AC Repair in Mankato, MN
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Blue Earth County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of heat, then hail and wind the rest of the year
Your air conditioner only has June through August to do its job here, with afternoons averaging 80°F. That is not much time to earn its keep, so when it struggles on a hot day, you feel it right away. A unit that cycles nonstop trying to keep up is telling you something is already wrong, not just working hard.
Blue Earth County has logged 44 hail events and 50 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. Your condenser sits outside through all of that. Hail bends the thin aluminum fins on the coil, and wind can knock the unit out of level or throw debris into it. If your air conditioner is putting out weak airflow or running longer than it used to, a look at the outdoor coil is a good place to start.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 44 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 50 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 Blue Earth County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Blue Earth County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Minnesota 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.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota has no state license or registration for HVAC contractors doing home work. There is no state exam behind the person coming to look at your air conditioner, and no state record of them either.
What applies instead is federal. Repairing an air conditioner means working on the refrigerant side of the system, and any technician who opens it, anywhere in the country, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is not a Minnesota rule and it is not a license. It is a federal requirement tied to handling refrigerant, and it holds in Blue Earth County the same as it does everywhere else.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- 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 ice it up so the air coming out feels warm or weak. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that's not something to top off yourself, since it means a licensed technician has to find the leak and repair it under EPA rules before adding refrigerant. A failing compressor or a blocked outdoor unit can cause the same symptom. Check the filter first, and if the air is still not cold, have a contractor find out which of these it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most often the condensate drain line is clogged, so the water the coil pulls out of the air backs up and drips inside instead of draining outside. A dirty filter can also cause this, since it lets the coil ice over, and the ice melts and overflows the drain pan when the system isn't running. A cracked drain pan will leak too. Turn the system off if you see water pooling, and have a contractor clear the line or check the pan before running it again.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped too high will stop the AC from starting at all. Next check the breaker, since outdoor units trip breakers more often than indoor equipment. If both of those look fine, the problem is likely in the unit itself, a failed capacitor or contactor being common causes, and that calls for a licensed technician to diagnose it.