AC Maintenance in Columbus, MT
Air conditioners here run from July through July, so June is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Stillwater County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
One month of real heat, plus a lot of hail and wind
Columbus doesn't ask much of your air conditioner. Summer afternoons average 78°F, and July is really the only month it has to work hard. That's not a lot of runtime to wear a unit down on its own.
What matters more here is what sits outside through the rest of the year. Stillwater County has seen 52 hail events and 112 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.75 inches. That kind of weather can bend the fins on your outdoor coil or knock a panel loose without you ever noticing from inside the house. A tune-up is when a contractor checks the cabinet and coil for that kind of damage, before the one hot month of the year is the month you find out about it.
- 1 months
- July through July, your air conditioner is on duty
- 78°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 52 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 112 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in June, before homes here start needing cooling in July.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
A tune-up checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the coils, tests the capacitor and tightens the electrical connections.
Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor by the state's Department of Labor and Industry. It covers the person and the business, not each job, so the same license applies no matter whose home they are working in. Montana also sets a dollar line. Work under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor.
Where that line puts a job depends on what the work costs, so the license may or may not be the thing standing behind this particular visit. The refrigerant side of an air conditioner is covered separately either way. Any technician who opens the refrigerant lines during maintenance has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies in every state and does not depend on price or on Montana's own rule.
Source: Montana Legislature
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician cleans the condenser coil, checks the refrigerant charge, and tests the capacitor and contactor in the outdoor unit. Inside, they check the evaporator coil and the condensate drain, since a clogged drain is one of the more common causes of a system shutting itself off. They also check the filter and take amp readings on the compressor and fan motor to see if either is working harder than it should. Anyone opening the refrigerant side of the system has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, so this isn't a job for a handyman.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the weather turns warm. A spring check gives a technician the chance to catch a weak capacitor, a dirty coil, or a low refrigerant charge before the system has to run. Waiting until the first hot day means finding out about a problem when the house is already uncomfortable.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, mainly because it catches small problems while they are still small. A capacitor that is starting to weaken or a coil that is caked with dust does not stop the system right away, it just makes it work harder and cool less, and that usually goes unnoticed until the unit quits on a hot afternoon. A yearly check is what catches that kind of wear before it turns into a breakdown.