Furnace Repair in Newark & Licking County, Ohio
No heat, a furnace that short cycles or blows cold air, a burner that lights and shuts off. We diagnose it, give you the price before we fix it, and usually fix it the same visit.
What usually goes wrong with a furnace
Most furnace failures in Licking County come down to a short list of parts. A modern gas furnace runs through the same sequence every time it starts: the thermostat calls for heat, the inducer motor clears the flue, a pressure switch proves the draft, the igniter heats up, the gas valve opens, the flame sensor confirms flame, and the blower pushes warm air through the house. When any one step fails, the control board stops the sequence and you get no heat.
That is good news for your wallet. Because the sequence is so predictable, a good technician can usually tell you exactly which step failed within the first twenty minutes, and most of the parts involved are not expensive.
- Dirty or worn flame sensor. The furnace lights, runs for a few seconds, then shuts the gas off. This is the single most common no-heat call we run.
- Failed hot surface igniter. You hear the inducer motor start but the burners never light. Igniters are fragile and wear out with age.
- Pressure switch or blocked condensate drain. High-efficiency furnaces make water. If the drain line or trap clogs, the furnace protects itself and stops.
- Blower motor or capacitor problems. The burners run but little or no air comes out of the vents, or the furnace overheats and trips the limit switch.
- Control board failures. Often after a power surge or storm. We read the diagnostic light codes before we condemn a board.
- Thermostat and wiring issues. Dead batteries, a loose wire at the furnace, or a smart thermostat that lost its common wire.
The most common no-heat call we get on the first cold night of the year is not a broken furnace. It is a flame sensor that has been slowly building up a coating all summer. The furnace lights, runs about eight seconds and shuts down, over and over. A cleaning takes a few minutes and the house is warm again before we pack up.
How a repair visit works
When you call (740) 527-0222, we ask what the furnace is doing, how old it is if you know, and whether anyone in the house needs heat urgently. Seniors, infants and anyone with health concerns go to the front of the line on cold nights.
On site, the technician checks the thermostat first, then watches the furnace try to start. Most furnaces made in the last twenty years have a status light on the control board that blinks a code. We read that code, test the part it points to, and confirm the cause with a meter before we quote anything. You get the price before any work starts. If the repair does not make sense on an older furnace, we tell you that too.
We carry the common parts on the truck, including igniters, flame sensors, pressure switches, capacitors, inducer motors for popular models and universal control boards, so most repairs are finished on the first visit.
Furnace down tonight? We pick up 24/7.
No heat is an emergency in an Ohio winter. Call and we will get you on the schedule or talk you through a safe temporary fix.
Safety comes before heat
A furnace burns natural gas or propane inside your home. Every repair visit includes a basic safety check: we look at the flame pattern, check that the flue is venting properly, and test for carbon monoxide around the furnace. If we see signs of a cracked heat exchanger, such as soot, a rolling flame, or CO readings in the supply air, we will show you what we found and explain your options plainly.
In the older homes around downtown Newark we still find furnaces that were installed decades ago and moved from coal to gas along the way. Those basements often have flue connections and chimney liners that were never updated. When we see rust flakes at the base of a chimney connector, we always check the draft before we fire the furnace back up.
If you ever smell gas, leave the house first and call your gas utility from outside. Then call us. If your carbon monoxide alarm is going off, get everyone outside and call 911. A working CO detector on every level of the home is the cheapest safety equipment you will ever buy.
Repair or replace?
We fix furnaces that are worth fixing. A fifteen-year-old furnace that needs an igniter is a repair. A twenty-two-year-old furnace with a cracked heat exchanger is not. Our general rule is simple: if the repair costs more than a third of a new furnace and the unit is past fifteen years, it is time to at least get a replacement price. Our repair or replace guide walks through the math, and our HVAC cost guide lists typical Licking County prices for the most common repairs.
If you do decide to replace, we handle the whole job, including sizing, the mechanical permit and haul-away. See furnace replacement for how that works.
Brands and fuel types we work on
We repair every major brand you are likely to find in a Licking County basement or crawl space: Carrier, Bryant, Trane, American Standard, Lennox, Rheem, Ruud, Goodman, Amana, York, Heil, Payne, Armstrong and Coleman, among others. We work on natural gas furnaces on Columbia Gas lines, propane furnaces in the rural parts of the county where gas lines do not reach, and electric furnaces and air handlers.
Out past Utica and Alexandria, a lot of the no-heat calls we get are propane furnaces that ran the tank low. When the tank runs dry, air gets into the lines and the furnace will not relight even after the delivery truck comes. The propane company has to leak-test and relight the system first, and then we make sure the furnace itself starts and runs clean.
Furnace repair questions
How much does furnace repair cost in Licking County?
Most common repairs fall between about $150 and $600. Flame sensor cleaning and igniter replacement sit at the low end, while blower motors and control boards cost more. A cracked heat exchanger is usually a replacement conversation. We quote the price before any work starts. See the cost guide for typical ranges.
Why does my furnace turn on and then shut off after a few seconds?
That pattern almost always points to the flame sensor, which proves the burners lit. When it is coated with residue, the furnace thinks the flame went out and shuts the gas off for safety. Cleaning or replacing it is one of the fastest and least expensive furnace repairs.
Can you come out the same day?
Most days, yes. During the first real cold snap of the season demand spikes, so we prioritize homes with no heat at all and households with seniors, infants or medical needs. Call (740) 527-0222 and we will give you an honest arrival window.
Is it safe to keep resetting my furnace?
Resetting once is fine. If it keeps locking out, stop resetting it. Repeated lockouts can flood the combustion chamber with unburned gas on some models, and the lockout is the furnace telling you a safety check failed.
Do you repair older furnaces?
Yes. We repair furnaces of any age as long as they can be made safe. On very old units we will tell you honestly if a repair is money better spent toward a replacement.
More heating help
Furnace Not Working?
Nine safe checks to try before you call, and when to stop and call.
Learn more →Furnace Replacement
Right-sized gas, propane and electric furnaces with the permit pulled for you.
Learn more →24/7 Emergency Service
No heat at night or on a weekend. Calls answered around the clock.
Learn more →Tune-Ups & Maintenance
Fall furnace and spring AC tune-ups that catch small problems early.
Learn more →Get your heat back on
Calling is the fastest way to get on the schedule. Tell us what the system is doing and we will tell you what it probably is, what it probably costs and when we can be there.
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