Furnace Repair in Battle Mountain, NV
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lander County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and nights near 20 degrees
Battle Mountain needs a working furnace from September through May. That is nine months of the year, and on the coldest nights the average low is 20°F, so the burner is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, night after night. Each cycle puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit.
Lander County also sees its share of winter storms and wind, and across Nevada, about 13% of households lost power for a day or more in 2024. When the power drops on a cold night, a furnace that relies on electricity to run its blower and controls stops with it, and the house starts losing heat right away.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 20°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 101 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $150 a year off heating for a typical Lander County home.
Estimates for a typical Lander County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Nevada 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.
Nevada requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to the job, so it covers this repair the same way it covers any other work that contractor takes on.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your gas line and burner. A furnace burns gas, and a bad connection is the dangerous part of the job. Just under half the homes in Lander County heat with gas, which is what makes that connection worth getting right.
Sources: Nevada Legislature · Nevada State Contractors Board
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or the furnace isn't getting power. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed or the flame sensor may be dirty, and the furnace will lock out rather than run without confirming a flame. A gas furnace also needs the pilot or ignition sequence to complete within seconds of calling for heat, so a failure there can look like the furnace doing nothing at all. With winters here running September through May, a furnace that won't start needs a contractor's attention quickly.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace is likely running the blower without a flame. This happens when the igniter fails, the flame sensor is too dirty to detect a flame, or the gas valve isn't opening, and the furnace shuts off the burner as a safety measure while the fan keeps circulating air. It can also mean the furnace is in a startup or cooldown cycle, when the blower briefly runs before or after the burner fires. A dirty filter restricts airflow but doesn't cause cold air on its own. If the air stays cold through a full cycle, the furnace needs a contractor to look at the ignition system.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is almost always a sign the thermocouple has failed or needs adjustment. The thermocouple is the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to stay open. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads the flame as absent and shuts the gas off, even though the pilot lit fine a moment earlier. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same problem. A furnace with a standing pilot doesn't rely on electricity to keep that flame going, so this is a mechanical or gas issue, not a power one, and it calls for a licensed contractor to diagnose.