AC Repair in Lewistown, MT
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Fergus County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real work, then long stretches of nothing
Your air conditioner in Fergus County only earns its keep in July and August, when afternoons average 79°F. That short season is not hard on a unit the way a long one is, but it does mean the system sits idle most of the year, then gets asked to start up and run hard as soon as the heat hits.
The bigger threat here comes from the sky, not the thermostat. Fergus County has logged 48 hail events and 147 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. Hail that size dents the thin aluminum fins on the outdoor coil, and a hard enough hit can bend the fan or knock the unit out of alignment. Wind throws branches and debris into the cabinet or rocks the unit on its pad. After a storm like that, look for bent or flattened fins across the coil, a fan that rattles or won't spin freely, or the unit blowing warm air when it used to cool fine.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 48 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 147 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in Fergus County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Fergus County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Montana fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when a part like a capacitor or contactor has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the compressor has failed or the system uses R-22 refrigerant, which is no longer made.
Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to each job, so it covers the business doing the work rather than this specific repair. In Montana, a job under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor at all, so a small repair can fall outside that requirement depending on what it costs.
If the repair involves opening the refrigerant side of the air conditioner, whoever does that work needs EPA Section 608 certification, which applies everywhere in the country regardless of what the job costs or who is licensed to do it in Montana.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the refrigerant is low, the coil is frozen over, or the filter is so clogged that air can't move through it. A dirty filter starves the coil of airflow, and the coil ices up as a result. Low refrigerant means a leak somewhere in the line, and that takes a licensed contractor to find and fix, since anyone opening the refrigerant side of the system has to hold EPA certification. If the air coming out is warm but the unit is running, check the filter first before calling anyone.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air and that water is supposed to run out through a condensate line, but algae and dirt build up inside the line over time and block it. When that happens the water backs up and drips inside the house, usually near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that later thaws will also leave water where it shouldn't be.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped to off will stop the whole system before it starts. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker, since AC units trip breakers more than most other things in the house. Lewistown gets 147 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and a power blip during one of those can trip a breaker without you noticing. If the breaker is fine and the unit still won't start, the capacitor or the contactor may have failed, and that's a job for a licensed contractor.