AC Repair in Russellville, AR
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Pope County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of heat, then the storms that come with it
Your air conditioner works from May through September here, and on those 89 degree afternoons it runs close to nonstop just to hold the house steady. That kind of stretch wears on the compressor and on the capacitor that helps start it. When one of those parts gives out, the unit either won't start or it runs and blows warm air.
Pope County has logged 35 hail events and 80 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Hail up to 3 inches can bend the fins on the outdoor coil and dent the cabinet around it, and wind throws branches and debris into the unit. Bent fins choke off airflow, and the system has to work harder to do the same job.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 35 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 80 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $50 a year off cooling for a typical Pope County home.
Estimates for a typical Pope County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Arkansas 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.
Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Arkansas tests contractors before they get a license, and the state keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that covers a new install covers your repair. Counties and cities in Arkansas cannot require their own HVAC license on top of the state's.
For an air conditioner repair, that state license is what stands behind the person in your driveway. If the repair calls for opening the refrigerant side of the system, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal rule, separate from the state license, and it applies to anyone touching refrigerant in any state.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time it is a dirty filter choking off airflow across the coil, or the coil itself has frozen over from restricted air. It can also be a refrigerant leak, which a homeowner cannot fix or safely recharge without a license. Check the filter first. If it is clean and the air is still warm, the system needs a contractor to check the refrigerant charge and the coil.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air during a Russellville summer, and that water has to drain out through a small line that fills with algae and dirt over time. When it clogs, the water backs up and drips or pools near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that is now thawing will cause the same thing, so if the airflow has felt weak lately, that may be the real cause.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker. Check that the thermostat is set to cool and below the room temperature, and check the breaker for the outdoor unit and the one for the air handler, since either one tripping will shut the whole system down. If both look fine and it still will not start, the capacitor or the contactor in the outdoor unit is a common failure point, and that is a job for a licensed contractor to test and replace.