Furnace Repair in Havre, MT
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hill County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of heat puts a lot of hours on your furnace
Havre needs heat from September through June. That leaves only two months when the burner isn't cycling on and off to keep the house warm. On nights that average 8°F, it runs long and often, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the ignition control.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the furnace won't light, there's no backup warmth in the house. Hill County has also logged 17 winter storms and 98 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and in Montana 18% of households went at least 24 hours without it in 2024. A furnace that was already struggling to light can fail to come back on when the power does.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 8°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 66%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 17 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $90 a year off heating for a typical Hill County home.
Estimates for a typical Hill 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 is tied to the contractor, not to the job itself. The same license covers this repair and every other job that contractor takes on. Montana sets one exception. Work under $2,500 does not require a licensed contractor. A furnace repair can land on either side of that line depending on what the job turns out to need.
When the job does call for a licensed contractor, that license is what stands behind the work here, tested and on record with the state. In Hill County, 66.3% of homes heat with gas, and a furnace repair in one of them is covered by that same license as long as the job is priced above the state's threshold.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and check the batteries if it uses them. If the thermostat looks fine, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. Furnaces also have a switch that looks like a light switch near the unit itself, sometimes on the wall, sometimes on the furnace housing, and it needs to be on. If all of that checks out and the furnace still won't start, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and that's a job for a licensed contractor.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the furnace is running the fan but the burners haven't lit, or haven't lit yet. Some furnaces blow a few seconds of cool air before the burners kick in, so give it a minute. If cold air keeps coming, check that the filter isn't clogged, since a blocked filter can choke off the airflow the burners need to run safely. A failed igniter or a flame sensor covered in residue will also stop the burners from lighting while the fan keeps blowing. With winter lows around 8°F here, this isn't something to leave alone. A licensed contractor can find which part failed.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit is usually a thermocouple problem. The thermocouple sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is lit. Once it wears out or sits slightly out of position, it reads the flame as out even when it isn't, and the gas valve shuts down to be safe. A draft blowing across the pilot can also snuff it out, so check for something new blocking or redirecting airflow near the furnace. If relighting it keeps ending the same way, the thermocouple needs replacing, and that's a job for a licensed contractor.