Trane serial number lookup: how old is a Trane or American Standard unit?
Trane publishes a date table that covers 1980 to 2029, and the shape of the serial tells you which part applies: a letter first means 1980 to 2001, nine characters starting with a digit mean 2002 to 2009, and ten characters mean 2010 or later, with the year in the first two digits. 193460205J is week 34 of 2019. American Standard and RunTru are read with the same table and labelled as inferred.
Where the serial number is
The nameplate is on the outdoor cabinet or on the furnace or air handler casing. Coils and accessories may carry only a short three-digit date code, which is not a full serial and is not decoded here.
Where the table is
The table is on a page called Equipment Date Identification in Trane's residential product catalog. It applies to all Trane central air conditioning and heating products and identifies the year and the fiscal week of manufacture. Because the three layouts never overlap, a Trane serial always has a single answer.
1980 to 2001: a year letter
Serials of this period have nine characters. The first is a letter from Trane's table, characters 2 and 3 are the fiscal week and character 4 is the day of the week. The letters do not follow the alphabet: O or A is 1980, T is 1981, U is 1982 and so on to Z for 2001. M124X04CF, the serial printed in the catalog, is 1997, week 12, day 4.
2002 to 2009: one digit for the year
From 2002 Trane printed the year with two digits but left the first position blank while it was zero. A nine-character serial that starts with a digit from 2 to 9 is therefore from 2002 to 2009, and the next two digits are the fiscal week. Trane notes that 2009 may appear either as 9 or as 09.
2010 to 2029: ten characters
The current layout has ten characters: two for the year, two for the fiscal week, one for the day of the week, three for a time code, then the production line and the plant. Plant letters include A for Monterrey, D for Springhill, F for Tyler, G for Trenton, H for Fort Smith, L for Lynn Haven and V for Vidalia; X marks purchased product. The Oxbox decoder, from another brand of the same group, reads 193460205J as 2019, week 34, day 6.
Model numbers
In Trane split-system models such as 4TTR6036B1000AA, the first digit names the refrigerant: 2 for R-22, 4 for R-410A and 5 for R-454B. Characters 7 and 8 are the nominal capacity in thousands of BTU per hour. American Standard outdoor units such as 4A7A6030J1000A use the same idea, with A in second place for the brand; that nomenclature comes from an American Standard product data sheet whose copy is hosted by a distributor. RunTru models such as A5AC4048A1000AA place the refrigerant in the second character and a three-digit capacity in characters 6 to 8. Furnace models give the heating input code; the decoder reads only the codes in our transcription of Trane's nomenclature.
How to read the plate, step by step
- Check whether the serial starts with a letter (1980 to 2001) or a digit.
- Nine characters starting with a digit: the first digit is the last digit of a year from 2002 to 2009.
- Ten characters: the first two digits are the year, the next two the fiscal week.
- Choose American Standard or RunTru only if that is the brand on the plate; the date is then marked as inferred.
Serial formats the decoder reads
| Format | How it is read |
|---|---|
| Trane 1980-2001 (year letter, fiscal week, day) | Trane, 1980-2001: 9 characters. The first letter is the year from Trane's table, characters 2-3 are the fiscal week, character 4 is the day of the week, then five characters of sequence. |
| Trane 2002-2009 (one year digit, fiscal week) | Trane, 2002-2009: Trane leaves the first position blank when the tens digit of the year is 0, so the serial has 9 characters and starts with the last digit of the year (2 to 9), followed by the fiscal week. |
| Trane 2010-2029 (YY, fiscal week, day, time, line, plant) | Trane, 2010 onward: 10 characters. Digits 1-2 are the year, 3-4 the fiscal week, 5 the day of the week (1 to 7), 6-8 a time code, then the production line and the plant letter. Trane's table runs to 2029; 2009 may also be printed as 09. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Trane split AC or heat pump | Trane split AC and heat pumps such as 4TTR6036B1000AA: the first digit is the refrigerant (2 = R-22, 4 = R-410A, 5 = R-454B), character 6 is the line connection, and characters 7-8 are the nominal capacity in thousands of BTU/h (36 = 3 tons). | 18 = 1.5 tons, 24 = 2 tons, 30 = 2.5 tons, 36 = 3 tons, 42 = 3.5 tons, 48 = 4 tons, 60 = 5 tons |
| American Standard split AC or heat pump | American Standard outdoor units such as 4A7A6030J1000A: the first digit is the refrigerant (2 = R-22, 4 = R-410A), A in second place marks American Standard, character 3 is the product type (6 or W heat pump, 7 or T air conditioner) and characters 7-8 are the nominal capacity in thousands of BTU/h (30 = 2.5 tons). | 18 = 1.5 tons, 24 = 2 tons, 30 = 2.5 tons, 36 = 3 tons, 42 = 3.5 tons, 48 = 4 tons, 60 = 5 tons |
| RunTru split AC or heat pump | RunTru models such as A5AC4048A1000AA: the second character is the refrigerant (5 = R-454B) and characters 6-8 are the nominal capacity in thousands of BTU/h (048 = 4 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 |
| Trane S-series gas furnace | Trane S-series gas furnaces such as S9V2B080U4PSBB: characters 6-8 are the nominal heating input code. Our table holds only the codes we transcribed from Trane's nomenclature. | 080 = 80,000 BTU/h |
| Trane TU/TD gas furnace | Older Trane TU and TD gas furnaces: the three digits after the first five characters are the heating input code (080 = 80,000 BTU/h in Trane's nomenclature). | 080 = 80,000 BTU/h |
| RunTru gas furnace | RunTru gas furnaces such as A801X040: characters 6-8 are the heating input code. | 040 = 40,000 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 |
|---|---|---|
| M124X04CFfrom a source | fiscal week 12 of 1997, day 4 (about March)Decoded | The serial printed in Trane's catalog, read with its table: M = 1997, fiscal week 12, day 4. |
| 193460205JTranefrom a source | fiscal week 34 of 2019, day 6 (about August)Decoded | The example in the Oxbox decoder: 2019, week 34, day 6. |
| 512312345by the rule | fiscal week 12 of 2005 (about March)Decoded | A 9-character serial starting with a digit: the year is 2005 and the fiscal week 12. |
| 353460205Aby the rule | Not confirmed by the manufacturer | Trane's date table ends in 2029, so 35 is not a year we can give. |
| Q124X04CFby the rule | Format not in our database | Q is not a year letter in Trane's table. |
Edge cases and limits
- A ten-character serial with a year of 30 or more lies beyond Trane's table and is not decoded.
- A ten-character serial starting with 02 to 08 does not match how Trane printed those years and is reported as not confirmed.
- Trane's catalog speaks of fiscal weeks while the Oxbox decoder calls them calendar weeks; the month shown is approximate either way.
- For American Standard only outdoor-unit model numbers are read; we have not found an American Standard furnace nomenclature.
Brands decoded by inference
- American Standard: this date uses Trane's published rule. The manufacturer does not publish a separate serial rule for American Standard, so the result is inferred, not confirmed by the manufacturer.
- RunTru: this date uses Trane's published rule (RunTru appears in Trane's catalog as RunTru by Trane). There is no RunTru serial decoder from the manufacturer, so the result is inferred, not confirmed by the manufacturer.
Questions
Does an American Standard serial read like a Trane serial?
Very likely, since both brands come from the same manufacturer, but the manufacturer does not say so. The decoder applies the Trane table and labels the result as inferred, so you know it is our reading.
What does the day digit in a Trane serial tell me?
It is the day of the production week, from 1 to 7; the Oxbox decoder from the same group counts 1 as Monday. It narrows the date a little but does not change the year or the week.
Can the model number show whether my unit uses R-22?
For Trane and American Standard split systems, yes: a first digit of 2 means R-22 and 4 means R-410A; on Trane models 5 means R-454B. The refrigerant is also printed on the nameplate, which has the final word.
Related pages
- Carrier and Bryant: Carrier and Bryant also count fiscal weeks, in a four-digit week-and-year code.
- Lennox: Lennox prints a month letter after a plant code.
- Goodman, Amana and Daikin: Goodman, Amana and Daikin start the serial with the year and the month.
- 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.
- Residential & Light Commercial product catalog 22-8301-39 (effective 1/1/26), page ACIN-3 Equipment Date Identification Trane Technologies. Checked .
- Oxbox serial number decoder Trane Technologies. Checked .
- Product data ODR-PSD016A-EN Trane Technologies. Checked .
- Product data SS-PRC040A-EN Trane Technologies. Checked .
- Product data 12-1376-1A-EN, page 6 "Model Nomenclature" (American Standard document; copy hosted by distributor Baker Distributing) American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning. Checked .
- Product data ODR-PSD045B-EN Trane Technologies. Checked .
- Split systems 22-1886-6D-EN, model number description Trane Technologies. Checked .