AC Maintenance in Lexington, NE
Air conditioners here run from June through August, so May is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Dawson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of heat, and hail in between
Your air conditioner in Lexington only gets June through August to do its job, and it does that job on afternoons that average 85°F. A unit that sits idle most of the year doesn't always start the season the way it ended it, and the first hot week is a bad time to find out.
Dawson County has also logged 93 hail events and 121 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 4 inches. That kind of weather can bend fins on the outdoor coil or knock the unit out of level without you knowing it happened. A tune-up is when a contractor checks the coil, the refrigerant charge, and the electrical connections, and finds the kind of wear that turns into a breakdown on the first hot day.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 93 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 121 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in May, before homes here start needing cooling in June.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
A tune-up checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the coils, tests the capacitor and tightens the electrical connections.
Nebraska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the contractor's business on file with the state and nothing more. Nebraska does not test contractors on the trade or issue them a license, so the state record tells you the business exists, not that anyone checked its work.
For a maintenance visit on your air conditioner, the credential that actually matters is federal. Any technician who opens the refrigerant side of your system, to check the charge or service the coil, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule holds in Nebraska the same as it does everywhere else in the country.
Source: Nebraska Legislature
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant pressure, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and contactor in the outdoor unit. Inside, they check the evaporator coil and the condensate drain, since a clogged drain line is one of the more common reasons an AC stops cooling mid-summer. They also check the thermostat calibration and look at the ductwork for obvious leaks. Anyone touching the refrigerant lines has to hold EPA 608 certification, so that part of the job is never optional to skip.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year is standard, done before the season it works hardest. Here, that means getting it looked at before June, since the unit runs steadily through June through August with afternoons averaging 85°F. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it fails on a hot afternoon instead of during a routine visit.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, mainly because it catches small problems while they are still small. A dirty coil or a failing capacitor makes the compressor work harder, and that wear adds up over a cooling season. It also matters here because of what is outside the unit. This area has logged 93 hail events and 121 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and a maintenance visit is when a bent fin or a hail-dented cabinet gets noticed before it turns into a bigger repair.