Trane furnace and AC age by serial number
Trane has changed its serial format several times since 1983, but every version carries the year and the week of manufacture. Type your serial into this Trane serial number lookup and we will work out which style it is and read the Trane manufacture date.
Where do I find the serial number?
On a Trane furnace, the nameplate is inside the cabinet, so take off the lower door to find it. Trane outdoor units usually have the nameplate on a corner post or a side panel near the service valves. Indoor coils and air handlers may have a separate plate with their own serial.
How to read a Trane serial number
There are three Trane styles. Since 2010 the serial starts with a two-digit year and a two-digit week, so 11241KADBB reads as week 24 of 2011. From 2002 to 2009 it started with a single year digit and the week. From 1983 to 2001 the first character was a year letter, and those letters are not in alphabetical order.
Two-digit year, week
- Used
- 2010 to present
- Format
- Two-digit year, week
- Example
- 11241KADBB
Example, read
One-digit year, week
- Used
- 2002 to 2009
- Format
- One-digit year, week
- Example
- 81422S41G
Example, read
Year letter, week
- Used
- 1983 to 2001
- Format
- Year letter, week
- Example
- R1742DWBF
- Years
- W 1983, X 1984, Y 1985, S 1986, B 1987, C 1988, D 1989, E 1990, F 1991, G 1992, H 1993, J 1994, K 1995, L 1996, M 1997, N 1998, P 1999, R 2000, Z 2001.
Example, read
The year letters are not in alphabetical order, so read them from the table, not by counting.
Where to find the serial number
On a Trane furnace, the nameplate is inside the cabinet, so take off the lower door to find it. Trane outdoor units usually have the nameplate on a corner post or a side panel near the service valves. Indoor coils and air handlers may have a separate plate with their own serial.
Brands with the same format
American Standard uses the same serial format as Trane.
Questions
How old is my Trane air conditioner?
First find which style your serial uses. Two leading digits mean year then week. One leading digit means a 2002 to 2009 unit. A leading letter means 1983 to 2001.
What does a Trane serial that starts with a letter mean?
It is the 1983 to 2001 style. The letter stands for a year, from W for 1983 to Z for 2001. For example, R1742DWBF reads as week 17 of 2000.
Why are the Trane year letters out of order?
That is how they were assigned. W, X and Y came first, then S, then B onward. We read them from a table rather than by counting through the alphabet.
My Trane serial starts with a single digit. Is that a year?
Yes, for units made from 2002 to 2009. The digit is the last digit of the year, so 81422S41G reads as week 14 of 2008.
Do American Standard units use the same serial format?
Yes. American Standard uses the same serial format as Trane, in all three styles.
Can I look up a Trane model number here?
No. A Trane model number encodes the product family, capacity and features. It cannot tell you the year, so we stick to the serial.