How can I tell the year of manufacture of my Kenmore nat gas hot water heater in an 18 year old house?

Answer 1

I would call Kenmore (Sears) they might be able to tell from the serial number on it or something.

Answer 2

The serial # is usually the best source to use to determine the age of a water heater the serial #'s first four to six digits will be the date if you cant read the date in the serial # look for the ANSI testing date (American National Standards Institute) and you can extrapolate the date from that date for example (of serial#) 1099788888 The first four digits are the month October and the year 99 for the ANSI date it should say something like ANSI 1999 or ANSI 1998 get it? Bear in mind that the average life expectancy of a natural gas water heater is between 10 and 15 years if its older than 10 years plan on replacing it some time in the next few years if it is older than 15 years plan to replace it in the near future.

Answer 3

Call a Sears repair shop and give them the serial no. They can look it up and tell you the age.
Also, if it looks old, it's probably 19 years old. (Made 1 year before the house was built.)

Answer 4

get the serial number and call the kenmore factory customer service.