Bradford White water heater age from the serial number
Type the serial number from the rating plate and the tool returns the build date. Bradford White’s year letter repeats every 20 years, so read the “may be from” line too.
Bradford White water heater age finder
Paste the serial number exactly as printed. It starts with two letters. Spaces and dashes are ignored.
Results are estimates of the manufacture date. The rating plate and Bradford White support are the authority.
Where to find the Bradford White serial number
To check a Bradford White water heater age, start at the rating plate, the silver label on the side of the tank. The serial number is on that plate. It begins with two letters followed by seven or eight digits. The first two letters hold the date.
The same plate lists the model number and, near the bottom, the ANSI standard the heater was built to, with a date. You need that ANSI date to settle one problem described below. Photograph the whole plate before you do anything else.
How the Bradford White date code works
The first letter is the year and the second letter is the month. Both skip the letter I. Month letters run A for January through M for December, so J is September and K is October. Year letters also skip O, Q, R, U and V and run from A for 1984 through Z for 2003, and then they start over.
After the two letters comes a sequence number. Before December 2007 it had 7 digits. After that it has 8. That digit count is the best clue you have for choosing between two candidate years.
- Month letters: A Jan, B Feb, C Mar, D Apr, E May, F Jun, G Jul, H Aug, J Sep, K Oct, L Nov, M Dec
- Year letters repeat: A is 1984, 2004 and 2024
- 7 digits means before December 2007; 8 digits means after
Four worked examples
The first example comes from Bradford White’s reference material. The second and third were built from documented formats, with made-up sequence numbers, to show the digit-count clue.
| Serial | Year letter | Month letter | What the tool shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| DG6322957 | D: 1987 or 2007 | G: July | July 2007, with 1987 as the other option. A reference chart reads this serial as July 1987. |
| JM1234567 | J: 1992 or 2012 | M: December | December 2012, with 1992 as the other option. InterNACHI gives "JM" as December 1992. Seven digits points to 1992. |
| TH12345678 | T: 1999 or 2019 | H: August | August 2019, with 1999 as the other option. Eight digits points to 2019. |
| OA8226825 | Special case | January | January 1997. Some serials starting "OA" were built only in January 1997. |
Two of the four are constructed examples, not real units.
The 20-year letter cycle: read the "may be from" line
This is the one thing to remember about Bradford White. The year letter repeats every 20 years, so a unit can be from either of two years, or three for the letters A, B and C. The tool shows the most recent year that is not in the future as the headline and lists the older ones below.
For a heater that is 15 to 20 years old, the headline year will be too new. The right year is in the line that starts “may be from”. Use three checks to pick:
- The ANSI date on the plate. A heater cannot be older than the revision of the standard printed on its plate, which rules out the earlier year.
- The digit count. Seven digits means before December 2007. Eight means after.
- The look of the unit. A heater with heavy corrosion and a dated style is not from last year.
What the tool cannot read
When the tool cannot date a serial it says so. That beats a wrong date.
Tankless units
Bradford White tankless units use other formats. The rules researched here are for tank water heaters.
Aero-built oil-fired units
Oil-fired units built by Aero use a different serial layout that the tool does not decode.
Serials that start with digits
A Bradford White serial starts with two letters. If yours starts with numbers, check that you copied the serial and not the model or a part number.
Notes on the letter table and sources
Bradford White’s own pages print the year letters in two forms that differ only for the letter A. One lists 2004 and 2024, the other lists 1984 and 2004. The tool includes all three years. The 2025 entry for B and the 2026 entry for C come from the Building Intelligence Center’s table, because the official table we could read stops at 2024.
The format and the letter tables are well supported: the manufacturer’s pages agree with each other and with two third-party references. The date itself is still ambiguous by 20 years, which is a property of the code, not of the tool.
How long does a Bradford White water heater last?
The finder measures age against a typical water heater life of 12 years. We did not find a published lifespan specific to Bradford White, so the useful numbers are the general ones. The NAHB study lists 10 years for a gas tank and 11 for an electric tank. Rheem gives 8 to 12 years for a conventional tank. The Department of Energy puts storage tank water heaters at 10 to 15 years.
A unit near 12 years is a unit to inspect, not a unit to replace on schedule. Look at the base for leaks, the water for rust and the repair history. Our water heater lifespan guide covers the signs.
Put the Bradford White age on the unit's record
Once you have the date, write it down where the next person will find it. In Invendoory, a water heater is an item in the unit’s inventory with its serial, install date, expected life and a photo tagged as the serial plate. The life-used bar then shows how much of its life is gone.
That saves the next crew from reading the plate again, and lets a supervisor sort a portfolio by the oldest tanks. See the asset inventory, the other water heater brands or the full Appliance Age Finder.
Bradford White water heater age questions
How do I read a Bradford White serial number?
The first letter is the year and the second letter is the month, followed by 7 or 8 digits. Month letters run A to M and skip I. Year letters repeat every 20 years, so check the ANSI date and the digit count to choose between the candidate years.
Why does the tool show a date that looks too new?
The year letter repeats every 20 years. The tool shows the most recent possible year first. For an older heater, the correct year is in the “may be from” line. Compare it with the ANSI date on the plate.
Does an 8-digit serial mean it is newer?
Per the reference material, Bradford White serials had 7 digits before December 2007 and 8 digits after. So an 8-digit serial points to the later year. Confirm against the plate, since this is a clue and not a guarantee.
Where is the ANSI date on the plate?
The rating plate lists the ANSI standard the water heater was built to, with a date. A heater cannot be older than that revision. If the date is later than the earlier candidate year, that year is ruled out.
What if my Bradford White serial can't be dated?
Check that you copied the serial, not the model number. Tankless and Aero-built oil-fired units use other formats the tool does not read. Contact Bradford White support with the model and serial, or look for a manufacture date on the plate.
Sources
- Bradford White For The Pro – Determining the Age of a Water Heater
- Bradford White FAQ – How to read the serial number date code chart
- Building Intelligence Center – Bradford White water heater age
- InterNACHI Water Heater Dating Chart
- NAHB and Bank of America Home Equity, Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components (2007)
- U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver Guide (2022)
- Rheem, Water Heater Lifespan: When to Repair vs. Replace
Checked October 2026.
Keep the age of every water heater on file
The finder dates one tank. Invendoory keeps the serial, install date and life used for every water heater in every unit. Open the live demo, no signup needed.