AC Repair in Lewiston, ME
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Androscoggin County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real work, then long idle stretches
Your air conditioner only earns its keep in July and August here. The rest of the year it sits, and the parts inside it don't like sitting any more than they like running. A capacitor that's been idle for ten months can weaken without anyone knowing, then fail the first hot afternoon you switch the system on.
Summer afternoons average 77°F, which isn't extreme heat, but Androscoggin County sees real storms. Ten years of records show 47 damaging wind events and 17 hail events, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind that strong can rock an outdoor unit on its pad or throw debris into the fan. Hail that size can dent the fins on the condenser coil, and once those fins are bent, the coil can't shed heat the way it should. You'll notice the air coming from the vents isn't as cold as it used to be, or the system runs longer to get the house to temperature.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 17 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 47 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 Androscoggin County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Androscoggin 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 across the coil, or the refrigerant charge running low. A clogged filter makes the coil so cold it ices over, and once that happens the air coming out feels warm instead of cold. Low refrigerant means a leak somewhere in the line, which is a job for a contractor to find and seal properly. If the filter looks packed with dust, start there before assuming it is anything more serious.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit almost always means the condensate drain line is clogged. As your AC cools the air, it pulls moisture out of it, and that water is supposed to run out through the drain line to the outside. Algae and dust build up inside that line over time and block it, so the water backs up and drips out wherever it can. A dirty filter can make this worse by icing the coil, since the melting ice adds even more water than the drain line was built to handle.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check your thermostat first, since dead batteries or a setting bumped off cool will stop the system before it even starts. If the thermostat looks fine, a tripped breaker is the next most common cause, especially after a power blip. Lewiston sees its share of damaging wind, and a surge from a storm can trip the breaker to your outdoor unit even when nothing else in the house lost power. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, that points to an electrical problem inside the unit and it is time to call a contractor rather than keep resetting it.