Furnace Repair in Clinton, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Clinton County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat wears a furnace down
Clinton County needs the furnace running from October through May, eight months of the year. On winter nights that average 16°F, the burner cycles on and off again and again to keep up. Each start puts load on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit. When one of those gives out, the furnace stops firing and the house goes cold fast.
Most homes here heat with gas, so a furnace that won't stay lit is a real problem, not a small one. And with power outages hitting a good share of Iowa households each year, a furnace that depends on electricity to start can leave a house with no backup when both go out at once.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 63%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 26 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $100 a year off heating for a typical Clinton County home.
Estimates for a typical Clinton County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Iowa 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.
Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tested this contractor before handing out that license, and the board keeps a record of who holds one. It's the contractor who's licensed, not the crew member who shows up or the specific repair on the work order, so the license tells you the business itself was vetted, not that this particular furnace job was pre-approved.
A furnace repair means gas is involved somewhere, a line, a valve, a connection to the burner, and that connection is the part that has to be right. In Iowa, the license is what stands behind that work. Gas heat is what most homes in Clinton County run on, so this is the repair the state's testing was built around.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the batteries are good, since a dead thermostat display looks the same as a dead furnace. Next check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit and gets bumped off more often than people expect. If those are fine, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and a gas furnace won't run without either one working. With winter lows here averaging 16°F, it's worth having this checked quickly rather than waiting.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the furnace is running but hasn't started heating yet. The blower can kick on before the burners light, so you get a few seconds of cool air at the start of a cycle. If cold air keeps blowing the whole time, the igniter or flame sensor likely isn't lighting the burners, or the gas valve isn't opening. A clogged filter can also cause the burners to shut off from overheating while the blower keeps running. A contractor can tell which of these it is once they're at the furnace.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually points to the thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the pilot is lit. When it wears out or shifts out of position, the valve shuts the gas off as a safety measure and the pilot goes out. Drafts near the furnace or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same problem. Since 62.9% of homes in Clinton County heat with gas, this is a common call here, and a contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if needed.