Who makes Ruud and Richmond?
Ruud, Richmond and GE are part of Rheem Manufacturing (Paloma)'s family of brands, with Rheem. They share one serial-number date code, so one rule decodes them all.
How the Rheem date code works, with real examples.
Every brand in the family
| Brand | Decoders | About the brand |
|---|---|---|
| Rheem | Rheem's own brand. The company was founded in 1925 and builds its residential tank water heaters in Montgomery, Alabama and in Mexico. | |
| Ruud |
| A Rheem brand named for Edwin Ruud, the inventor of the automatic gas water heater; Ruud tanks come off the same Rheem lines and carry the same serial code. |
| Richmond |
| A Rheem water heater brand sold mainly through retail stores; Rheem's own service bulletin reads Rheem, Ruud and Richmond serial numbers the same way. |
| GE | GE-branded tank water heaters sold at home centers in the 2000s and early 2010s were built by Rheem under license and use Rheem's month-and-year serial code. |