Mike's Home Inspector Blog

Decoding An Appliance Age

8/10/2025

Being a home inspector often means developing some detective skills.

I’ve always liked how Mike Holmes would say, “I see XYZ and am going to store that in the back of my mind.” I do this on almost every inspection. Something I can’t immediately identify or explain will often become clearer as the inspection progresses. That said, there are some things that—even with modern tools and AI searches—remain surprisingly difficult. One of the biggest? Determining the age of an appliance.

You’d think such a simple question would have a straightforward answer. But ask any home inspector, and they’ll tell you: many manufacturers seem to go out of their way to make it as difficult as possible, using cryptic codes that feel like they were designed by a professional codebreaker.
Here are a few examples from well-known brands:

Lifebreath (Heat Recovery Ventilators)
Since 1995: The manufacturing date is encoded in the first six digits of the serial number.

Example: 081025123 = August 10, 2025 (the date I’m writing this post).

Pre-1995: The first two digits (in reverse) indicate the year, and the next two digits (not reversed) indicate the month. If yours is this old, it’s well past its expected lifespan and should be replaced.

Example: ABCD490812345678 = August 10, 1994.

GSW (Water Heaters)
The first two digits indicate the year, and the next two indicate the week of the year.

Example: 2532123456 = August 10, 2025.

Venmar (Heat Recovery Ventilators)
Residential: The 5th and 6th characters are the year, and the 7th and 8th are the month.

Example: 1A2325083456 = August 10, 2025.

Commercial: The last grouping of the serial number is the manufacturing date.

Example: 1234567-890123-20250810 = August 10, 2025

These are some of the easier examples. Others are so cryptic I could spend literal hours researching them. In those cases, I rely on other clues—like the type of refrigerant used, the presence of a QR code, or how faded the label is—to make an educated guess. Sometimes, home inspections are less about having all the answers right away and more about knowing how to find them… even if it means a bit of detective work.

Why it Matters
Knowing the true age of appliances and systems isn’t just trivia: it can influence repair decisions, replacement planning, and even negotiation power when buying or selling a home. If an appliance is nearing the end of its lifespan, it’s better to know now than be surprised later with an unexpected breakdown. A good home inspector isn’t just looking at what’s there today: they’re helping you anticipate what might be coming tomorrow.

Look! A Unicorn! It actually has the manufacturing year listed!

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In (Anode) Rod We Trust

9/13/2021

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As both an entrepreneur and a holder of a bachelor’s degree in commerce, I like to view hiring an independent home inspector as a financial investment with a great return: our (low) upfront fees will usually save you significant amounts of money on home maintenance down the road. I know in my own home I have saved thousands in maintenance costs over the years with my understanding of complex building systems. Today I want to show you how, for about $40 and a decent breaker bar or torque wrench (or better yet a plumber!), you can significantly increase the life of your water heater, even more so if you live outside of an area supplied by Halifax Water that has hard water.

This is an anode rod, sometimes known as a sacrificial anode and is the key to extending the life of your tank. As the name implies, it sacrifices itself to take most of the corrosion away from the tank liner. Without getting into the boring science of electron flow, both magnesium and aluminum lose electrons (i.e., corrode, rust) much faster than ferrous metals such as steel, which is what most tanks are constructed of. These should be checked every year after 3 years and replaced as needed. At approximately $40, it is a lot cheaper and easier to replace than a tank: replacing ours on short notice cost us a total of $1300 just 3 days after moving into our home, not including spending our very first weekend cleaning up the mess and dealing with no hot water for the entire day.

Another way to keep your tank running well into the future is to flush it once a year: simply hook up a garden hose and turn the tap after shutting off both the power and water supply to clear impurities that have settled and cause significant rust. As I have mentioned before, a burst water tank is a deeply unpleasant experience that can be minimized with regular maintenance. Be sure to read the manuals for all your home’s equipment and appliances: there are valuable tips that can both extend the life of and improve efficiency of your home’s components.

A home inspector will also look for other important safety features, such as a temperature/pressure relief valve and tube. While catastrophic tank failures are obviously rare, water heaters have an incredible amount of stored energy, and a failed tank can be shot up through the roof and into a neighbour’s yard like a rocket. Regular home maintenance can help insure you will never meet them in this way!

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