Furnace Repair in Thermopolis, WY
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hot Springs County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of heat wears a furnace down
Your furnace runs from September through June here, only two months off a year. On nights that average 12°F, it can't take long breaks. It fires, holds the house at temperature, and fires again, over and over, all winter long.
That much run time wears on the igniter and the blower motor before either one is old. Wind and winter storms are common here too, and both can knock out power. Most furnaces need electricity to run even if the burner is gas, so when the power drops, so does your heat, even with the furnace itself in good shape.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 12°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 65%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 66 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $140 a year off heating for a typical Hot Springs County home.
Estimates for a typical Hot Springs 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 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.
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way you think it is, or the furnace is getting no power at all. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker for it. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be failing, and that calls for a contractor to test it. With ten months of the year here needing heat, it's worth getting this looked at quickly rather than waiting.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be running the blower without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem or the gas valve not opening. It can also mean the furnace is in the middle of its start-up cycle, when the blower runs briefly before the burners fire. If cold air keeps coming for more than a few minutes, or it never warms up, turn the furnace off and have a contractor check the igniter and gas valve, especially with nights averaging 12°F here in the winter.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that keeps going out is almost always a sign the thermocouple is failing. That's the small sensor that sits in the flame and tells the gas valve the pilot is lit. When it wears out, it shuts the gas off even though the flame is fine, or fails to hold it. A draft blowing across the pilot can also blow it out, so check that nothing is blocking or redirecting air near the burner compartment. Either way, this is a part a contractor replaces rather than something to keep relighting on your own.