Alpha data plate: where the serial number and GC number are

Where is the data plate on an Alpha boiler?

It depends on how old the boiler is, and Alpha is patchier about saying so than most makers. The current E-Tec and Evoke books all carry a section called Data Badge Annotation, which sets out what every code on the label means, but only the E-Tec Plus NX manual then tells you where to find it: Section 3.7 points to Section 5.5, and the Data label callout in Fig. 5.4 puts it on the underside of the boiler, over on the left beside the electrical connection. The older ranges are much more direct. The CD combis, the CD S and X models and the InTec range all say the data label is on the inside of the left hand side panel, the CD R heat-only boilers say underneath the bottom casing, and the CD50S, CD70S and Pro Tec Plus books say the inside of the right hand side of the base plate.

The ProTec NX is the odd one out and worth knowing about before you turn up. Section 1.3 of its manual shows the data plate on the top panel, and Fig. 40 shows a second plate next to it. That second one is the indelible plate, which the installer fills in at commissioning with the model, the serial number, the heating output the appliance is set to, the hot water power and the flue type, then fixes to the outside of the unit where it can be seen. If somebody has done that job properly, most of what you need is readable without opening anything.

What is a GC number?

A GC number is the Gas Council number, a seven digit reference that identifies one exact appliance variant rather than a range name. Alpha prints it in the form 47 532 89, with spaces instead of the dashes some makers use, and puts it on the front cover of the installation and servicing instructions as well as on the data label. It follows the appliance whatever the brochure calls it that year, which is why a merchant, a parts catalogue and a gas safety record all lean on it. Two boilers wearing the same E-Tec badge can take different parts and carry different numbers, so read it off the label rather than working backwards from the range name.

What is the GC number for my Alpha?

Match the model on the label against the lists below. Every number here was read off the cover of Alpha's own installation and servicing instructions for that model, and nothing has been carried over from a merchant listing. Check the output and the gas as well as the range name, because both change the number.

Two rows in that table are worth a second look. The LPG version of the E-Tec 33 is 37 532 74 and the LPG Evoke 33 is 37 532 76, both starting 37 rather than the 47 you see everywhere else on the cover. That is what Alpha printed, so copy it as found and do not tidy it into a 47 because the rest of the page reads that way.

A few gaps are deliberate. The CD combi, CD S and CD X books are marked for use with natural gas only and print no LPG number, so none is listed. The InTec2 25XE and 28XE manual carries no GC number on its cover at all. Neither does the Pro Tec NX book or the E-Tec 33 HB hybrid boiler book, so for those the label on the appliance is the only source and there is nothing to check it against on paper. For any other Alpha, open that model's manual from the manuals library or the discontinued products page and read the cover, which is where Alpha has always printed it.

What do the codes on an Alpha data badge mean?

They are the same set on every current E-Tec, Evoke and InTec2, printed in the Data Badge Annotation section of the manual. Md is the model and Sr No is the serial number, which are the two you want, and the rest is the technical data you would otherwise go hunting for in Section 3.1. It is worth knowing the codes because the label is a dense little thing to read at arm's length under a boiler.

How old is my Alpha boiler?

Not from the serial number, because Alpha does not publish a way of reading one. The manuals label Sr No as the serial number and stop there. The homeowner FAQs never mention it. There is no online checker on Alpha's site that turns a serial into a build date the way some makers offer, and the information menu on an E-Tec Plus NX shows flow temperatures, fault history and software versions but not the serial. Anyone selling you a confident year from an Alpha serial has worked it out somewhere other than Alpha.

There is one clue Alpha does publish, and it is about the model rather than the date. The product list on the guarantee registration page splits some older InTec entries by a two character serial code, so you pick between InTec 30C (Serial A2) and InTec 30C (Serial H5), or between InTec 40GS (Serial B8) and InTec 40GS (Serial J3). The front of the serial therefore tells Alpha which production version is on the wall. It does not tell you the year, and Alpha does not publish what the characters stand for.

How do I register the guarantee on an Alpha?

Through the guarantee registration form on Alpha's site, which asks for the product serial number and the model picked from a list, along with the customer, installation and installer details. Alpha's own Benchmark wording sets the window at one month from installation to instigate the guarantee, and says that keeping it depends on the boiler being serviced every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer who has been trained on that boiler. If you would rather the registration went to Gas Safe as well, Alpha asks installers to do it through the installer login area instead of the public form. Cover varies by range: the E-Tec Plus NX carries ten years as standard, rising to eleven with a Cyclone Plus NX magnetic filter and thirteen with a PremierPack Pro, while the E-Tec NX, E-Tec NXS and E-Tec Regular are listed at seven.

What goes on the record?

• Make and model exactly as printed on the label, not as described by the customer or the previous certificate.
• GC number in full, all seven digits, so the variant is unambiguous at the parts counter.
• Serial number in full, since it is the only thing that identifies that individual boiler.
• Gas category and connection pressure, so the appliance can be checked against the supply on site.
• Anything that does not match the Benchmark checklist or the last record, noted as found.

One practical warning before you go looking. On the CD, InTec and Pro Tec Plus ranges the label is inside the case, which means the front has to come off to read it, and that is service work rather than a quick look. Do not take screws out of a boiler you are not there to service, and do not go hunting for a label on an appliance with restricted access or one that needs steps to reach. If the label has faded past reading, the Benchmark checklist in the customer's paperwork carries the serial, and on a ProTec NX the installer's indelible plate should carry it too.

Whichever Alpha is on the wall, the record is the same job every time, and a mistyped model or GC number is the easiest thing to get wrong on a cold morning. Manifold's PlateScan reads the make, model and GC number straight off the label with your phone camera, drops them into the record, and keeps the property's appliance history ready for the next visit.