Air compressors have been around for decades, which means there are years’ worth of unique serial numbers that identify each unit. These clusters of numbers are more important than they look and can save you from unnecessary expenses in the future.
However, what happens when you can’t figure out how to look up the serial number?
There are plenty of reasons people struggle with identifying the serial number of their air compressors, especially with aged units. With our guide to air compressor serial number lookup, we will take you through all you need to know about serial numbers and how to identify them no matter how old the unit is.
But first, let’s talk about the significance of a serial number.
Contents
Why are Air Compressor Serial Numbers Important?
By definition, a serial number is a unique set of numbers and letters that is assigned to every unit of a product to individually identify it, or identify it within a series. Identification through serial numbers have made it much easier to find, replace, and repair products such as air compressors.
Here are some reasons why you should always try to remember a serial number for air compressor –
Warranty
The most beneficial part of preserving the serial number of an air compressor is warranty coverage. Air compressors can have a warranty ranging from 5 to 15 years or even longer depending on the manufacturer guidelines.
Keeping note of the serial number is important in this case as customer care will ask you for it when you try to claim any repair or replacement benefits that the warranty entails.
Genuineness
With the growing market of dupes and copycat products, it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish between a genuine product and a fake one.
A serial number is unique and helps in identifying each individual air compressor. You can easily check to see if your air compressor is fake or not by searching it up on the manufacturer’s website or consulting customer care.
Avoiding Unnecessary Repair Costs
If you own a very old air compressor, there’s a pretty big chance that some of its parts have gone out of production and therefore can no longer be replaced.
In fact, there’s also a probability of the air compressor itself not being manufactured anymore.
In this case, looking up the serial number will help you gauge whether or not the air compressor is eligible to be repaired or replaced. If not, you would save yourself from a bunch of unnecessary replacement/repair costs.
How to Find the Serial Number of an Air Compressor
Now that we know why a serial number is important, let’s get into how to locate one and look it up. Here’s our step-by-step guide on how to find the serial number of an air compressor –
Step 1 – Find the Decal
If you know the basics of air compressor model number lookup, you also know how to find the serial number. This is because the model number and serial number are both printed on the decal that is pasted on the air compressor.
The positioning of the decal differs from label to label, but you should look around the frame, cylinder, or near the discharge port on the tank.
Step 2 – Identify the Serial Number
A serial number has an average digit count of at least 6 or 7 characters. Serial numbers can be fully in numerical form, or have symbols and/or letters. To distinguish a serial number from a model number, the decal has the labels “Serial No.” and “Model No.” before each of them.
Step 3 – Look Up the Serial Number
Once you’ve identified the serial number, go onto the manufacturer’s website and type in the number into their search bar or serial number search engine.
If the label of your air compressor does not have this option, then you can consult customer care and have your unit identified for you.
Identifying Old Air Compressors
Air compressors that are very old or have gone out of production, are harder to identify than newer modeled ones. This is due to the fact that their decals have worn off or do not have one at all. But there’s still hope.
Here are all the possible tips on identifying old air compressors –
Nameplate
Old air compressors tend to have a nameplate in the place of a decal. So, look around the cylinder and frame to locate this thin metal plate.
On the nameplate, you’ll have the manufacturer’s label, the capacity of the cylinder, the model type, and sometimes even the serial number.
Take whatever info you can gather and look it up on Google.
Date Stamp
If there’s no nameplate or decal, you will have to look around the unit for a date stamp. You need to look for two things – the manufacturer’s label, and the year of production.
Once you’ve found these two things, you can do a quick Google search to identify the unit, or speak to customer care.
Patent Number
Look around the unit for the patent number, which should be next to the label. Then, run a Google search to find the issue date of the air compressor. You should at least be able to find out whether the air compressor is in or out of production.
If you’re still struggling to identify the unit, post a picture of it to a forum related to air compressors to get further insight.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can I tell what kind of air compressor I have?
You can look for the nameplate on the air compressor, serial number, model number, patent number, or even the date stamp. All these can tell you what kind of air compressor you own.
2. How do you read a compressor model number?
A model number can consist of letters along with numbers that are codes for identifying the kind of air compressor you have. To fully gauge how to read model numbers, we recommend checking out this video tutorial.
3. How do you check a compressor serial number?
It should be around the cylinder, frame, or near the discharge port on the tank. Serial numbers of modern air compressors are printed on decals.
4. How old is my air compressor by serial number?
A serial number can have anywhere between 6 to 9 characters, both in letters and numbers. The first two numbers tell you the year the unit was manufactured, and the third character indicates the month of manufacture.
Conclusion
That concludes all our information on air compressor serial number lookup. The main takeaway from our guide and advice should be to look closely, search up any queries before taking a new step, and to consult customer care if you cannot find any additional details.