AirTemp® HVAC age

How to determine the date of production/manufacture or age of AirTemp® 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.

Parent Company: Previously Fedders

Subsidiaries or other related brands: Fedders-Airtemp | Chrysler Airtemp | AirTemp - A Division of Chrysler | AirTemp name was revived in 2012 by Nordyne (Nortek Global HVAC) - See Also Fedders and Brand Histories

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

Example serial number styles/formats found:

Style 1: 5G3 1261 or 7R66 1430 or 3D5 68320 (1960's - 1970's)
Style 2: 12345CN or 68359LO (1976 - 1977)
Style 3: OL984392 (unknown era, but presumed 1950's ~ 1974)
Style 4: DS 405643 (Jan 1975 - Dec 1984)
Style 5: VSG181150070 (current Nordyne/Nortek style 2012 and after)

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

Style 1: 5G3 1261 or 7R66 1430 or 3D5 68320 (1960's - 1970's)

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1^st position of the serial number

Month of manufacture cannot currently be determined by using the serial number

Style 2: 12345CN or 68359LO (1976 - 1977)

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the last position (letter) of the serial number

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the second from last position of the serial number

Style 3: OL984392 (unknown era, but presumed 1950's ~ 1974)

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 5^th position of the serial number

Month of manufacture cannot currently be determined by using the serial number

CAUTION: Use this style formatting if the precise letter combinations cannot be found in style 4 below.

Style 4: DS 405643 (Jan 1975 - Dec 1984)

Month & Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1^st & 2^nd positions (letters) of the serial number

In this example "DS" represents February 1981 manufacture date

See Chart below

CAUTION: Use this style formatting if the precise letter combinations cannot be found in style 3 above.

Style 5: VSG181150070 (current Nordyne/Nortek style 2012 and after)

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

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 5^th & 6^th positions of the serial number

This is a Nordyne/Nortek style number format. Nortek revived the "Airtemp" brand name as a private label in 2012

Airtemp® History

Prior to 1976 - Known as Chrylser Airtemp and Airtemp - A Division of Chrylser Corp. (Dayton, OH)

1976 - Fedders purchased the U.S. non-automotive air conditioning assets of Chrysler. Became a subsidiary of Fedders Corp. called "Airtemp Corp. - A subsidiary of Fedders Corp."

1977 - Moved the operations from Dayton, OH to Edison, NJ

1982 - Fedders formed "Fedders Air Conditioning USA" and moved operations (except for Applied Machinery which was later moved) to Effingham, IL

1987 - MagneTek purchased all assets of applied systems and industrial compressor parts business related to Chrysler/Airtemp from Fedders

1991 - MagneTek purchased all assets of central air conditioning parts business related to Chrysler/Airtemp from Fedders

1997 - All assets of Fedders/MagneTek parts businesses acquired by RSI Company.

2012 - Airtemp name revived by Nordyne under private label

See also Fedders

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: 08/29/2023

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