Furnace Repair in North Branch, MN
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Chisago County will get in touch.
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Nine months of Chisago County winter takes it out on your furnace
From September through May your furnace is what stands between your house and an 8°F night. That is nine months of the burner lighting, running, and shutting off, day after day. Each cycle puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that control the flame. When one of them finally gives out, it usually happens on a cold night, because that is when the furnace is working hardest.
Chisago County has seen 25 winter storms and 29 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and across Minnesota 13% of households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. A furnace with a standing pilot will keep running through an outage. Most others need the power to come back before they will fire again.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 8°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 67%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 25 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $120 a year off heating for a typical Chisago County home.
Estimates for a typical Chisago 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 has no state license and no state registration for HVAC contractors, so there is no state record of who is working on your furnace and no state exam behind their name. That is different from a state that licenses contractors or even one that just registers them. Here, neither exists.
A furnace repair is gas work, and a bad connection is the dangerous part of that job. With no state license standing behind the person doing it, that check does not come from a credential here. In Chisago County, 67.2% of homes heat with gas, which makes that connection the part of the job that matters most in this county.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common reasons are a thermostat set wrong, a tripped breaker, or the furnace switch turned off. Check the thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, then check the breaker panel and the switch that looks like a light switch near the furnace. If those are fine, the igniter or flame sensor may have failed, and a furnace this far into a Minnesota winter with lows around 8°F is not something to leave unheated while you wait. A contractor can test the ignition system and tell you what part failed.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the blower is running before the burners have lit, or the burners have shut off while the blower keeps going. That second case usually means the igniter or flame sensor is failing and the furnace is shutting down partway through its cycle. A dirty filter can also cause the furnace to overheat and shut the burners off while air keeps moving. Check the filter first, and if it is clean, have a contractor look at the ignition system before the next cold night.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to a worn thermocouple, a draft blowing out the flame, or a dirty pilot orifice. The thermocouple sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it is safe to stay open. Once it wears out, it can no longer hold that signal and the valve shuts the gas off, even though the flame looks fine. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it, since it is not something to keep relighting through a Minnesota winter.