American Appliance Mfg. Corp.® Water age

How to determine the date of production/manufacture or age of American Appliance Mfg. Corp.^® brand Water Heater Systems.

Water heaters in general have an average estimated useful service life of 10-12 years, though water quality, routine upkeep/maintenance, and location of the water heater will all play critical roles in the longevity of these systems.

Parent Company: Defunct brand/company now a part of A.O. Smith

Subsidiaries/Related Brands: Mor-Flo | American | American PROline | Ameri-Glas

The date of production/manufacture or age of American Appliance Mfg. Corp. brand Water Heater equipment can be determined from the serial number or warranty code located on the rating data plate.

Example serial number styles/formats found:

→Style 1: A201970 (L-75 warranty code listed separately)

→Style 2: A2363113 (8214 warranty code listed separately)

→Style 3: C 86 03 05922 A -or- A 860803511

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

American Appliance Mfg. Corp. is no longer in business. It was not uncommon to find water heaters from this brand as well as older Mor-Flo branded water heaters which were 30-40+ years old, still in operation, and in relatively good condition. A testament to their quality and durability.

→Style 1: A201970 (L-75 warranty code listed separately)

This style uses sequential serial numbers which do not reference the manufacture date. The warranty code listed separately must be used to determine the manufacture date.

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1^st & 2^nd digits of the warranty code

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 1^st letter of the warranty code (A-L without skipping letters)

→Style 2: A2363113 (8214 warranty code listed separately)

Similar to style 1, this style uses sequential serial numbers which do not reference the manufacture date. The warranty code listed separately must be used to determine the manufacture date.

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1^st & 2^nd digits of the warranty code

Week of manufacture can be determined by using the 3^rd & 4^th digits of the warranty code

→Style 3: **C 86 03 05922 A -or- A 860803511**

Unlike styles 1 & 2, this style contains 10 or 11 characters -- a letter prefix followed by 9-digits. The 9-digits may separated by spaces and groupings of 2-2-5 or can be grouped all together without spaces.

A letter suffix may or may not be included.

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 1^st & 2^nd digits of the serial number (after first letter prefix)

We believe the 3^rd and 4^th digits represent week, but have not been able to confirm.

The example rating plate above is of a 10-character (9-digit) serial number without spaces. The first two digits after the letter prefix indicates the unit was manufactured in 1986. Even without the serial number, there are several other indicators that place the unit in close proximation to the 1986 year of manufacture. These include the ASHRAE Standard 90A-1980 (middle of the rating plate), which indicates the year of revision for the ASHRAE standard the water heater complies with. Also, the ANSI No. Standard is provided (upper right of rating plate) as Z21.10.1-1984 which is the revision year for this standard the water heater complies with. Near the bottom (in small print above the serial number) is another ASNI Standard of Z2223.1 1980. All these indicate the water heater can not have been manufacturer prior to 1980 or 1984. These standards are revised approximately every 4-8 years and are very helpful to approximate the year of manufacture when the serial number is obscured or not helpful.

This example rating plate is an excellent illustration why it is important to capture a clear and legible image of the full rating plate for additional clues in determining the approximate age of manufacture. Make sure to read our Additional Hints & Tips Page for this and other methods in approximating a year of manufacture.

American Appliance Mfg. Corp.^® History¹

1952 - American Appliance Mfg. Corp. founded by Everett S. Todd and Bert Sutton in Santa Monica, California. They began unauthorized but tolerated use of The Hotstream Heater Company (now Mor-Flo) trademarked "American".
1961 - Merger between Mor-Flo Heater Company and The Buckeye Water Heater Company into The Hotstream Heater Company. Name was then changed to Mor-Flo Industries, Inc.
1972 - Mor-Flo acquired California based American Appliance Mfg. Corp. and formed Mor-Flo/American, with American Appliance Mfg. Corp. as a subsidiary.
1979 - A long-running patent infringement legal action began when State Industries brought suit against Mor-Flo and its subsidiary American Appliance Mfg. Corp. for State Industries patent on a method of insulating water heaters with foam.
1989 - The patent infringement suit was finally settled when the Circuit Court Judge found in favor of State Industries. The District Court awarded State Industries lost profits on approximately 40% of Mor-Flo's infringing sales and a royalty of 3% on the remaining 60%. It concluded that Mor-Flo's infringement was not willful and denied enhanced damages and attorney's fees.
1993 - Southcorp Limited (Australian-based company) acquired Mor-Flo Industries.
1995 - Mor-Flo Industries launched American PROLine™
1997 - Mor-Flo Industries merged its companies to form American Water Heater Company
2000 - Introduced the Flame Guard™ system - the first rendering of the flammable vapor ignition resistant (FVIR) safety system. Developed by a Mor-Flo (Southcorp) affiliate Australian company, FVIR safety features became a requirement on all gas-fired water heaters in 2003.
2002 - GSW acquired American Water Heater Group. American was manufacturing water heaters under the U.S. Craftmaster, ENVIRO-TEMP, and American PROline brand names at that time. They had 800 employees in its Johnson City, TN facility.
2006 - A.O. Smith acquires Canadian GSW, Inc. and American Water Heater Company. The addition covers American (US Craftmster, Envirotemp, & American Proline), Whirlpool, GSW, John Woods and their related brands.

_{¹ History excerpts from various industry sources}

Every effort is undertaken to offer you correct and concise information to assist you in determining the age or manufacture date of water heating equipment. Users relying on this information do so at their own risk.

Page last updated: 02/26/2025

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