Rheem / Ruud RKNL and RKPL (R-410A)

Sizes and filter sizes

Source: R22-852, pages 5, 8, 13, 17, 24; R11-855, pages 8, 11, 12, 16, 18, 21; R22-856, pages 8, 11, 13, 16, 20, 24. Factory filter sizes. Check the rack before ordering; filters get changed over the years.

Rheem / Ruud RKNL and RKPL (R-410A) model number nomenclature

Example: RKNL-B120CL22EBGA. Select a position to jump to its codes.

Position 5 is always “-” (separator). The decoder works with or without it.

How old is this unit? Reading a Rheem serial number

Since November 2013: a plant letter, two digits for the week, two for the year, then a production number. Rheem’s example F 08 13 9999 was built in week 8 of 2013. Older units carry a longer serial whose last part reads the same way: plant F (Fort Smith, Arkansas), week, year, production number.

Example: F08139999

• Position 1: Plant code
• Positions 2–3: Week of manufacture
• Positions 4–5: Year (13 = 2013)
• Remaining digits: Production number
• Before November 2013: Component codes, then plant F (Fort Smith, AR), week, year and production number
• Plant F: Fort Smith, Arkansas

Source: 92-42800-RKNL-B, page 3. This is the manufacture date, not the install date.

• Rheem documents the serial in the RKNL-B parts list (6–25 tons, published on Rheem’s parts site). The 3–5 ton and RKPL lists we found show the same pre-2013 layout. We apply both layouts to the whole RKNL/RKPL family; check the date against the rating plate if it looks wrong.
• Rheem doesn’t list the plant letters used since 2013, so we date the unit but don’t name the plant.

Serial number dates for every rooftop brand we cover →

Notes and limits

• Covers the RKNL generation in Rheem's 2012–2022 spec sheets: 13 SEER RKNL-A and 14 SEER RKPL-A (3–5 tons), RKNL-B 6–12.5 tons (sizes 073, 090, 102, 120 and 151), and the 15–25 ton RKNL-B, RKNL-C, RKNL-H and RKNL-G.
• Not decoded: earlier RKNL-B units with size codes 072, 085 and 150 (Rheem's spec index lists them, but no Rheem-hosted sheet for them was found), the later RKNN, RKPN and RKQN 3–5 ton units, RKKL/RKKB, and the Ruud-branded UKNL/UKKB model numbers. Their codes may differ, so check the rating plate.
• Rheem's RKNL-B/RKNL-C installation instructions (92-23577-80-03) list an RKNL-C version of every 6–12.5 ton size with the same size codes and the same (6) 18 x 18 x 2 in. filters.
• The last three characters are the factory option code and appear only when options were ordered. The two-letter option codes and the economizer letter differ by series: A and B use AP and economizer F/G; the 15–25 ton C and H use AR/CY/JD/KA/DP and economizer H/J; RKNL-G uses the C/H option letters and economizer K/M/N.
• Heat code 25 and drive code N mean different things on 6–12.5 ton and 15–25 ton units; both meanings are shown. Rheem calls efficiency letter N 13 SEER, Energy Star compliant or high efficiency depending on the sheet.
• Filters are the factory return-air filters from the general data tables: the 3–5 ton table lists two 1 x 16 x 25 in. filters per unit. The 15–25 ton RKNL-C, -H and -G sheets list the same (8) 25 x 20 x 2 in. filters as RKNL-B. Confirm against the rack in the unit.
• No serial-number date decoder: these documents do not state the serial format. Use the manufacture date on the rating plate.