BRAVOS appliances were purchased by Whirlpool in 2006. Prior to that, they used their own internal serial number date code format.
To decode a BRAVOS appliance serial number from this time period, follow these steps:
Step 1: Locate the Serial Number
Look for the serial number on the product label, which is usually located on the back or bottom of the appliance.
The location of the serial number may vary depending on the type of appliance you are working with. Some common places to look for the serial number include:
- On the back or side of a refrigerator
- On the rim or base of a dishwasher
- On the door jamb or control panel of a washing machine or dryer
- On the control panel of an oven or range
Step 2: Decode the Serial Number
Identify the last two letters of the serial number. These letters indicate the manufacturing date code.
The first letter represents the year, while the second letter represents the month. For example, "EJ" would represent May 1990.
Compare the alpha characters to the manufacturer's serial date code chart.
BRAVOS appliances manufacturer after the Whirlpool acquisition can be decoded using the following steps:
Step 1: Locate the Serial Number
Look for the serial number on the product label, which is usually located on the back or bottom of the appliance.
The location of the serial number may vary depending on the type of appliance you are working with. Some common places to look for the serial number include:
- On the back or side of a refrigerator
- On the rim or base of a dishwasher
- On the door jamb or control panel of a washing machine or dryer
- On the control panel of an oven or range
Step 2: Decode the Serial Number
BRAVOS serial numbers are either 9 or 10 digits. If 9 digits, the character in the 2nd position is the date code. If 10 digits, the 3rd character is the date code.
Knowing the length of the serial number is crucial. For example, VE7123456 decodes to 1995 but adding one additional digit like VE71234568 would decode to 2017.
Once you have determined the length of the serial number and the appropriate date code, the two digits immediately following the date code represents the week of the year it was manufactured.
For HVAC, the first four characters should be numeric. The first two are the year, and the 2nd and 3rd the month of manufacture. For example 1108B30987 decodes to 2011.