Furnace Repair in Blair, NE
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Washington County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat puts real wear on a furnace
Blair homes run the furnace from October through May. That is eight months of the burner cycling on and off, and on the nights that drop to 17°F, it runs longer and lights more often to keep up.
Every start puts a load on the igniter, and years of hard winters wear that part down until it stops lighting the burner at all. The furnace tries, clicks, and the house stays cold. Washington County has also seen 19 winter storms and 33 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like these knock out power. When it comes back, most furnaces restart on their own, but if yours does not fire back up, that is worth a call.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 19 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $110 a year off heating for a typical Washington County home.
Estimates for a typical Washington County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Nebraska 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.
Nebraska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the Department of Labor and nothing more. There is no trade exam behind it and no state license, so it is a record that the business exists, not proof of what it knows about furnace repair.
For a gas furnace, the part that matters most is the gas connection, and registration does not test or check that work. In Washington County, where close to half of homes heat with gas, that connection is the dangerous part of this job, and Nebraska's registration is silent on it.
Source: Nebraska Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it's the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries, and check that the switch on the furnace itself, the one that looks like a light switch, is on. If the furnace still won't start, the igniter may have failed or the flame sensor may be dirty enough that the control board is shutting the furnace down for safety. With winter nights here averaging 17°F, this isn't one to leave for long. A contractor can test the igniter and sensor and tell you which one it is.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is coming out cold, the furnace usually isn't lighting even though the blower is running. That can mean the igniter isn't glowing, the gas valve isn't opening, or a flame sensor covered in residue is telling the control board to shut off the gas before it warms the air. A dirty filter can also cause the furnace to overheat and shut down its burners while the fan keeps blowing. Check the filter first. If it's clean and the air is still cold, the ignition system needs a look.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This almost always comes down to the thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to stay open. When it wears out or sits slightly out of position, the flame will light and then die within a few seconds as the valve closes. A draft blowing across the pilot can cause the same thing, so it's worth checking that the area around the burner is clear. If relighting it doesn't hold, the thermocouple needs to be adjusted or replaced.