BDP® HVAC age

How to determine the date of production/manufacture or age of BDP® brand HVAC Systems.

The industry average service design life for most forced air furnaces is 15-20 years, and the industry average service design life for most air conditioning condensing units is 10-15 years. The average service design life of boilers can vary from as little as 10 years to as many as 50 years depending on the type and quality of materials used in their manufacture. Routine upkeep/maintenance, regional weather/climate, and location/placement of the mechanical systems will all play critical roles in the longevity of these systems.

See also: Estimated Useful Service Life Expectancies

Parent Company: Carrier Corporation

Subsidiaries or other related brands: Aquazone® | BDP® | Bryant® | Carrier® | Day & Night® | Weathermaster®

The date of production/manufacture or age of BDP brand HVAC equipment can be determined from the serial number located on the rating data plate.

Note: Bryant, Day & Night, and Payne brands were brought together under the Affiliated Gas Equipment (AGE) merger in 1949. Carrier merged with AGE, Inc. in 1955. BDP Company was officially created in 1974 by Carrier. This new company creation formerly united the brands Bryant, Day & Night, and Payne under the BDP umbrella. When ICP (a Carrier company as of 1999) revived the Day & Night brand circa 2006 as an ICP brand, we believe BDP ceased to exist shortly thereafter. The Bryant and Payne brands remains under the Carrier umbrella. Day & Night remains under the ICP umbrella.  BDP as a stand-alone brand name or company is no longer in use circa 2006-2009.

Example serial number styles/formats found:

  • Style 1:   0709G10932
  • Style 2:   850304091
  • Style 3:   W4D14008 (U.S.)  ~or~ 4WD14008 (Canada)
  • Style 4:   A167890
  • Style 5:   46U152456 or 2W13270  (one or two digits followed by a letter)

Legend:  Year is RED;  Month is GREEN; Week is BLUE

Style 1:   0709G10932

Description: Ten (10) character Serial number begins with four (4) numerical digits followed by one (1) letter and ends with five (5) numerical digits.

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 3rd & 4th positions of the serial number

Week of manufacture can be determined by using the 1st & 2nd positions of the serial number

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Style 2:    850304091

Description: Nine (9) character all numerical serial number. This style was used primarily during the 1980's.

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1st & 2nd positions of the serial number

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 3rd & 4th positions of the serial number

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Style 3:    W4D14008 (U.S.) ~or~  4WD14008 (Canada)

 

Description:  Eight (8) character serial number begins with one (1) letter followed by one (1) numerical digit and then six (6) more characters. This style was used from 1980 thru 1984.

CAUTION: Canada units reverse the Year and Month positions from U.S. made serial number styles.

U.S. Systems:

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 2nd position (number) of the serial number: 0 - 4 representing 1980 - 1984

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 1st position (letter) of the serial number: M - Z (skipping O & U) representing January - December

Canadian Systems:

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1st position (number) of the serial number: 0 - 4 representing 1980 - 1984

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 2nd position (letter) of the serial number: M - Z (skipping O & U) representing January - December

This style of serial number was primarily used during the 1980's by BDP.

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Style 4:    A167890

Description:  Seven (7) character serial number that begins with a letter and ends with six (6) numerical digits. This style was used from 1970 thru 1979.

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 2nd position (number) of the serial number: 0-9 representing 1970 - 1979

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 1st position (letter) of the serial number: A-L (skipping no letters) representing January - December

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Style 5:    46U152456 or 2W13270  (one or two digits followed by a letter)

Description:  Seven (7) to nine (9) character serial number - always beginning with a 1 or 2 digit number followed by a letter. This style was used from 1960 to 1979.

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1st letter (2nd or 3rd position) of the serial number: beginning with L and cycling through to end with H (skipping letters O, Q, and Z) representing 1960 - 1979 - See Chart

Week of manufacture can be determined by using the 1st -or- 1st & 2nd positions (number/s) of the serial number: 1-52 representing weeks of the year

Letter  -  YEAR

  • L  -  1960
  • M  -  1961
  • N  -  1962
  • P  -  1963
  • R  -  1964

Letter - YEAR

  • S - 1965
  • T - 1966
  • U - 1967
  • V - 1968
  • W - 1969

Letter  -  YEAR

  • X  -  1970
  • Y  -  1971
  • A  -  1972
  • B  -  1973
  • C  -  1974

Letter - YEAR

  • D - 1975
  • E - 1976
  • F - 1977
  • G - 1978
  • H - 1979
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Example serial number above indicates manufacture date: 46th week of 1967 (U)
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Example serial number above indicates manufacture date: 2nd week of 1969 (W)
BDP® History¹
  • 1904 - Charles Bryant founds the Natural Gas Regulator Company in Cleveland, OH. The company soon begins manufacturing gas-fired water heaters.
  • 1908 - Company name changed to Bryant Heater & Manufacturing, LLC
  • 1927 - New mascot 'the pup' is introduced in ad campaign indicating Bryant furnaces are so simple, you could "let your pup be your furnace man."
  • 1949 - Bryant, Day & Night and Payne merger to form Affiliated Gas Equipment (AGE)
  • 1955 - Carrier merged with Affiliated Gas Equipment, Inc., which owned Bryant Heater Co., Day & Night Water Heater Co., and Payne Furnace & Supply Co., and moves Bryant’s corporate headquarters from Cleveland to Indianapolis.
  • 1974 - Carrier creates "BDP" company comprised of Bryant - Day & Night - Payne brands.
  • 1979 - United Technologies Corp. (UTC) acquires Carrier Refrigeration in forced takeover. Carrier becomes a subsidiary of UTC.
  • 1981 - Bryant pioneers one of the first 90%-efficient gas furnaces, with variable-speed operation. Bryant introduces the Dual Pack, the world’s first outdoor gas heating and electric cooling unit a few years later.
  • 1990's - Carrier stops using the Day & Night Brand. BDP company still in use.
  • 1996 - Bryant patents and introduces Puron® as an environmentally sound refrigerant.
  • 1999 - Carrier/United Technologies acquires Inter-City Products, and changed the name to International Comfort Products (ICP). Carrier becomes the parent company of ICP, thus incorporating all ICP brands under the Carrier umbrella.
  • 2006 - Day & Night brand revived by ICP between 2006-2009 (sources for date vary). Unsure, but presumed to be the end of "BDP Company", and brands under the umbrella are separated once again. Bryant and Payne remain listed under Carrier brands. Day & Night listed under ICP brands.
  • 2020 - Carrier completes separation from United Technologies as an independent, publicly traded company - Carrier Global Corporation. The separation process was started in 2018. Carrier retains all current brands, as well as ICP and their brands.
  • 2022 - Carrier celebrates 120 year anniversary.

1- History excerpts from various sources

Every effort is undertaken to offer you correct and concise information to assist you in determining the age or manufacture date of HVAC/R equipment. Users relying on this information do so at their own risk.
Page last updated: 09/04/2023