Furnace Repair in Thompson Falls, MT
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Sanders County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat a year wears a furnace down
Your furnace runs from September through June here, ten months a year. On winter nights averaging 20°F, it cycles on and off for hours to hold the house steady, and every one of those starts puts wear on the igniter and the parts that control the burner.
Many homes in Sanders County lean on wood heat alongside the furnace, but the furnace still has to carry the coldest nights and the stretches nobody wants to feed a stove. Winter storms and damaging wind are common here, and when the power goes out, a furnace that was already struggling to light may not come back on once it returns.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 20°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 128 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job. It's on file with the Department of Labor and Industry, which put their name on record after they met the state's requirements.
Montana sets one exception. Work under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor. Whether this repair falls above or below that line, gas is the part that matters most in a furnace repair, and a bad connection is the dangerous part of the job. In Montana, a licensed contractor is what stands behind that work above the $2,500 line.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it's the thermostat, the power to the unit, or a safety switch that's tripped. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, and check the breaker. Furnaces also have a door switch on the front panel, so if that panel isn't seated right the furnace won't fire at all. If power and thermostat settings look fine, a contractor will need to check the igniter and the flame sensor to find out why it's not lighting.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- First check the thermostat fan setting. If it's set to "on" instead of "auto", the blower runs constantly and pushes cold air between heating cycles. If the setting is right and you're still getting cold air, the furnace may be failing to ignite even though the blower is running, or it could be shutting off early on a safety limit. Either way, a contractor needs to look at the burner and the limit switch to find the cause.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is usually a worn thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is present. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads no flame even when one exists, and the gas valve shuts off. Wind or a draft in the venting can also blow the pilot out. A contractor can test the thermocouple and check the venting to know which one it is. Newer furnaces don't use a standing pilot at all, they use an electronic igniter, so if yours never had a visible flame this isn't the issue.