What a fall furnace tune-up in Kingman actually checks.

Why fall, and why it matters in Kingman

Kingman sits at about 3,300 feet. The AC carries the load from late spring into October, then the weather turns fast. Freezing nights are normal from late fall into early spring, and the Hualapai Mountains usually see snow. The heating side of your system has been sitting all summer collecting dust, and the first cold morning is when it finds out whether it still works.

That first cold snap is also when everyone calls at once. A tune-up in September or October finds the worn igniter or the dirty flame sensor while there's still time to fix it on your schedule.

What we check on a gas furnace

• Ignition and flame sensor. A dusty flame sensor is one of the most common fall failures we see. The furnace lights, runs a few seconds, then shuts off and tries again. Cleaning it takes minutes.
• Burners and flame. We look for an even, steady flame and clear out dust, webs and debris that collected over the summer.
• Heat exchanger. We inspect it for cracks, rust and signs of overheating. If we find a problem, we'll show you what we found and explain it. This is a safety check, not a sales pitch.
• Carbon monoxide. We test for CO and check that your home has working CO alarms.
• Venting. Flue pipe joints, the roof cap, and on high-efficiency furnaces the PVC vent and condensate drain. Birds and wasps like an unused flue.
• Gas pressure and altitude setup. Furnaces are rated at sea level, and at Kingman's elevation they should be set up following the manufacturer's high-altitude instructions. We check gas pressure against the spec for your unit.
• Safety controls. High-limit, rollout and pressure switches, the parts that shut the furnace down when something is wrong. We confirm they actually work.
• Blower and electrical. Motor draw, capacitor, wire connections, thermostat operation and the filter.

If you heat with a heat pump

Plenty of Kingman homes heat with a heat pump instead of gas. The fall check is different: we test the reversing valve and the defrost controls, check refrigerant performance, clean the outdoor coil, and make sure the backup electric strip heat is staged correctly. Strip heat that kicks on too early or runs too long is one of the quickest ways to run up a winter electric bill. We went into that in more detail in our post on heat pump strip heat and winter bills.

The Kingman factor: dust and wind

Spring wind and summer monsoon storms push fine dust into everything. By fall a lot of it has ended up in the filter, the return duct and the blower wheel. A dirty blower wheel moves less air, which makes the furnace run hotter than it should. Run hot enough and it trips the high-limit switch and shuts itself off, which looks like a furnace that "quits" on cold nights.

Out here, check the filter monthly during windy stretches rather than waiting for the date printed on the box. If you're pulling out a gray, packed filter every few weeks, dust is getting into the return, and that's worth a look.

What you can do before we get there

1. Change the filter. It's the cheapest fix there is.
2. Clear the furnace closet. Gas furnaces need air to burn. A closet packed with storage starves the burner and puts stored items too close to the heat.
3. Test your CO and smoke alarms. Replace the batteries while you're at it.
4. Run the heat on a mild day. A dusty smell for the first few minutes is normal. A smell like burning plastic or hot wiring is not. Shut it off and call.
5. Clear around the outdoor unit if you have a heat pump. Keep weeds and tumbleweeds back a couple of feet.

Scheduling a tune-up

A fall maintenance visit covers the checks above, and we check the cooling side at the same time so you know where the whole system stands. We're based in Kingman and serve the whole city and the surrounding area. See our Kingman service page, or call (928) 565-6440 to get on the schedule before the first cold snap.