Furnace Repair in Lexington, NE
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Dawson County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat is a lot to ask of one furnace
Lexington needs a working furnace from October through May. That is eight months a year the burner is lighting, running, and shutting off, night after night. On winter nights that average 16 degrees, it does not get much rest.
All that cycling wears on the parts that start the burner and keep it running. An igniter or flame sensor that has done its job for years can finally give out on one of the coldest nights, and the house goes cold right when it needs heat most. Winter storms in this area can also knock out power, and almost half the homes here heat with electricity, so a furnace that depends on that power will not run until it is back.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 17 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Nebraska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the Department of Labor. Nobody tested the contractor's gas or furnace knowledge to get that number, and the state does not track repair work under it. It tells you the business exists, nothing about whether they do good work.
For a furnace repair in Dawson County, the registration is not what stands behind the job. The gas connection is the part that makes this work dangerous, and Nebraska's registration does not touch that. There is no state exam behind the number on file, and no state record of how the repair itself was done.
Source: Nebraska Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or power isn't reaching the furnace. Check the thermostat is set to heat and the batteries are good, then check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch on or near the unit. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed or the flame sensor may be dirty, and a furnace won't run without either working. With winter nights here averaging 16°F, a furnace that won't start is worth calling in a contractor for the same day.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be stuck on the fan setting instead of heat, so check the thermostat first. If the thermostat is set right, the burners may not be igniting even though the blower is running, which can happen with a bad igniter or a flame sensor that's coated with residue. A dirty filter can also block enough airflow that the air feels cool by the time it reaches you, so check that next. If none of this fixes it, the furnace needs a contractor to look at the burners and ignition system directly.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame, so the gas valve shuts back off. It can also mean a draft is blowing the flame out, or the pilot orifice is partly clogged and the flame is too weak to hold. A standing pilot doesn't use electricity, so this isn't a power problem, it's a parts problem. Relighting it yourself following the instructions on the furnace is fine to try once, but if it won't hold, the thermocouple likely needs replacing.