Help with age of these units

[Mark P]

I'm usually pretty good at determining the ages, but need some help on these two: I can't find them in my usual sources. What is confusing me is the house was supposedly built in 1986, and these appear orginal, but there is nothing in the number that looks like 86.

Electric furnace:Climatrol

Model #:945125115C

Serial #: LJ745117

A/C:

Model #: CL24-1EB

SR# 910709230

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[Bill Kibbel]

I don't think Climatrol uses any type of date code. I wouldn't hesitate to assume it's original.

The A/C is a Goodman, so the date of manufacture is July, 1991.

[Jim Katen]

Climatrol coded the date in the letters at the beginning of the serial number.

According to their serial number guide, LJ would indicate July of '74.

The orange color on the Climatrol logo sure looks like an early '70s color.

Is it possible that the house is older than they told you?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Mark P]

Humm, that is confusing, I think I'll try and search the county records online to see if I can come up with the year the house was built. Now that would sure be something to report to the buyer - that the house is 12 years older then he was told.

[Mark P]

Thanks Jim for the help. Where did you find their serial number guide? I've searched the web and the list I maintain with no luck. I've e-mail the company in Australia to ask them to confirm the date.

According to the online county records the house was built in 1986. Seems odd that the a/c unit is 5 years older then the house.

[cguffin]

Humm, that is confusing, I think I'll try and search the county records online to see if I can come up with the year the house was built. Now that would sure be something to report to the buyer - that the house is 12 years older then he was told.

I have just added to my studies ("American Homes" by Lester Walker and "A Field Guide To American Houses" by McAlester). And have been thinking whether or not it was standard to search county records for property information or rely on the home owner for this information. What is the SOP?

Thanks For The Opportunity!

Craig

[hausdok]

Hi,

I don't do any city or county property history research for the clients unless they intend to pay me hourly for it, including my travel time to and from the records repository and the time it takes to review the material and write up whatever I find. With the traffic snarls around here, that could easily run more than in inspection.

Our state requires that sellers fill out a property disclosure form. The client sometimes has that in hand - mosttimes not.

If you intend to do it, I'd recommend that you do it as an optional/added-cost service. Otherwise, you'll find yourself running ragged trying to split your time between doing inspections and writing up reports and driving to various records repositories, standing in gueue waiting to be served, making copies, etc..

It's better, in my opinion, to just advise the client up-front that it's outside the standards of practice, that it costs extra, and that they, as part of their due diligence, would be well advised to undertake that portion of their pre-purchase investigation.

Just being curmudgeonly here. I've got a reputation to uphold, you know.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[cguffin]

If you intend to do it, I'd recommend that you do it as an optional/added-cost service. Otherwise, you'll find yourself running ragged trying to split your time between doing inspections and writing up reports and driving to various records repositories, standing in gueue waiting to be served, making copies, etc..

Thanks, I was thinking just that. Some of the reports that I have read from other HI's on TIJ and there company web-sites are so thourough about the property dicription, age, etc... I was wondering how the heck can you tell all that just by walking through a property.[:-crazy] The records research (as you stated) would add hours/day's to a property inspection.

Craig

[Mark P]

I do not make a habbit of looking at county records, but I knew for this county everythng is online and it only took me 5 minutes. It did in fact state the house was built in 1986. I only wanted took confirm, since Kurt thought the furnace was made years before the house was built. It is still a mistery.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by AHIS

Thanks Jim for the help. Where did you find their serial number guide? I've searched the web and the list I maintain with no luck. I've e-mail the company in Australia to ask them to confirm the date.

According to the online county records the house was built in 1986. Seems odd that the a/c unit is 5 years older then the house.

I'm probably wrong then.

I use a crib sheet that I've put together over the years. Most of the information comes from the manufacturers that I called when I was just starting in business. Unfortunately, portions of the sheet are illegible and some are barely legible. The portion on Climatrol is sketchy at best and I have no idea where I cribbed it from, so it may simply be inaccurate.

I also looked in the Carson Dunlop Technical Reference guide and I'm attaching a scan of the Climatrol chart. It's more specific than my notes, but it (most inconveniently) begins in 1975 and ends in 1984. If you extrapolate, it does seem to corroborate my notes re:1974, however, extrapolating from these charts is dangerous.

If you've confirmed the house's age, I'd probably just tell them that the furnace looks as if it's original.

One other thing, what do the numbers under the UL sticker say?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

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