Furnace Repair in Boulder, MT
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Jefferson County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat wears a furnace down fast
Your furnace runs from September through June here, ten months a year. That leaves a short stretch to rest before the next cold snap starts it up again. Winter nights average 15°F, cold enough that the burner is cycling on and off most of the night to keep up.
Each start puts a load on the igniter and the parts that get the burner going. Over ten months of that, those are the parts most likely to fail first, usually on one of the coldest nights when the furnace is working hardest. This area has seen 16 winter storms and 10 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and a power blink during one of them can be what finally shows you the part was already failing.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 16 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $100 a year off heating for a typical Jefferson County home.
Estimates for a typical Jefferson 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 one part has failed and the heat exchanger is sound.
Replacement makes sense when the heat exchanger is cracked or the furnace keeps needing parts.
Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the state's Department of Labor and Industry, and it covers the contractor rather than any single job. In Montana, work under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor, so a small repair can fall outside that requirement depending on what it costs.
For furnace work above that threshold, the license is what stands behind the person in your house. A gas furnace has a gas connection, and a bad one is the dangerous part of the repair, so the license is what tells you the state has a record of who did the work. Almost half the homes in Jefferson County heat with gas, which is exactly the kind of job this license was built to cover.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or power isn't reaching the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. A tripped breaker or a blown fuse will also stop it cold. If those check out, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and that's a job for a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be running the fan without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem, a gas supply issue, or a safety switch keeping the burners from firing. A dirty filter can also cause the furnace to overheat and shut the burners off while the fan keeps running. With winter lows here averaging 15°F, cold air from the vents is worth getting looked at quickly rather than waiting it out.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple, the small part that senses the pilot flame, isn't reading it properly and is shutting off the gas as a safety measure. A draft blowing out the flame or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same problem. Trying to relight it yourself a few times is normal, but if it keeps going out, the part needs to be checked and likely replaced by a licensed contractor.