GE serial number decoder

[classiccaprice]

Hi all,

I'm trying to find an old post that gave month and year decoding instructions for GE serial numbers. I've been hunting but just havent found the right key words to give me what I'm looking for.

I'm pretty sure it covered the mid 60s, as the online decoders don't match up as well. Someone put it in a post a few years back as a photo, if I recall.

Does anyone have that information or could help me find the post? Thanks.

 

[turquoisedude]

At the risk of being told I have no idea what I am talking about as would happen in the FB appliance and vintage groups here's what I know off the top of my head:

 

From the model numbers, date codes had been as follows:

 

K - 1953

L - 1954

M - 1955

N - 1956

P - 1957

R - 1958

S - 1959

T - 1960

V - 1961

W - 1962

X - 1963

Y - 1964

A - 1965

B - 1966

 

I am not sure what sequence post-1966 model numbers followed after that. 

 

There.  Now y'all can go ahead and make fun of me. 

 

 

[pulltostart]

Here is a link to GE's information.  The codes during the 1960's were squirrely at best.  Sometimes I wonder why they even bothered.

 

Hopefully this will tell you what you're looking for.

 

lawrence

GE Appliance - How to Determine the Age or Manufacture Date

 

[swestoyz]

1960's GE Identification

I really wish that GE would go back and "fix" the table on their site. It's actually quite accurate, with the letter codes for the year starting in 1944 at A, then resetting in 1965 back to A. On their site, 1961 thru 1968 are listed having two letters. It's almost as if someone was taking a code from an actual appliance and forgot to drop the last letter.

Below, I've included a revised version of the GE list, cleaning up 1961 through 1968 and including both month identifier patterns used. The second screenshot is from the Combination service manual, describing how both the model identifier and serial number systems are used. While the Combination screenshot covers 1959-1967 models, the principal behind each letter designation was used for several years across all laundry products.

As for their laundry line and how the model year identifier is used, they first started incorporating the letter within the model itself in 1953, with the WA650K and WA450K. GE then used the year identifier for each model year through 1970, with 1971 being the first skip or bridge year. 1972 is the short lived N series, and the major revisions came along with the 1973 P series machines, that covered the model identifier through until 1975 with the V series, and again resetting with the A series in 1977.

Hotpoint laundry appliances started using the GE serial number system with the 1969 models as 1968 carry overs, with 1970 being the first year that the Hotpoint line fell into a similar GE looking model identifier configuration.

Ben