AC Repair in Gillette, WY
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Campbell County will get in touch.
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Two months of hard running, and hail in between
Your air conditioner in Gillette only earns its keep in July and August, but those two months ask a lot of it. Afternoons averaging 83°F mean the compressor runs long and hard to keep the house down, and a unit that sits idle most of the year has less chance to show a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before the heat arrives.
Campbell County has seen 213 hail events and 202 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3 inches recorded. That kind of storm bends the thin aluminum fins on your outdoor coil and can knock the unit out of alignment or crack the fan blade. If your AC has run fine all summer and then starts blowing warm air or tripping off after a storm rolls through, the outdoor unit is where to look first.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 83°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 213 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 202 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 Campbell County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Campbell County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Wyoming 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.
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil, so check that first and replace it if it looks gray or packed with dust. A refrigerant leak will also cause this, along with ice forming on the indoor coil or the line outside. With only two months of real cooling weather here, an AC that isn't keeping up in July or August needs a look before the next hot stretch, since a low refrigerant charge won't fix itself.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Usually the condensate drain line is clogged, and water is backing up instead of draining outside. Algae and dust build up in that line over time and block it. A dirty filter can cause the same problem a different way, by freezing the coil, then dripping water as it thaws. A contractor can clear the line and check whether ice was involved.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat, and make sure it's set to cool and a few degrees below room temperature. If that's fine, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker will kill power to the whole unit. Gillette sees a good number of damaging wind events most years, and a power blip during one of those can trip a breaker without any other sign of trouble. If the breaker holds and it still won't start, the problem is inside the unit and worth having a contractor look at before the next warm stretch.