Furnace Repair in Beaver Dam, WI
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Dodge County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat in Beaver Dam wears a furnace down
Your furnace runs from October through May here, eight months of the year. On nights that average 14°F, it is not cycling on now and then. It is running long stretches to hold the house at temperature, and the burner is lighting over and over through the night.
That kind of use wears on the parts that start the burner each time, the igniter and the flame sensor among them. When one of those wears out, the furnace stops lighting and the house goes cold, usually on one of the coldest nights, because that is when the furnace is working hardest. Dodge County has seen 18 winter storms and 79 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and with 59 percent of homes here heating with gas, a furnace that will not start is not something to wait out.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 59%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 18 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $110 a year off heating for a typical Dodge County home.
Estimates for a typical Dodge 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 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.
Wisconsin requires contractors to register with the state.
Registration puts the business on file with the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Nobody tested the contractor on furnace repair to get that number, and nothing about the trade was checked. It tells you the business is registered with the state. It does not tell you they know how to work on a furnace.
Because counties and cities in Wisconsin cannot layer their own HVAC license on top, that registration is the only state-level record you get, no matter what part of Dodge County you're in. Gas furnace repair is where a poor connection or a bad seal at the heat exchanger becomes dangerous, and registration does not test for that. Most homes here heat with gas, which is exactly the kind of work where that gap matters most.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often it's the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker at your panel. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may have failed, and that's a job for a contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- A furnace that runs but blows cold air usually hasn't ignited the burners yet, or the blower is running without heat behind it. Give it a few minutes after it starts, since cold air can come through the vents before the burners catch. If the air stays cold, a clogged filter, a bad igniter, or a gas supply problem could be stopping ignition, and a contractor will need to check which one it is. With lows around 14°F here, this isn't something to leave for long.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- If your furnace has a standing pilot, a weak or failing thermocouple is the usual reason it won't stay lit. The thermocouple senses the pilot flame and shuts off the gas if it doesn't detect heat, so a worn one will cut the flame even when it's burning fine. A draft blowing out the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can also be the cause. Since gas is involved, have a contractor look at it rather than relighting it repeatedly.