Furnace Repair in Moorhead, MN
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Clay County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, nights near zero
Your furnace runs from September through May here, nine months out of the year. On winter nights that average 3°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Every one of those cycles puts a load on the igniter and the blower motor, and over a long winter that adds up faster than it would somewhere milder.
Moorhead has seen 66 winter storms and 78 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that bring power blips along with the snow. Most furnaces restart on their own once power is back, but a furnace that was already struggling can fail to relight, and that is when a homeowner finds out the igniter or the control board was already on its way out.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 3°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 51%
- 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 Clay County home.
Estimates for a typical Clay 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 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.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota does not put HVAC contractors through a state licensing exam, and it does not keep a state registry of who does this work. There is no state credential to check on the person coming to your house, because the state does not issue one.
For a furnace repair, that means the license itself is not what stands between you and a bad job, since none exists here. Gas connections are the dangerous part of a furnace repair, since a bad one leaks or fails to vent correctly. In Clay County, just over half of homes heat with gas, so that part of the job matters to more households here than most.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- 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 check the batteries if it uses them. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, some homes have it on the side of the furnace or at the top of the basement stairs. If those are fine and it still won't start, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be the problem, and that calls for a contractor to open it up and test the parts.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be running its fan without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem, a dirty flame sensor, or a closed gas valve. Check that the gas valve to the furnace is open. If the air is cold and barely moving at all, the filter may be blocked, since a clogged filter can cause the furnace to shut its burners off as a safety measure while the fan keeps running. A furnace this many months of the year depends on can't sit blowing cold, so this is worth having a contractor look at soon.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is lit, has failed or drifted out of position. Dirt or soot on the pilot assembly can also block the flame from reaching it properly. Try relighting it following the instructions on the furnace panel, and if it goes out again within a few minutes, the thermocouple or the pilot assembly needs a contractor's attention. Don't keep relighting it over and over if it won't hold, since that usually means the part needs to be replaced, not the lighting attempt repeated.