AC Repair in Wausau, WI
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Marathon County will get in touch.
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Short summers, but hard storms
Your air conditioner in Marathon County only has to work through July and August, with afternoons averaging around 78°F. That is a short season, so if a unit is struggling, it is usually not from months of straight running. Age or something outside the unit is more often the cause.
Marathon County has logged 49 hail events and 82 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3 inches across. That kind of storm can bend the fins on your outdoor coil or knock the unit hard enough to loosen a wire or a connection. If your air conditioner was fine before a storm and is not right after, that is where to start looking.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 78°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 49 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 82 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 Marathon County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Marathon County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state, but nobody tested them to get it. There's no exam behind the number, and Wisconsin doesn't let counties or cities layer their own HVAC license on top, so the registration is the only state record that exists anywhere in this state.
For a repair like this, what actually stands behind the work is federal. Your air conditioner runs on refrigerant, and any technician who opens that side of the system has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, no matter what state they're working in. That's the credential that means something here. The registration tells you the business is on record with Wisconsin. The 608 card tells you the person touching your refrigerant lines was trained and tested to do it.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant is low from a leak. A dirty filter makes the coil freeze up, and once that happens the air coming out turns warm or barely moves at all. Low refrigerant does the same thing but points to a leak somewhere in the line, which is not something to keep topping off. Check the filter first. If it is clean and you are still getting warm air, a contractor needs to look at the charge and the coil.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line that carries condensation away from the coil is probably clogged. Warm humid air passes over a cold coil and the moisture that collects has to go somewhere, and if that drain line backs up, the water finds another way out, usually down through the unit or along the duct. It can also mean the coil itself is frozen and now thawing, which points back to airflow or refrigerant. Either way it is worth having someone clear the line and check why it backed up.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker before assuming the worst. Check that the thermostat is set to cool and below the room temperature, then check the breaker box for a tripped switch, since AC units draw enough power that a breaker trip is common. If both look fine and it still won't start, the capacitor that gives the compressor its initial jolt may have failed, which is a common reason a unit goes completely quiet. That part needs a contractor to test and replace.