Furnace Repair in Ottumwa, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Wapello County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, nights near 18 degrees
Your furnace works from October through May in Ottumwa, eight months of the year. On winter nights that average 18°F, it runs long and hard to keep the house warm, cycling on and off again and again. Every start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, and after enough winters one of them gives out. When that happens the burner won't light, or it lights and then shuts back off, and the house goes cold.
Wapello County has had 17 winter storms and 69 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Weather like that knocks out power, and across Iowa 15% of households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. A furnace won't run without electricity for the blower and controls, even if the gas is on, so a storm that cuts power on a cold night leaves a house with no heat until it's back.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 18°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 64%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 17 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 Wapello County home.
Estimates for a typical Wapello 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 license is tied to the contractor, not to the address or the specific job, so the same license that qualifies someone to work on a furnace in Ottumwa qualifies them anywhere else in Iowa. The Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board tested and recorded that contractor before handing out the license, so it means someone checked their qualifications before they ever touched your furnace.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Gas furnaces need a sound connection at every joint, since that connection is the dangerous part of the job, and the state board's licensing is what backs up the contractor making that connection. In Wapello County, where most homes run on gas heat, that is the protection in place when the furnace stops working.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the power to the unit. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, and check the breaker for the furnace along with the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit itself. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed, or the flame sensor may be dirty enough that the furnace shuts itself off as a safety measure. A furnace that won't start at all, with no attempt to run, points to a power or control problem rather than the burners or the heat exchanger, so a contractor can usually narrow it down fast.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. Furnaces push air through the ducts on a short delay after the burners fire, so if that flame never starts, cold air comes out on schedule anyway. A dirty flame sensor, a bad igniter, or a closed gas valve can all cause this. Less often, the furnace is overheating and shutting the burners off while the blower keeps running to cool the cabinet, which usually means a clogged filter or blocked vents.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is almost always the thermocouple, the small sensor that proves to the gas valve there's a flame. When it wears out or sits out of position, it tells the valve to shut the gas off even though the pilot is burning. A draft blowing on the pilot or a partly clogged pilot orifice can cause the same thing. This isn't something to force past by holding the gas valve down longer, since that ignores the safety it exists for. A contractor can clean or reposition the thermocouple, or replace it if it's worn out.