What each column means
| Column | What it shows | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Item & location | The type you chose and your note (for example “Garage”) | Your entry |
| Brand · model · serial | The numbers as typed from the rating plate | Your entry |
| Build date | The month (or week, or day) the unit was made, read from the serial number, and how sure the reading is | Manufacturer date codes and documented serials, per brand page |
| Age | Years from the build date to the day you make the report; if only a year is known, mid-year is assumed | Calculation |
| Typical life | The typical replacement age and the published range for that type | Industry studies, US DOE and manufacturers; our summary |
| Stage | Where the age falls against that range | Our comparison |
| Recall (by model) | “Possible match: CPSC nn-nnn (confirm on the notice)” or “No match in our CPSC index (not proof of safety)” | Official: US CPSC recall notices, matched by our index |
Basis: date codes as documented on each brand page; lifespans are our summary of the studies below; recalls from US CPSC notices. The report is a comparison with published data, not a prediction for one unit.
The confidence under each date: “High confidence” means one possible reading; “Check the decade” means the code repeats and the report shows the most recent possible date first, with the other year alongside; “Partial serial” means fewer characters than a full serial; “Year you entered” means the age comes from your year, not the serial. If you enter a year, only an exact match confirms the serial. One year apart shows “Serial and year 1 year apart” and keeps the serial’s date (a year taken from an install or sale date can differ from the build year). More than a year apart shows “Serial and year don’t match” and uses your year. Either way, check the rating plate.
Typical lifespans the report uses
| Type | Typical | Published range | Stage bands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | 12 years | 9–13 | Under half of typical life (under 6) · past halfway (6 to 12) · at or past typical life (12 to 13) · past the published range (13 or more) |
| Washer | 10 years | 5–15 | Under 5 · 5 to 10 · 10 to 15 · 15 or more |
| Dryer | 13 years | 10–14 | Under 6.5 · 6.5 to 13 · 13 to 14 · 14 or more |
| Dishwasher | 10 years | 9–15 | Under 5 · 5 to 10 · 10 to 15 · 15 or more |
| Range | 15 years | 13–17 | Under 7.5 · 7.5 to 15 · 15 to 17 · 17 or more |
| Tank water heater | 11 years | 8–15 | Under 5.5 · 5.5 to 11 · 11 to 15 · 15 or more |
| Tankless water heater | About 20 years | 15–20+ (our range) | Under 15 years · 15 years or more · about 20 years or more |
| Heat pump water heater | No single figure | 10–15 | Under 10 years · within the 10–15 range · past the published range (15 or more) |
| Central air conditioner | 12 years | 7–15 | Under 6 · 6 to 12 · 12 to 15 · 15 or more |
| Heat pump (heating and cooling) | 14 years | 10–15 | Under 7 · 7 to 14 · 14 to 15 · 15 or more |
| Furnace | 19 years | 15–25 | Under 9.5 · 9.5 to 19 · 19 to 25 · 25 or more |
Basis: industry studies (NAHB/Bank of America 2007, InterNACHI’s chart), Consumer Reports, ENERGY STAR, US Department of Energy rule lifetimes and water heater makers (A.O. Smith, Rheem, Bradford White). The “typical” figure is our summary of those sources, as explained on the refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, range and water heater lifespan pages. Tankless: the US Department of Energy gives about 20 years, in its Energy Saver guide (now archived; DOE removed the page in 2026) and in the analysis for its 2024 gas tankless rule, which was withdrawn in 2025.
The tankless range is ours: A.O. Smith’s low end (15 years) to US DOE’s “about 20 years”; InterNACHI’s chart gives 10. Heat pump: Rheem gives 10 to 15 years, as did DOE’s Energy Saver guide. Each water heater row has a “Heater type” choice (tank, tankless, heat pump or not sure), and the lifespan follows it. It starts on Tankless for Navien and Rinnai and on Tank for other brands; change it if yours is different. “Not sure” lists all three figures and gives no stage. Sources: how long water heaters last.
Heating and cooling rows use InterNACHI’s ranges for the low and high ends and NAHB’s 2007 study for the middle; the “typical” figure is our summary of the two. ENERGY STAR suggests considering a replacement once an AC or heat pump is more than 10 years old, or a furnace more than 15. Our recall check doesn’t cover HVAC equipment yet; those rows point to cpsc.gov.
How to use it on a walkthrough or inspection
Look, don’t touch. Everything the report needs is printed on the rating plate.
- Find the rating plate without removing anything. On appliances it’s usually inside the door, on the door frame, under the lid or behind a drawer: see where the serial number is. On a water heater it’s the label on the side of the tank: see find the rating plate. Don’t take off covers or access panels to reach it.
- Photograph the whole plate. The serial number carries the build date; the model number is what recall notices list.
- Enter each item with a short location note, such as “Kitchen” or “Basement”. Leave “Year made” blank unless the plate or paperwork prints the date.
- Settle repeating codes. If a row says “Check the decade”, pick the year on screen. A date printed on the plate settles it; the model’s sale period and the owner’s manual print date help.
- Print or save as PDF. The sheet has blank lines for the property address, the date and your name, and a notes area.
Anything that needs a panel removed, a valve operated or a gas or electrical part touched is work for a licensed plumber, electrician or appliance technician.
How the dates are decoded
The report uses the same decoder as our appliance and water heater age checker. Each brand’s rule, examples and exceptions are on its own page:
- Appliances: Whirlpool (and Maytag, KitchenAid, Amana), GE, Samsung, LG, Frigidaire, Bosch, Kenmore (Kenmore needs the model number: its first three digits say who built it).
- Water heaters: start at how old is my water heater?, then Bradford White, A.O. Smith and State, Rheem, Ruud and Richmond, Whirlpool and Kenmore, American, Reliance, Lochinvar, Navien and Rinnai.
- Heating and cooling: start at how old is my AC or furnace?, then Goodman, Amana and Daikin, Carrier and Bryant and Trane and American Standard. Other HVAC brands are not decoded yet.
For a single-page reference to carry on a walkthrough, use the appliance age cheat sheet and the water heater age cheat sheet (PDF).
Worked example
Press “Try an example” in the tool to load three documented serials. On 30 September 2026 the report reads:
| Item | Serial (model) | Build date | Age | Typical life | Stage | Recall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water heater, Bradford White | DH9477405 (none entered) | August 2007 (could also be August 1987) | 19.1 years | ~11 years (tank), range 8–15 | Past the published range | Not checked: no model number |
| Washer, Whirlpool | C60842986 (WTW5000DW1) | February 2016 | 10.6 years | ~10 years, range 5–15 | At or past typical life | No match in our CPSC index |
| Dryer, Samsung | 0ARV5BBJ400798K (DVE50M745W/A3) | April 2017 | 9.4 years | ~13 years, range 10–14 | Past halfway | No match in our CPSC index |
Basis: date codes as documented by Inspectapedia and Bradford White’s chart (D = 2007, H = August) and electrical-forensics.com (Whirlpool: 6 = 2016, week 08; Samsung: J = 2017, 4 = April); recall results from our CPSC index on 30 September 2026. Bradford White letters repeat every 20 years, and the 7 digits after the letters fit both dates (8 digits would mean December 2007 or later; our reading of Bradford White’s rule), so the report lists both. A date on the plate or Bradford White’s warranty check settles it: see if the letter could mean two years.
Limitations
- The build date is the manufacture date, not the install or purchase date. If the plate prints a date, trust the plate.
- Repeating and partial codes. Some codes repeat every 10, 12 or 20 years. A short or mistyped serial can decode to the wrong date; the report flags partial serials.
- Brands we don’t decode show an age only if you enter the year.
- Lifespans are averages. Care, water quality, use and the model matter; the stage is not a prediction or a condition rating.
- Recall matching can miss models. We read model numbers from the text of each CPSC notice, and some notices list models only in images or on the maker’s site. A possible match must be confirmed against the model and serial ranges on the official notice; no match is not proof of safety. Also search CPSC’s recall site and the maker’s recall page.
- Not an inspection, warranty or appraisal. We haven’t seen or inspected any unit; the report summarizes published data. See how we check facts.
Checked against the sources below on 1 October 2026; sources added or changed on 6 October 2026 were checked that day.
