age of this furnace?

[jodil]

I have looked in the guides on this site and the page sent to me by another member of this site, and this manufacturer is not listed. If anyone can help me I would be very appreciative.

Manufacturer

International Economy

serial # 8095 model # GL120

Obviously my first guess would be 1980. But I inspected a house last week (luckily a friends) and I guessed at the age of the furnace, as it had a simple serial # as the one above, and my friend laughed and said her parents had installed that furnace in the 40's! So my guess was a tad off.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by jodil

I have looked in the guides on this site and the page sent to me by another member of this site, and this manufacturer is not listed. If anyone can help me I would be very appreciative.

Manufacturer

International Economy

serial # 8095 model # GL120

Obviously my first guess would be 1980. But I inspected a house last week (luckily a friends) and I guessed at the age of the furnace, as it had a simple serial # as the one above, and my friend laughed and said her parents had installed that furnace in the 40's! So my guess was a tad off.

There used to be a company called, simply, "International" that made furnaces. They've been out of business for decades. Their serial numbers always contained 4 digits, just like yours, and the numbers bore no relation to the year. Even better, the serial number pattern didn't repeat.

The serial number 8095 equated to the year 1955.

Is is possible that the furnace you saw is this old?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[jodil]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for that info. Yes it very well could be a 1955. The house was built in 1912, the supporting members in the basement are railroad ties and telephone poles!

Originally posted by Jim Katen

Originally posted by jodil

I have looked in the guides on this site and the page sent to me by another member of this site, and this manufacturer is not listed. If anyone can help me I would be very appreciative.

Manufacturer

International Economy

serial # 8095 model # GL120

Obviously my first guess would be 1980. But I inspected a house last week (luckily a friends) and I guessed at the age of the furnace, as it had a simple serial # as the one above, and my friend laughed and said her parents had installed that furnace in the 40's! So my guess was a tad off.

There used to be a company called, simply, "International" that made furnaces. They've been out of business for decades. Their serial numbers always contained 4 digits, just like yours, and the numbers bore no relation to the year. Even better, the serial number pattern didn't repeat.

The serial number 8095 equated to the year 1955.

Is is possible that the furnace you saw is this old?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Neal Lewis]

Jodi,

Post a picture and someone probably could guess within 5 years. As others have said, you have to step back and inspect things like the overall look of the furnace and get a feel for it. Now, this does take experience to glance at a system from across the room and know the brand and era it was made. Don't concentrate on the damn serial numbers. Look for the many other clues available. For instance, a date stamped on the gas valve. Look for that and then at the serial number and see if the two jibe. Find the owner's manual; lots of dates in those, at least the date of when the manual was printed.

[hausdok]

Good advice,

Also, examine the service stickers on the side of the furnace to see how far back the service records go and look for the ANSI date on the labeling to put you within a year or two of manufacture.

OT - OF!!!

M.