How can I tell the age of a Sears Kenmore heat pump or air conditioner from the serial number?
Friday, June 15, 2018
Sears used multiple different manufacturers over the years to produce air conditioners and heat pumps that they sold under their Kenmore brand. So there is no single recipe for figuring out age from the serial number.
The date of production/manufacture or age of SEARS® Water Heater(s) can be determined from the serial number. Serial number styles/formats found are: Style 1: A79940006. ApplianceAid.com offers a list of Sears manufacturing codes, You can determine the manufacturer of your particular Kenmore appliance by comparing the model number prefix (first 3 or 4 digits of the model number before the dot).
Sears Serial Number Date Codes
But, if you are pretty sure that the unit was manufactured after 1990, which eliminates earlier mutations, it narrows down to either the first two or second two numbers in serial number as the year of manufacture. There may be a single letter before the numbers, which you can ignore. When you come across a serial number where both sets of numbers are a possibly correct, you may have to check the ANSI compliance date to see which one is the winner.
In the example shown below, it was marked at the bottom of the data plate that the unit (a package heat pump) was manufactured by Goodman, and they go by the first two numbers—so it is 1998. When the data plate references the actual manufacturer you can assume that the serial number complies with their system. Also, if you look carefully around the data plate, the manufacture date is sometimes stated outright, usually in an upper corner.
Sears will, upon notice from you, cause such faults to be corrected at no additional cost to you. FACTS AND FIGURES TO KEEP Fill in the blanks below and keep this book in a safe place so you always have these facts. Water Softener Model No.± Serial Number Date Installed Water Hardness Grains Per Gallon Iron Content Parts Per Million pH 'lhste. The breakdown for LG Serial Numbers is: 1st Numeric Character = Last Digit of the Year 2nd & 3rd Numeric Characters = Month Unfortunately, the decade is not specified in the serial number - only the last digit of the year.
For the age of another brand or manufacturer, go to our blog postHow do I determine the age of my air conditioner?And to determine the size of your Sears Kenmore unit, go to our blog post What size in tons is a Sears Kenmore air conditioner or heat pump from the model number?
To determine other key specs of your HVAC system, see one of these other blog posts:
• How can I find out the SEER of my air conditioner?
• How can I tell whether the condenser (outdoor unit) is an air conditioner or heat pump?
• How can I find out the size of my air conditioner?
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
To learn more about heating and air conditioning systems, see these other blog posts:
• My air conditioner won't turn on. What's wrong?
• How can I find out the size of my air conditioner?
• Where is the air filter for my central air conditioner and furnace? I can’t find it?
• Does an old air conditioner use more electricity as it ages?
• How did homes stay cool in Florida before air conditioning?
• What is wrong with an air conditioner when the air flow out of the vents is low?
• Why has the thermostat screen gone blank?
• Why does it take so long to cool a house when an air conditioner has been off for a while?
• Why is my air conditioner not cooling enough?
• What are the most common problems with wall/window air conditioners?
• Will closing doors reduce my heating and cooling costs?
Visit our HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to theINDEXfor a complete listing of all our articles.
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Manufacturer | Trade Names | Where to Look | How to Decode | Example |
American | ACE,American, American Hardware, America's Best, Apex, Aqua Temp, AquaTherm, Aquamatic, Best, Best Deluxe, Champion, Craftmaster, De-Limer, Deluxe, Eagle,The Earl's Energy Conservation Water Heater, The Earl's Energy Saver Plus, Envirotemp, Four Most, Hotmaster, Hotstream, King-Kleen, King-Line, Master Plumber, Nationaline, Neptune, Penquin, Premier Plus, Premier Plus Self Cleaning Prestige, ProLine and ProLine Plus, Quaker, Quick-Flo, Raywall, Revere, Riveria, Sands, Sentinal, Servi-Star, Shamrock, Special Deluxe, Standard,Super Eagle, Super-Flo, Supreme, Sure-Fire, Thoro-Clean, Tru-Test, Tru Value,U.S. Supply, Whirlpool, XCL Energy Saver | Serial# – 1st 4 digits | 1st 2 digits = year 2nd2 digits= week | 8906xxx= made in the 6th week of the year 1989 |
Apollo Comfort Products | Apollo | |||
Bradford-White | BradfordWhite, JetGlas | Serial# – 1st 2 letters | 1st letter = year starting with A as 1984. This letter is on a 20-year loop. A=1984 or 2004 C=1986 or 2006 E=1988 or 2008 G=1990 or 2010 K=1993 M=1995 P=1997 T=1999 X=2001 Z=2003 2ndletter = month with January (A) through December (M) | JMxxx= made in the year 1992 (J) in the month of December (M) A=January C=March E=May G=July J=September L=November |
Crispaire | E-tech | |||
Giant Factories | Date on tank label | |||
GSW Water Heating | JohnWood, GSW, Moffat, Superflue, Medal | Serial# – 1st 4 digits | 1st & 2ndnumber = year, 3rd& 4th number = month | 8901xxx= made in the year 1989 in the first month, January |
Heat Transfer Products | HeatTransfer | |||
Lochinvar | EnergySaver, Golden Knight, Knight | |||
Marathon | Marathon | Serial# – 1st 4 digits | 1st & 2nddigit = month, 3rd& 4th digit = year | 0189xxx= made in the year 1989 in the first month, January |
Maytag | Maytag |
Sears Serial Number Date Code
Manufacturer | Trade Names | Where to Look | How to Decode | Example |
Rheem | AquaTherm, General Electric, Hotpoint, Professional, Rheem, Vanguard, WesternAuto | Serial# – 1st 4 digits | 1st & 2nddigit = month, 3rd& 4th digit = year | 0189xxx= made in the year 1989 in the first month, January |
Richmond | Richmond | Serial# – 1st 4 digits | 1st & 2nddigit = month, 3rd& 4th digit = year | 0189xxx= made in the year 1989 in the first month, January |
Ruud | Professional,Ruud | Serial# – 1st 4 digits | 1st & 2nddigit = month, 3rd& 4th digit = year | 0189xxx= made in the year 1989 in the first month, January |
Sears, Roebuck and Co. | Kenmore | |||
A.O.Smith Water Products | National,A.O. Smith, Glascote, Perma-Glas | Serial# – 2nd, 3rd, 4th characters | 2nd position(letter) = month (A being January through M being December) 3rd& 4th position (numbers) = year | AJ89xxx= made in October (J) of 1989 |
State Industries | State | Serial# – 1st 3 characters | first letter = month (A being January through M, being December), 2ndand 3rd position (numbers) = year | /gta-5-lite-apk-obb-download-for-android.html. J89xxx= made in October of 1989 |
Summit Manufacturing Mortex | SunTherm |
Sears Serial Number Date Code
Manufacturer | Trade Names | Where to Look | How to Decode | Example |
U.S. Craftsmaster Water Heaters | Ace,American Hardware, America's Best, Apex, Aqua Temp, Aqua Therm, Aquamatic,Best, Best Deluxe, Craftmaster, De-Limer, Deluxe, Eagle, The Earl's EnergyConservation Water Heater, The Earl's Energy Saver Plus, Envirotemp, FourMost, Hotmaster, Hotstream, King-Kleen, King-Line, Master Plumber, Nationaline, Neptune, Penquin, Prestige, Pro-Line, Pro-Line Plus, Quaker,Quick-Flo, Raywall, Revere, Riviera, Sands, Sentinal, Servistar, Shamrock,Special Deluxe, Standard, Supereagle, Super-Flo, Supreme, Sure-Fire, Thoro-Clean, True-Test, Tru Value, U.S. Craftmaster, U.S. Supply, Whirlpool,XCL Energy Saver | Serial# – 1st 4 digits | 1st 2 digits = year 2nd2 digits= week | 8924xxx= made in the 24th week of the year 1989 |
Vaugn Manufacturing Corp. | Sepco, Hydrohot, D.W. Whitehead |