Furnace Repair in South Sioux City, NE
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Dakota County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and nights near zero
Your furnace works from October through May here. That's most of the year, and on the coldest nights it's fighting to keep up with lows near 14°F. The burner is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, and every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor.
Dakota County has also seen 26 winter storms and 22 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and across Nebraska a quarter of households lost power for at least a full day in 2024. When the power drops on a night that cold, the furnace stops with it, and it needs to come back on and relight the moment power returns.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 26 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Nebraska requires contractors to register with the state.
Nebraska keeps a record of the business itself. Registering with the Department of Labor means the contractor's name and business information are on file with the state. Nobody tested this contractor's trade knowledge to get that record, and the state does not vouch for the quality of the work. It is a paper trail, not a credential.
For a furnace repair, that paper trail is not what stands between you and bad work. The part that matters is the gas line, and a loose or bad connection there is the dangerous part of the job. Registration does not test for that or check it. It only tells you the business is on file with the state.
Source: Nebraska Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Usually it comes down to power, gas, or the thermostat not calling for heat the way it should. Check that the switch on or near the furnace is on, and that the breaker hasn't tripped. If the thermostat screen is blank or the batteries are dead, the furnace has no signal to fire. When power and thermostat both check out, the problem is likely inside the unit, in the igniter or the control board, and that calls for a contractor to open it up and test it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. That can mean a dirty flame sensor, a failed igniter, or gas that isn't reaching the burners. It can also mean the furnace is in its startup cycle, blowing a short burst of cool air before the heat exchanger warms up. If cold air keeps coming for more than a few minutes, the furnace isn't heating and needs a look.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that keeps going out is usually the thermocouple failing to sense the flame, or a draft pulling the flame away from it. It can also mean a clogged pilot orifice restricting the gas. Relighting it yourself may work for a night, but if it keeps happening, the part needs to be replaced, since a pilot that won't hold means the safety shutoff is doing its job. Winters here run cold enough, with lows averaging 14°F, that a furnace losing its pilot for more than a night is worth getting fixed fast.