Furnace Repair in Leeds, ND
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Benson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and nights near zero
Your furnace in Leeds runs from September through May. That's nine months out of the year it has to work, and on winter nights that average 1°F, it runs long and hard to keep up. Most homes here heat with propane, and a propane furnace that has to fight that kind of cold cycles on and off all night long.
All that cycling wears on the igniter and the flame sensor first. When one of them fails, the furnace either won't light or shuts itself off partway through the cycle. Benson County has seen 39 winter storms in the last ten years, and storms like that bring wind and power trouble along with the cold. If the power drops even for a few minutes, a furnace that was already struggling may not come back on the way it should.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 1°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 39 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $240 a year off heating for a typical Benson County home.
Estimates for a typical Benson 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 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.
North Dakota requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not tied to your address or to this specific repair. North Dakota tests and records the people who hold it through the Secretary of State, so the state has a file on the contractor before they ever get to your furnace.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work, as long as the job is $4,000 or more. Below that, North Dakota does not require a licensed contractor at all. Either way, a gas furnace still needs a sound connection at the gas line, since that is the part of the job where a mistake is dangerous, and it is the contractor's license and training that answers for that when the job crosses the $4,000 mark.
Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch · North Dakota Secretary of State
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it's the thermostat, the power supply, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and check the breaker for the furnace hasn't tripped. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed, or a safety switch may be holding the furnace off because it sensed something wrong. A furnace that won't start at all through a Leeds winter isn't something to leave for long, since it can mean the difference between a warm house and a cold one for months at a time.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's cold, the furnace likely isn't igniting even though the blower is running. That points to the igniter, the flame sensor, or the gas valve not doing its job. It can also mean the furnace is in the middle of its normal startup cycle, when the blower can start before the burners light. If the air stays cold for more than a few minutes, the burners aren't lighting and a contractor needs to look at it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, it shuts the gas off even though the flame is there. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot opening can also put it out. Newer furnaces mostly use an electronic igniter instead of a standing pilot, so if yours has a pilot light at all, it's likely an older unit and worth having checked before the coldest months set in.