AC Repair in Thompson Falls, MT
If your air conditioner quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Sanders County will get in touch.
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Thompson Falls doesn't ask much of an air conditioner
Summer afternoons here average 76°F, mild enough that most homes get by without much cooling at all. An air conditioner in this area often sits idle for long stretches, then gets switched on for the first hot week of the year.
That kind of on-and-off use has its own risks. A unit that sits unused can have a stuck contactor or a capacitor that has weakened without anyone noticing, so the first sign of trouble is often the day you need it most and it doesn't start. Sanders County has also logged 60 damaging wind events and a couple of hail storms over the past ten years, and a hard blow can bend the fins on an outdoor coil or knock debris into the unit even when the AC itself was never running.
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 2 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 60 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 Sanders County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Sanders 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 state tests contractors before they get that license, and the license is tied to the contractor rather than issued fresh for each job. If the repair on your air conditioner comes in under $2,500, Montana does not require the contractor doing it to be licensed at all.
Any work on the refrigerant side of your air conditioner, licensed or not, requires the technician to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal rule, and it applies whether the job crosses the $2,500 line or not.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is low refrigerant, usually from a leak somewhere in the coil or line set. A dirty air filter or a coil caked with dust can also block airflow enough that the air coming out feels barely cool. If the outdoor unit isn't running at all while the indoor fan blows, that points to the compressor or a bad capacitor. Anyone who opens the refrigerant lines to check the charge has to hold EPA 608 certification, so this one is for a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit almost always means the condensate drain line is clogged. Algae and dust build up inside that line over time and block the water from draining out, so it backs up and spills out near the unit instead. A frozen evaporator coil can cause the same thing once it thaws. If the drain pan itself has rusted through, that's a repair rather than a simple clear-out.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and that the batteries aren't dead, since a blank or unresponsive display will stop the whole system cold. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker for the outdoor unit, since a tripped breaker is a common cause. Given Thompson Falls has had 60 damaging wind events over the past ten years, a breaker tripped by a power blip is worth ruling out before assuming something inside the unit has failed.