Carrier and Bryant serial number lookup: age and tonnage
On Carrier and Bryant air conditioners, heat pumps and furnaces, the first four digits of the serial number are the week and the year of manufacture: in 0106E00001, the example in Carrier's manuals, 01 is the first week and 06 is 2006. Add the model number and the decoder also gives the nominal cooling size or the furnace input where Carrier publishes them.
Where the serial number is
On an outdoor unit the rating plate is fixed to the cabinet; on a furnace it may be behind the front door. It lists the model and serial numbers, the electrical data and, for cooling equipment, the refrigerant and its factory charge.
Week, year and plant
Carrier prints the layout in a box headed Serial Number Nomenclature in its service manuals: four digits for the week and the year, a plant letter and a five-digit sequence. In 0106E00001, E is the Collierville, Tennessee plant; X stands for Monterrey, Mexico. Other plant letters exist but are not named in the documents we use, so the decoder marks them as not listed.
A fiscal week, not a calendar week
A Bryant installation document describes the week as a week of the fiscal calendar. Fiscal weeks do not start on the same days as calendar weeks, so the month the decoder shows is approximate; the year is not affected.
How far back the layout goes
Bryant's legacy warranty page lists serials 2993A00001 to 5211A99999, week 29 of 1993 to week 52 of 2011. We read the year digits 93 to 99 as the 1990s and 00 onward as this century. Earlier Carrier serials used other layouts that only third parties describe.
Model numbers: size, input and refrigerant
In split-system models such as 24ACC636A003, characters 7 and 8 are the nominal cooling capacity in thousands of BTU per hour: 36 means 36,000 BTU/h, or 3 tons. Bryant models with a three-digit series, such as 113ANA018000, carry the capacity in characters 7 to 9, and the A in fourth place means Puron, Carrier's name for R-410A. Models starting with 26 are Puron Advance air conditioners using R-454B.
In gas furnace models such as 59SC5A060S17, characters 7 to 9 are the input code, and Carrier's product data lists 060 as 60,000 BTU/h.
How to read the plate, step by step
- Type the ten-character serial: four digits, a letter, five digits.
- Digits 1 and 2 are the week, digits 3 and 4 the year; the letter names the plant.
- Add the model number to see the nominal size and, for some series, the refrigerant.
- Treat the month as approximate because Carrier counts fiscal weeks.
Serial formats the decoder reads
| Format | How it is read |
|---|---|
| Carrier/Bryant week + year (WW YY, plant letter, sequence) | Carrier and Bryant: digits 1-2 are the week of manufacture and digits 3-4 the year, followed by a plant letter and a 5-digit sequence (the SERIAL NUMBER NOMENCLATURE box in Carrier's service manuals). Bryant lists serials from 2993A00001 to 5211A99999 as 1993 to 2011, so this layout goes back at least to 1993. |
Model number codes the decoder reads
Only the codes listed here are translated. A code outside this list is shown as "not in the table", and you read the size or input from the plate instead.
| Nomenclature | Position | Codes |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier/Bryant split AC or heat pump (two-digit series) | Carrier and Bryant cooling models such as 24ACC636A003: characters 7-8 are the nominal cooling capacity in thousands of BTU/h (36 = 3 tons). The series prefix 26 marks a Puron Advance (R-454B) air conditioner. | 18 = 1.5 tons, 24 = 2 tons, 30 = 2.5 tons, 36 = 3 tons, 42 = 3.5 tons, 48 = 4 tons, 60 = 5 tons |
| Bryant split AC or heat pump (three-digit series) | Bryant models with a three-digit series such as 113ANA018000: the 4th character A means Puron (R-410A) and characters 7-9 are the nominal cooling capacity in thousands of BTU/h (018 = 1.5 tons). | 018 = 1.5 tons, 024 = 2 tons, 030 = 2.5 tons, 036 = 3 tons, 042 = 3.5 tons, 048 = 4 tons, 060 = 5 tons |
| Carrier/Bryant gas furnace | Carrier and Bryant gas furnaces such as 59SC5A060S17: characters 7-9 are the heating input code. Our table holds only the codes we transcribed from Carrier's product data. | 060 = 60,000 BTU/h |
Worked examples
Each serial below is either printed in a source or built by us strictly by the source's rule (marked "by the rule"), and each is an automated test of the decoder. Readings that depend on today's date are as of October 27, 2026.
| Serial | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0106E00001from a source | fiscal week 1 of 2006 (about January)Decoded | The example in Carrier's SERIAL NUMBER NOMENCLATURE box: week 1 of 2006, Collierville plant. |
| 2993A00001Bryantby the rule | fiscal week 29 of 1993 (about July)Decoded | The first serial of Bryant's 1993-2011 range: week 29 of 1993. |
| 5211A99999Bryantby the rule | fiscal week 52 of 2011 (about December)Decoded | The last serial of Bryant's range: week 52 of 2011. |
| 0188E12345by the rule | Not confirmed by the manufacturer | Year digits 88: 2088 is in the future and 1988 is before the layout is documented, so no date is given. |
| 5899E12345by the rule | Does not fit the format | 58 is not a week number. |
Edge cases and limits
- Two-digit years from 27 to 92 would fall in the future or before 1993, so the decoder reports them as not confirmed.
- Air handler models carry a range code, for example 002 for 18,000 to 36,000 BTU/h, not a single size; the decoder does not read them.
- Carrier ductless units are not covered; we have not confirmed which serial layout they use.
- Payne equipment is built by the same company, but no Payne document explains its serial, so Payne is not covered.
Questions
How old is my Carrier air conditioner?
Read the first four digits of the serial number: the first two are the production week and the next two the year. A serial starting 0106 was made in the first week of 2006.
Is the Carrier week number the same as a calendar week?
Not exactly. Carrier counts on a fiscal calendar, so a week can start a few days away from the calendar week with the same number. The year is reliable; treat the month as approximate.
What does tonnage mean on an air conditioner?
One ton of cooling is 12,000 BTU per hour. The capacity code in the model is a nominal size class, so a 36 unit is sold as 3 tons even though its measured output depends on the indoor coil and the weather.
Related pages
- Trane: Trane also counts fiscal weeks, with a date table back to 1980.
- Goodman, Amana and Daikin: Goodman, Amana and Daikin print the calendar month instead of a week.
- Lennox: Lennox serials start with a plant code and use a month letter.
- All HVAC brand families: Every brand family we decode, and the brands we do not decode yet with the reason.
- Where to find the data plate: Where the serial number sits on each type of equipment and how to copy it without mistakes.
- Refrigerants and EPA dates: Why the date of manufacture alone does not tell you whether a unit uses R-22, R-410A or R-454B.
- Service life estimates: What ENERGY STAR publishes about typical ages, and what kind of number each figure is.
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from the documents below, published by the manufacturer or a U.S. government agency. The date is when we last checked each one.
- Service manual 24-25-2SM (04/08), serial number nomenclature Carrier Corporation. Checked .
- Service manual 24VNA6 / 25VNA4 (06/20), serial number nomenclature Carrier Corporation. Checked .
- Installation instructions II569L (week of manufacture, fiscal calendar) Carrier Corporation (Bryant). Checked .
- Legacy gas furnace enhanced warranty (serial range 1993 to 2011) Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems. Checked .
- Product data 26SCA5-02PD Carrier Corporation. Checked .
- Product data PDS113A-21 Carrier Corporation (Bryant). Checked .
- Product data 59SC5A-14PD Carrier Corporation. Checked .