Furnace Repair in Mandan, ND
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Morton County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and nights near 6 below
Your furnace in Mandan runs from September through May. That is nine months a year it has to start up and hold the house warm, on nights that average 6°F through the coldest stretch of winter. It cycles on and off again and again to keep up with that kind of cold.
Each start puts the load on the igniter, since it has to fire every single cycle. A weak igniter can still glow but not light the burner, and the furnace shuts itself down instead of putting out heat. Morton County has had 29 winter storms and 114 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and most furnaces need the power to come back before they will run again.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 6°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 67%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 29 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 Morton County home.
Estimates for a typical Morton 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 state tests and records the contractor, not the job itself, so the license follows the company across every furnace they touch in Morton County. Work under $4,000 falls outside that requirement, so a smaller furnace repair may be done without a licensed contractor.
A furnace repair on gas equipment means the gas connection is the part that has to be right, and in North Dakota it's the contractor's license that stands behind that work. With most homes in Morton County heating with gas, that license is what tells you the person at your furnace has been through the state's process before, not just for this job but for every one before it.
Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch · North Dakota Secretary of State
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and that the batteries aren't dead if it's the kind that uses them. If the thermostat looks right, check the switch on the furnace itself and the breaker at your electrical panel, since a tripped breaker will keep the whole system dark. Past that, it could be the igniter, a safety switch that's shut things down, or a flame sensor that needs cleaning, and those need a contractor to look at with the panels open.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the furnace is running the blower but the burners haven't lit, so air is moving without being heated. A dirty flame sensor is a common cause of this, and so is a failed igniter. Check your air filter too, since one that's clogged can make the air coming out feel cooler than it should even when the furnace is working. If changing the filter doesn't help, a contractor will need to check the ignition system and the flame sensor.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit is usually the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is burning. When it's worn out or dirty, it reads no flame even when there is one, and the gas valve shuts off to be safe. It can also be a draft blowing the flame out, or a partly closed gas valve. A dirty pilot orifice will do it too. Whichever it is, this is gas equipment, so have a licensed contractor diagnose and fix it rather than working past a pilot light that won't hold.