Furnace Repair in Kalispell, MT
Furnaces here run from August through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Flathead County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of heat wears a furnace down fast
Your furnace in Kalispell runs from August through June. That is eleven months of cycling on and off, most years, with only a short break in summer. On the nights that drop to 17°F, which is the winter average here, the burner fires more often and stays on longer to keep up.
All that running adds up on the igniter and the burner assembly first. Those parts do the most work every time the furnace starts, and they are usually the first to fail. When the igniter goes, the furnace won't light at all. Flathead County also sees its share of winter storms and damaging wind, and when the power drops, so does your heat until it comes back on.
- 11 months
- August through June, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 124 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 Flathead County home.
Estimates for a typical Flathead 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 Department of Labor and Industry licenses HVAC contractors in Montana. That means the state tested this contractor and keeps a record of them. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it should already be in place before the work starts. Montana makes one exception. Work under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor. A furnace repair can fall on either side of that line depending on what needs fixing.
When the job is above that $2,500 line, the license is what stands behind the work, since Montana ties accountability to the contractor rather than to a separate check on the repair itself. On a gas furnace, the gas connection is the part that matters most, because that is where a mistake becomes dangerous. In Flathead County, 43.4% of homes heat with gas, so this is not a rare setup here.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it is the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Check the switch on the furnace itself, the one that looks like a light switch, and check that the breaker hasn't tripped. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be the problem, and that calls for a contractor to look at it. With winter nights here averaging 17°F, a furnace that won't start is worth getting checked the same day.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is blowing but never warms up, the furnace may be stuck in fan mode, or it could be failing to ignite while the blower keeps running. Check the thermostat is set to heat, not just fan. If it's set right and you're still only getting cold air, the igniter, flame sensor, or gas valve may need a contractor's attention. Don't ignore this for long. Homes here need heat most of the year, and a furnace that won't fire is a furnace that could quit altogether.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out and is no longer holding the gas valve open once the pilot is lit. It can also mean a draft is blowing the flame out, or the pilot orifice is partly clogged. A standing pilot burns constantly, so if it keeps going out, something is wrong rather than something being unlucky. A contractor can test the thermocouple and clean or adjust the pilot assembly to fix it.