The purchase of Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning by York Heating and Air Conditioning has caused a bit of confusion with Coleman furnace serial numbers. Coleman serial numbers can include the manufacturing plant location along with the manufacturing date. Knowing how to read your serial number can help when finding replacement parts for your furnace. Parts used in one production run could be different from a furnace manufactured a few months before or after yours. Deciphering the serial number also helps when determining the warranty expiration date for your furnace.
Look for the furnace nameplate. It could be a metal plate or sticker on the front or side of the furnace. Remove the lower panel from the front of the furnace by removing the screws, pulling it from friction clips, or rotating thumbscrews on the front of the panel. Look on the back of the panel to find the nameplate if the furnace does not have a visible nameplate.
Find the box on the nameplate labeled “Serial Number.” Write the series of numbers, or numbers and letters printed inside the box on a notepad.
Count the number of letters at the beginning of the serial number, if applicable. Some serial numbers begin with letter, number, letter, number; other serial numbers consist of only nine numbers.
List the names of the months on a piece of paper for serial numbers that begin with a letter, number, letter, number. Assign a letter of the alphabet to each month. This identifies the furnace manufacturing month. Do not use the letter “I.” Assign the letter “A” to January, “B” to February and “C” to March. Continue to assign the letters in alphabetical order to each month until you designate December with the letter “M.”
Match the first letter to a Coleman manufacturing plant. Serial numbers beginning with “A” originate from the Apodaca plant. Serial numbers beginning with “S” originate from the Sourcle plant. Serial numbers beginning with “W” originate from the Wichita plant, and numbers beginning with “N” originate from the Norman plant.
Match the next letter in the serial number to the manufacturing month from the list you created.
Write down the numbers in the serial number’s second and fourth positions. These two numbers represent the year the furnace was manufactured. For example, a serial number beginning with N0H6 means the furnace was manufactured at the Norman plant in August 2006.
Translate nine-digit serial numbers that do not include any letters. The first two digits of serial numbers assigned to furnaces manufactured prior to April 1992 represent the month, and the following two digits represent the year. For example, a serial number of 049112345 represents a manufacturing date of April 1991. The first two digits of serial numbers assigned to furnaces manufactured after April 1992 represent the year, and the following two digits represent the month. For example, a serial number of 920512345 represents a manufacturing date of May 1992.