Furnace Repair in Ellsworth, ME
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hancock County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, on nights near 14 degrees
Your furnace in Ellsworth works from September through May. That is nine months of the year it has to start reliably, and on winter nights averaging 14°F, it runs long and hard to keep the house warm. Half the homes here heat with fuel oil, and an oil furnace under that kind of steady load depends on a clean nozzle and a working igniter to light every time it's asked to.
Hancock County has logged 67 winter storms and 75 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. Across Maine, more than half of households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. Most furnaces start back up on their own once power returns, but one already worn from a long winter is more likely to fail right when you need it most.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 67 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and the setpoint is above room temperature, since a battery that died can reset it. Check the power switch on the furnace itself, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and check the breaker too. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be at fault, and that needs a contractor to check.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most of the time this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. A dirty flame sensor is a common reason for that, since it shuts the gas off as a safety measure when it can't detect a flame. It can also mean the furnace is in the middle of its normal cycle, blowing air before the burners fully ignite. If the air stays cold for more than a few minutes, that points to a problem a contractor needs to look at.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small part that senses the pilot flame and keeps gas flowing to it. When it wears out or sits out of position, it tells the gas valve there's no flame even when there is, and the valve shuts down. A draft blowing out the pilot is another cause, so check nearby vents or a door that might be pushing air toward it. Either way, this is a gas component, so have a contractor replace or adjust it rather than trying to keep relighting it yourself.