AC Repair in Sanford, ME
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers York County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real heat, then long stretches of nothing
Sanford only asks the air conditioner to work in July and August, with afternoons averaging 79°F. That is not extreme heat, but it is a short season followed by ten months of sitting idle. A unit that sits that long can have trouble starting back up. A capacitor that weakened over the winter, or a contactor with a little corrosion on it, tends to show its problems on the first real hot day, not gradually.
The outdoor unit also has to ride out whatever the weather does the rest of the year. York County has logged 93 damaging wind events and 19 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.75 inches. Wind can bend the thin fins on the outdoor coil or throw debris into the fan. Hail that size can dent a cabinet or knock a fin flat, and either one cuts down the airflow the system needs to cool the house.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 19 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 93 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 York County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical York 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 before anything else. A clogged filter starves the coil of air and it can freeze over, which pushes out air that feels warm even though the system is running. Low refrigerant from a leak causes the same problem and won't fix itself, since these systems don't use up refrigerant over time. If the filter is clean and air still isn't cold, a contractor needs to check the refrigerant charge and the coil.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water on the floor near your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air all summer, and that water is supposed to run out through a drain line to the outside. When the line clogs with algae or debris, the water backs up and spills out near the unit instead. A dirty air filter can also cause this by freezing the coil, which then drips as it thaws.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check your thermostat first, since dead batteries or a setting that got bumped account for a lot of no-start calls. Next check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will cut power to the outdoor unit even if the thermostat looks normal. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, don't keep resetting it, that points to an electrical problem that needs a contractor to look at. With 93 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, it's also worth checking that nothing knocked debris into the outdoor unit or damaged the power connection to it.