AC Repair in Ellsworth, ME
Air conditioners here run from July through July. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hancock County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ellsworth doesn't ask much of your air conditioner, until a storm does
Summer afternoons here top out around 76°F, which is mild as far as cooling loads go. Most days your system isn't straining to keep up. That's actually when a lot of small problems go unnoticed. A weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge can limp along fine on a 76 degree day and then fail outright the one week it gets hotter.
What's harder on the equipment here is what comes with the weather. Hancock County has seen 75 damaging wind events and 9 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside for all of it. Hail that size can bend the fins on the condenser coil, and high winds can rock the unit on its pad or throw debris into it. If your AC is suddenly noisy, blowing warm air, or the outside fan looks bent or clogged after a storm, that's usually where to look first.
- 1 months
- July through July, your air conditioner is on duty
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 9 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 75 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in Hancock County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Hancock County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Maine 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.
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so start there and check it first. A refrigerant leak will also do this, and it usually comes with ice on the indoor coil or the line running to the outdoor unit. If the outdoor unit isn't running at all while the indoor blower is, the compressor or a capacitor may have failed. A contractor can check the refrigerant charge and the electrical components to find which one it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most of the time this means the condensate drain line is clogged and water is backing up instead of draining outside. Algae and dirt build up in that line over a cooling season and block it. It can also mean the indoor coil has frozen and is now thawing, which points to low airflow or low refrigerant. A dirty filter is the first thing worth checking, since restricted airflow is what causes a coil to freeze in the first place.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first. If the display is blank, it may need new batteries, and if it's on but the system still won't respond, check that it's set to cool and set below the room temperature. Next check the breaker for the outdoor unit and the indoor air handler, since either one tripping will stop the system cold. If power is fine at both and it still won't start, the capacitor or the contactor in the outdoor unit has likely failed, and that's a job for a contractor to test and replace.