How old is my Admiral unit?
Admiral is part of Whirlpool Corp (ex Maytag). 2 serial formats sourced across refrigerator, range, dishwasher, washer, dryer, microwave.
Serial number decoder for Admiral
Type the serial from the data plate, not the model number. Nothing is sent anywhere; the tables are in this page.
Format example: MX06404786
- Admiral refrigerator serial numbers in the 1990 to present format encode the year as single character after the plant letter(s); cycles every 30 years (1990-2019 = X,A-J,K-Y then digits 0-9 for 2010-2019; X,A.. again from 2020) and the week as the two digits after the year character (01-53) (source: building-center.org).
- Example: serial MX06404786 decodes to week 6 of 1990 or 2020.
- The 1990 to present format is ambiguous: TABLE CONFLICT for 1999-2010: building-center (the table already in formats.json) says I=1999 J=2000 K=2001 L=2002 M=2003 P=2004 R=2005 S=2006 T=2007 U=2008 W=2009 Y=2010; appliancedates says J=1999 K=2000 L=2001 M=2002 P=2003 R=2004 S=2005 T=2006 U=2007 W=2008 Y=2009 0=2010; Sears PartsDirect (official Sears, current) says J=1999 K=2000 L=2001 M=2002 N=2003 P=2004 R=2005 T=2006 U=2007 W=2008 Y=2009 0=2010. Two of three sources put K=2000, Y=2009 and 0=2010 (the building-center chart has no 0 and uses I, which Whirlpool otherwise skips) so treat the building-center table as off-by-one for 1999-2010 until a Whirlpool document settles it. All three agree X=1990..H=1998 and 1-9=2011-2019, X=2020, A=2021.. Letters repeat every 30 years, so model era is needed to pick 1991 vs 2021. Worked examples: MX06404786 = 2020 wk 6 (appliancedates, Maytag dryer MED7230HW0); MB1402320 = 1992 wk 14 (appliancedates Kenmore); RA01xxxx = wk 1 of 1991 or 2021, FM644xxxx = wk 44 of 1986 or 2016 (Sears).
- Admiral refrigerator serial numbers in the 1966 to 2010 format encode the year as 2nd-to-last character (letter) via 24-letter cycle (table below) and the last character (letter), two letters per month (table below) (source: building-center.org).
- Example: serial 12772864EL decodes to 1980 or 2004 (June).
- The 1966 to 2010 format is ambiguous: Pre-Whirlpool Maytag Corporation format (Maytag, Admiral, Magic Chef, Jenn-Air, Amana 2002-2006, Norge, Hardwick, Crosley, Caloric, Modern Maid). Year letters repeat every 24 years (E = 1980 or 2004); the letters are NOT alphabetical by year. Whirlpool phased it out after the 2006 purchase but appliancedates shows a Jenn-Air range 16240783NR built Sept 2008 in this code, so the era overlaps the Whirlpool style through ~2010. Worked examples: 12772864EL = Jun 2004 (Amana dryer NDE2330AYW), 17657865KM = Jun 1994 (Jenn-Air S156), 12150883QY = Nov 1996, 16240783NR = Sep 2008, 717486QX = Dec 1972 (6-digit sequence), 19346732EG = Apr 1980/2004 (building-center). Alliance Laundry still uses this exact letter cycle on its European-built machines (see Speed Queen rule).
Decoder pages by product
Refrigerator2 formatsRange2 formatsDishwasher2 formatsWasher2 formatsDryer2 formatsMicrowave2 formats
Format eras
- 1990 to present VERIFIED
AA########Refrigerator, Range, Dishwasher, Microwave, Washer, Dryer - 1966 to 2010 VERIFIED
########AARefrigerator, Range, Dishwasher, Microwave, Washer, Dryer
Official lookup: the authority
Open the official Whirlpool lookup takes unknown (site returns 403 to non-browser fetch); returns unknown; URL unverified
This site is a reference built from published tables. The manufacturer's own lookup wins whenever the two disagree.
What we could not confirm
- Admiral is treated as sharing Whirlpool's format because the source lists it in that family; the corporate relationship itself is an estimate.
- Admiral is treated as sharing Maytag's format because the source lists it in that family; the corporate relationship itself is an estimate.
- No official online lookup URL was verified for Admiral.
- Building-center: Maytag letter code (19346732EG) for 2005 and older, Whirlpool code 2006+. Its 'Style 1: 02 12 043964 Older Raytheon' block is copied from the Amana page - Admiral was never Raytheon. Kenmore C646/C880 = Admiral (Canada).
Sources
- https://www.building-center.org/whirlpool-appliances/
- https://appliancedates.com/MajorAppliances/WhirlpoolDateCodes.htmlofficial
- https://www.searspartsdirect.com/diy/article/how-to-find-the-age-of-your-kenmore-washer-or-dryerofficial
- https://www.searspartsdirect.com/diy/article/how-to-find-the-age-of-your-kenmore-refrigeratorofficial
- https://www.building-center.org/maytag-appliances/
- https://www.building-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/MAYTAG-DATE-CODES.jpg
- https://appliancedates.com/MajorAppliances/MaytagDateCodes.htmlofficial
- https://www.building-center.org/admiral-appliances/
