ARCO® (American Radiator Company) HVAC age

How to determine the date of production/manufacture or age of ARCO® 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: Former brand name abbreviation for American Radiator Company - Later to become American Standard beginning with merger of Standard Sanitary Manufacturing in 1929.

Subsidiaries or other related brands: Last produced under ARCO name circa 1948 or earlier - (believed last name use was 1929, though some reports of systems from early to mid 1930's)

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

Example serial number styles/formats found:

Style 1: No known serial number examples

Style 1: ARCO (American Radiator Company) brand systems manufactured circa 1892 to 1948

The precise year of manufacture cannot be currently determined from the serial number. Any systems bearing the name ARCO or American Radiator Company will have been manufactured prior to 1948. A brief company history from 1886 to 1948 is listed below:

1886 - The Michigan Radiator & Iron Company of Detroit was formed by Clarence Mott Woolley
1892 - Three companies (Michigan Radiator, Detroit Radiator, and the Pierce Steam Heating Company create a major company merger to form the "American Radiator Company".
1899 - The company was re-incorporated under the same name, absorbing the St. Louis Radiator Manufacturing Company, and the Standard Radiator Manufacturing Company of Buffalo, and the radiator business of the Titusville Iron Company (Pennsylvania).
1929 - Standard Sanitary Manufacturing and American Radiator Company merge to form "American Radiator-Standard Sanitary Corp." - Believed this was actually the last year for use of names "ARCO" or "American Radiator Company", but unable to confirm.
1948 - Brand name changed from American Radiator-Standard Sanitary Corp. to "American-Standard".

Any boiler bearing the initials "ARCO" or the name American Radiator Company will have been manufactured circa 1892 to 1948 (believed last name use was 1929 with merger of Standard Sanitary Manufacturing, although some reports of ARCO systems from early to mid 1930's).

There are still a few of these antique dinosaurs around!

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: 10/19/2023

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