AC Repair in Valley City, ND
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Barnes County will get in touch.
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Two months of real heat, and a lot of hail before it
Valley City only asks your air conditioner to work July and August. Summer afternoons average 79°F, which is not extreme, but the system still has to be ready to run hard for those two months after sitting idle the rest of the year.
Barnes County has seen 70 hail events and 55 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.75 inches. That kind of storm bends the thin aluminum fins on your outdoor unit and can crack the fan blade or dent the cabinet. A unit that took a hit last summer may run fine for a while, then struggle to cool the house once the bent fins choke off airflow across the coil.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 70 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 55 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in Barnes County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Barnes County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, North Dakota fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when a part like a capacitor or contactor has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the compressor has failed or the system uses R-22 refrigerant, which is no longer made.
North Dakota requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued per job, so it covers the business doing the work rather than this specific repair. In North Dakota, work under $4,000 does not need a licensed contractor, so a smaller repair may fall outside that requirement depending on what it ends up costing.
Whatever the cost of this repair, if it involves opening the refrigerant side of the air conditioner, the technician doing that part must hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal requirement and it applies everywhere, regardless of the state license or the dollar amount of the job.
Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch · North Dakota Secretary of State
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil, which can cause the coil to ice up and blow warm air instead. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that's not something to top off yourself since only an EPA-certified technician can legally open the refrigerant side of the system. Check the filter first. If it's clean and you're still getting warm air, the system needs a licensed contractor to look at the coil and refrigerant charge.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time, and when it can't drain, water backs up and spills out near the indoor unit instead. A frozen coil that's thawing out can cause the same thing, so if the air wasn't blowing cold before you noticed the water, that's likely the real cause. Either way, a contractor can clear the line or find out why the coil froze.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat batteries and the breaker for the outdoor unit, since those cause more no-start calls than anything mechanical. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, don't keep resetting it. That points to an electrical fault in the system that needs a contractor to diagnose. With 55 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, it's also worth checking that nothing knocked debris into the outdoor unit or damaged its wiring.