are being recalled, following hundreds of reports involving problems with the control panels overheating, including at least one reported fire caused by the water heaters. 

The Home Depot electric water heater recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on May 26, after the manufacturer, Rheem Sales Company Inc., of Montgomery, Alabama, received at least 296 reports of the control panels overheating. There have been no injuries reported, however at least one incident resulted in a fire that caused $5,800 in property damage.

The CPSC warns that the control panel overheating problem poses a fire and burn risk.

The recalled water heaters are branded with a “Performance Platinum” Rheem logo on the front above the thermostat control panel, and were sold in 40, 50 and 80 gallon capacity models. A rating plate near the bottom of the recalled water heaters has the model number, date of manufacture and serial number. A full list of affected serial numbers and model numbers is available on the recall notice website.

The water heaters were sold exclusively at Home Depot stores nationwide, as well as online, from January 2014 to April 2016 for between $450 and $720. They were manufactured by Rheem Sales Company, Inc. in the U.S. and Mexico.

The CPSC is recommending that consumers with recalled water heaters immediately turn them off and stop using them, then contact Rheem to request a free repair by a Rheem field technician by calling the company’s toll-free number at 866-369-4786. More information can be found on the Rheem website by clicking on Recall Information.