Who made Whirlpool water heaters
Whirlpool didn’t build its own water heaters. In October 2000, American Water Heater Company announced a license to supply Whirlpool-brand water heaters to Lowe’s. When A.O. Smith bought American Water Heater in April 2006, it described the company as “the exclusive supplier of water heaters to Lowe’s, supplying residential gas and electric units carrying the Whirlpool® brand.”
Whirlpool’s own site now says: “Whirlpool® Water Heaters are no longer available.” A.O. Smith’s report for 2018 describes “a long-standing exclusive relationship with Lowe’s where we sell A. O. Smith branded products.” We couldn’t find when the Whirlpool brand ended.
Basis: official (A.O. Smith’s 2006 acquisition release and 2018 annual report, whirlpool.com) and trade press (Plumbing & Mechanical, 2000).
Don’t use the Whirlpool appliance code. Whirlpool washers, dryers and fridges read the year from a letter. That rule doesn’t apply to water heaters, although some pages that rank for “Whirlpool water heater age” use it.
Where the serial number is
Whirlpool’s water heater site says “the serial number may be found on the label near the bottom of the water heater.” It’s on the rating plate, with the model number.
How to read the date
CPSC’s 2018 recall notice, which covers some Whirlpool Ultra-Low NOx gas heaters made from 2011 to 2016: “The first four digits represent the year and week of production.”
| Position | Means |
|---|---|
| Digits 1–2 | Year |
| Digits 3–4 | Week of the year (01–53) |
| The rest | Production number (it can include a letter) |
American Water Heater, which built Whirlpool’s heaters, used the same year + week code before A.O. Smith bought it: its warranty gives the example “Serial No. 9843113460 Tank was manufactured 43rd week of 1998.”
Basis: official (CPSC recall 19-029; American Water Heater warranty, 2022). InterNACHI’s dating chart gives the same rule for American and Whirlpool heaters.
Worked examples
| Serial | Year | Week | Built | Where the example comes from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1104T403904 | 2011 | 4 | late January 2011 | Building Intelligence Center (Whirlpool) |
| 0128104380 | 2001 | 28 | July 2001 | Building Intelligence Center (Whirlpool) |
| 9843113460 | 1998 | 43 | October 1998 | American Water Heater warranty |
| 1115 to 1631 | 2011 to 2016 | week 15 of 2011 to week 31 of 2016 | April 2011 to August 2016 | CPSC 19-029 serial range |
Week numbers give the week, not the day, so the checker shows the month the week falls in.
If you can’t read it
Whirlpool’s warranty check takes the serial number and returns a manufacturing date. Whirlpool’s service number for water heaters is 1-833-747-0686.
Kenmore water heaters
Sears sold Kenmore water heaters made by other companies. Most model numbers start with 153 (some Kenmore Survivor models start with 449). The prefix doesn’t identify the maker: New York City equipment approvals list 153 models built by A.O. Smith (McBee, South Carolina, 2004) and by American Water Heater (Johnson City, Tennessee, 2008).
| Era | Maker (evidence) |
|---|---|
| 1961–1980 | State Industries made the Sears LP gas heaters in CPSC’s 1980 recall (“the Sears water heaters were manufactured by State Industries”) |
| About 2004 | A.O. Smith, McBee plant (NYC approval 22-05-E) |
| About 2008 | American Water Heater (NYC approval 87-88-E) |
| 2011–2016 | A.O. Smith group: Kenmore is on CPSC’s year + week recall list (19-029) |
State, A.O. Smith and American are all A.O. Smith companies today, so most Kenmore heaters use one of two codes:
| Serial starts with | Read it as | Example | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four digits | Year, then week (from about 2008) | 1210A002243 | week 10 of 2012 (early March) |
| A leading S, then four digits (one documented example; we don’t know what the S means) | Skip the S; year, then week | S1318F000046 | week 18 of 2013 (early May) |
| A month letter (A–M, no I) + two digits | Month, then year (before about 2008) | A03307353 | January 2003 |
| J06A059461 | September 2006 |
Basis: official (CPSC 19-029 for year + week; CPSC’s 2005 A.O. Smith recall table for the month letters, which shows J is September); examples from Building Intelligence Center’s Kenmore page. The switch from letters to year + week happened around 2008; we couldn’t find the exact month. Full letter table: A.O. Smith and State.
Rheem-made Kenmore? Inspectapedia and Building Intelligence Center say some Kenmore heaters were made by Rheem, which reads the month then the year. We found no official record of this. If your plate names Rheem as the maker, use Rheem’s code.
A conflicting reading. Inspectapedia reads Kenmore serial 1112A011137 as year + month (December 2011). CPSC’s 2011–2016 recall reads Kenmore serials as year + week, which gives late March 2011.
Recalls to know about
| Recall | Brands | What | How to tell |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPSC 19-029 (Nov 2018) | Whirlpool, Kenmore, A.O. Smith, State and others | Ultra-Low NOx gas water heaters (30, 40 and 50 gallon), sold mainly in California: fire hazard | Ultra-Low NOx models only, serials starting 1115 to 1631 (made April 8, 2011 to August 1, 2016). Recall lines: Whirlpool 866-854-2793, Kenmore 866-880-4661 |
| CPSC 05-274 (Sep 2005) | Whirlpool and other brands | Robertshaw R110 gas control valves on natural gas and LP heaters: “gas could leak from the valve, which poses a risk of gas explosion and fire.” About 178,000 units, all brands | Valves made July 25 to August 14, 2005, with production date codes 5-31 through 5-33, “although not all valves with these date codes are affected.” Electric heaters aren’t included |
| CPSC 04-128 (Apr 2004) | Kenmore and other brands | White-Rodgers LP and convertible gas controls: soot can build up on the burner, a fire hazard. 88,000 units, all brands | Control models 37C55U 658, 37C57U 602, 37C72U 520, 546, 547, 548 or 676 (white label on the right side of the control) with a metal-stamped date code 0240 to 0329 below the label |
| CPSC 80-042 (1980) | Sears brands (Economiser, Homart, Honor Bilt, Powermiser, Sears) LP gas heaters made by State | LP gas thermostats: explosion hazard | Heaters sold 1961–1980 |
Basis: official (CPSC notices in the sources). Old recalls may have closed; check the notice for the exact models, and run the model through our recall check.
What the age means
Tank water heaters typically last about 11 years (our summary); published figures run from about 8 to 15. See how long water heaters last. If yours is past 10 years, the makers suggest planning a replacement before it fails.
Planning that replacement? What a new water heater costs lists installed prices for gas, electric, tankless and heat pump models.
Limitations
- We couldn’t find exactly when Whirlpool-brand heaters stopped. The checker flags a reading after 2018, or before the 2000 license, as uncertain.
- We haven’t seen a Whirlpool water heater serial that starts with a month letter, or a documented code for the Whirlpool hybrid heat pump model. Use the printed date or Whirlpool’s lookup for those.
- Kenmore heaters made by different companies share the 153 prefix, so the serial’s layout, not the model number, tells you which code to use.
- The CPSC notices confirm the year + week code only for the recalled Ultra-Low NOx models; for other Whirlpool and Kenmore heaters it rests on American Water Heater’s warranty example and inspector references.
Checked against the sources below on 30 September 2026.
