How old is my Admiral dryer?

Serial number age decoder for Admiral clothes dryers: 2 format eras, the decode rule in plain English, transcribed tables, and the official lookup.

Serial number decoder for Admiral dryer

Serial no.

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 dryer 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 dryer 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).

Format eras

1990 to present VERIFIED
AA########single character after the plant letter(s); cycles every 30 years (1990-2019 = X,A-J,K-Y t
1966 to 2010 VERIFIED
########AA2nd-to-last character (letter) via 24-letter cycle: A=1978/2002 B=1966/1990/2014 C=1979/20

How to read the serial

1990 to present formatVERIFIED

Shape AA######## · example MX06404786 · confidence medium

Year: 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)
Week or month: week = the two digits after the year character (01-53)
Plant: leading letter = manufacturing division; a SECOND leading letter is added on units not built by Whirlpool (appliancedates) - Sears documents the LLYWW form

Year code	Year(s)
0	1980, 2010, 2040
1	1981, 2011
2	1982, 2012
3	1983, 2013
4	1984, 2014
5	1985, 2015
6	1986, 2016
7	1987, 2017
8	1988, 2018
9	1989, 2019
X	1990, 2020
A	1991, 2021
B	1992, 2022
C	1993, 2023
D	1994, 2024
E	1995, 2025
F	1996, 2026
G	1997, 2027
H	1998, 2028
J	1999, 2029
K	2000, 2030
L	2001, 2031
M	2002, 2032
N	2003, 2033
P	2004, 2034
R	2005, 2035
T	2006, 2036
U	2007, 2037
W	2008, 2038
Y	2009, 2039

Example: serial MX06404786 decodes to week 6 of 1990 or 2020.

Trap: 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).

Listed under Whirlpool in the source; Admiral is named in that format's family and the corporate link is an estimate, not a checked fact.

1966 to 2010 formatVERIFIED

Shape ########AA · example 12772864EL · confidence high

Year: 2nd-to-last character (letter) via 24-letter cycle: A=1978/2002 B=1966/1990/2014 C=1979/2003 D=1967/1991 E=1980/2004 F=1968/1992 G=1981/2005 H=1969/1993 J=1982/2006 K=1970/1994 L=1983/2007 M=1971/1995 N=1984/2008 P=1985/2009 Q=1972/1996 R=1986/2010 S=1973/1997 T=1987/2011 U=1974/1998 V=1988/2012 W=1975/1999 X=1989/2013 Y=1976/2000 Z=1977/2001
Week or month: last character (letter), two letters per month: A/B=Jan C/D=Feb E/F=Mar G/H=Apr J/K=May L/M=Jun N/Q=Jul P/S=Aug R/U=Sep T/W=Oct V/Y=Nov X/Z=Dec

Year code	Year(s)
B	1966, 1990, 2014
D	1967, 1991, 2015
F	1968, 1992, 2016
H	1969, 1993, 2017
K	1970, 1994
M	1971, 1995
Q	1972, 1996
S	1973, 1997
U	1974, 1998
W	1975, 1999
Y	1976, 2000
Z	1977, 2001
A	1978, 2002
C	1979, 2003
E	1980, 2004
G	1981, 2005
J	1982, 2006
L	1983, 2007
N	1984, 2008
P	1985, 2009
R	1986, 2010
T	1987, 2011
V	1988, 2012
X	1989, 2013

Month code	Month
A	January
B	January
C	February
D	February
E	March
F	March
G	April
H	April
J	May
K	May
L	June
M	June
N	July
Q	July
P	August
S	August
R	September
U	September
T	October
W	October
V	November
Y	November
X	December
Z	December

Example: serial 12772864EL decodes to 1980 or 2004 (June).

Trap: 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).

Listed under Maytag in the source; Admiral is named in that format's family and the corporate link is an estimate, not a checked fact.

Where the data plate is on a dryer

Inside the door opening on the frame, or on the back panel.

General guidance, not brand-specific: the owner's manual or the installer can point to the exact spot. See the data plate guide.

For scale only: the InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes lists Dryer (clothes) at 13 years of expected service (nachi.org). That chart is a guideline, not a prediction for your unit.

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).