AC Repair in West Memphis, AR
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Crittenden County will get in touch.
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Five months of 90 degree afternoons wear an AC down
Your air conditioner runs from May through September in West Memphis, and it runs hard. Summer afternoons average 90°F, which means the compressor is cycling on for hours at a stretch, day after day, for five straight months. That kind of runtime wears on the capacitor and the contactor, the parts that get the compressor started and keep it running. When one of them gives out, the unit either won't start or it starts and trips off.
Crittenden County has also logged 27 damaging wind events and 8 hail events over the past ten years, one with hail 2 inches across. Wind and hail hit the outdoor unit directly, bending the fins on the coil or knocking debris into the fan. A bent coil can't shed heat the way it should, and the house stops cooling even though the unit is still running.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 8 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 27 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 Crittenden County home.
Estimates for a typical Crittenden 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 licenses HVAC contractors, and the license covers the contractor, not each job. Crittenden County cannot add its own license on top of that, and no city in the county can either, so the same state license applies wherever you are here.
For this repair, that license is what stands behind the contractor's work. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of your air conditioner, federal law also requires EPA Section 608 certification, which applies in every state and covers the handling of refrigerant itself. The state license covers who is allowed to do the work in Arkansas.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When that happens the coil can ice over, and once it's iced, the air coming out turns warm. It can also mean the refrigerant charge is low, which usually points to a leak somewhere in the system rather than normal wear. A contractor can check the filter first, then the coil and the charge, to find which one it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most often the drain line is clogged and water is backing up instead of running outside. Algae and dust build up in that line over time and block it. It can also mean the coil has iced over and is now melting and overflowing the drain pan, which usually traces back to weak airflow or low refrigerant. A licensed contractor can clear the line or find the reason the coil froze in the first place.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and the temperature is below the room temperature, and if it runs on batteries, try fresh ones. If that's not it, check the breaker for the outdoor unit, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. Beyond that it could be a bad capacitor or a wiring issue, and that's a job for a licensed contractor, since Arkansas requires HVAC work to be done by one.