Furnace Repair in Fort Smith, AR
Furnaces here run from November through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Sebastian County will get in touch.
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Six months of heat, and a grid that doesn't always hold
Fort Smith needs the furnace running from November through April. That's half the year of burners lighting and shutting off, night after night with lows averaging 31°F. Every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, and over enough winters that's what fails first. You'll notice it as a furnace that clicks and tries but won't catch, or one that runs for a minute and quits.
Sebastian County has also logged 10 winter storms and 122 damaging wind events over the past ten years. More than half of homes here heat with electricity, and last year almost a quarter of Arkansas households lost power for at least 24 hours. When the power drops in the middle of a cold snap, a furnace that was already struggling doesn't get any easier to fix.
- 6 months
- November through April, your furnace is on duty
- 31°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 10 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it is the business and the people behind it that were tested and are on record with the state, not any single furnace repair. Because Arkansas holds this at the state level, no county or city in Sebastian County can layer on its own license requirement or leave you checking a separate local list.
For a furnace repair, that state license is what stands behind the person working on your gas connections. A furnace burns gas, and a loose or poorly sealed connection is the dangerous part of the job, so the license accounts for the training and record of the contractor doing that work, wherever in Arkansas the job happens to be.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often it's the thermostat, the power supply, or a safety switch that's stopped the furnace from starting. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and check your breaker panel for a tripped switch. If the furnace still won't fire, a limit switch or a clogged filter may be shutting it down as a safety measure. A licensed contractor can test the switches and controls to find which one is stopping it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is blowing but it's not warm, the furnace may be running the blower without the burners lighting. This can happen if the igniter has failed, the flame sensor is dirty, or the gas valve isn't opening. It can also mean the thermostat fan is set to "on" instead of "auto," which runs the blower even when the burners aren't firing. A contractor can check the igniter, the flame sensor, and the gas valve to find which one is at fault.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit is usually the thermocouple, not the pilot itself. The thermocouple senses the flame and signals the gas valve to stay open. If it's dirty, out of position, or worn out, it will shut the gas off even with the pilot lit. A draft blowing across the pilot or a partly clogged pilot tube can also put it out. A licensed HVAC contractor can test the thermocouple and clean or adjust the pilot assembly.