Furnace Repair in Parkville, MO
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Platte County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Seven months of heat, and nights near 22°F
Parkville furnaces run from October through April, seven months of the year. On winter nights averaging 22°F, the burner is cycling on and off most of the night to hold the house steady. Every cycle depends on the igniter lighting the burner and the flame sensor confirming it caught. Those parts wear from repeated use, and a furnace running this many months a year puts more starts on them than one that only runs a few weeks a season.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the igniter or flame sensor finally gives out, there is no backup keeping the house warm. Platte County has also seen 10 winter storms and 68 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. When the power drops, a gas furnace with electronic ignition stops running until it comes back, even though the gas itself is still there.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 22°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 58%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 10 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $190 a year off heating for a typical Platte County home.
Estimates for a typical Platte County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Missouri 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.
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat, or a safety switch has shut the furnace down. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has power, since a dead battery will stop the whole system. A dirty filter can also trigger a safety switch that keeps the furnace from starting at all. If the thermostat looks fine and the filter is clean, the igniter or a control board may have failed, and that calls for a contractor to check.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- In most cases the furnace is either still warming up or the flame has failed to light while the blower keeps running. A furnace blows a few minutes of cool air before the heat exchanger warms up, so short bursts of cold air after startup are normal. If the air stays cold the whole time, the igniter or flame sensor likely isn't lighting the burners even though the fan runs. That's a job for a contractor, since running the blower without heat for long stretches wastes the point of having the furnace on.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit almost always points to a worn thermocouple. The thermocouple senses the pilot flame and keeps gas flowing to it. Once it wears out, it can't sense the flame properly and shuts the gas off, so the pilot goes out again and again. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it, since it isn't something to keep relighting on its own.