American Radiator® HVAC age

How to determine the date of production/manufacture or age of American Radiator® 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: American Radiator Company

Subsidiaries or other related brands: Defunct brand

The date of production/manufacture or age of American Radiator brand HVAC equipment cannot be determined from serial number.

Example serial number styles/formats found:

Style 1: E3

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

Style 1: E3

Unfortunately we are unable to precisely determine the date of manufacture or age of these units. However, our research may assist you in narrowing down to an approximate era.

See our "History" slides below (specifically page 2) regarding significant historical changes and the related years of the Identification markings for these boiler/heating systems.

See Also: ARCO (American Radiator Company)

American Radiator-Standard Sanitary® History¹

1875 - Standard Sanitary Manufacturing is formed and begins making porcelain enamel coated cast iron water closets, wash stands, and bathtubs.
1881 - Pierce Steam Heating Company is formed in Buffalo, NY manufacturing steel boilers and radiators.
1892 - Three companies (Michigan Radiator, Detroit Radiator, and the Pierce Steam Heating Company create a major company merger to form the "American Radiator Company".
1929 - Standard Sanitary Manufacturing and American Radiator Company merge to form "American Radiator-Standard Sanitary Corp."
1929 - Purchased Kewanee Toilet Boiler Company. Kept this company until 1970.
1937 - Fox Furnace company purchased by American Radiator-Standard Sanitary Corp.
1948 - Brand name changed from American Radiator-Standard Sanitary Corp. to "American-Standard".
1968 - Hyphen between names dropped and name changed to "American Standard".
1968 - Purchased Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) earth moving and mining product division.
1984 - TRANE acquired by American Standard Inc. - Divested previous WABCO assets.
1988 - Kelso & Company outbids Black & Decker to purchase American Standard
1996 - Kelso & Company parts ways with American Standard
- Sells namesake kitchen and bath division to Bain Capital. Bain subsequently sold the North American operations to Sun Capital, and Asian operations to Lixil Group, while retaining the European and Latin American operations as "Ideal Standard". The deal also included the rights to use the former company name in North America.
- Spins off automotive parts division forming WABCO Vehicle Control Systems.
- Remainder of the company took the name of its heating and air conditioning division, "TRANE, Inc."
2007 - American Standard Companies breaks up its three divisions:
2008 - Merger of American Standard Americas, Crane Plumbing, and Eljer results in formation of "American Standard Brands" manufacturing bath and kitchen fixtures/products.
2008 - Trane acquired by Ingersol Rand

¹Excerpts from various sources including www.americanstandard-us.com/companyinfo/history/

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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