AC Repair in McAlester, OK
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Pittsburg County will get in touch.
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Five months of heat, and storms that hit the unit itself
From May through September your air conditioner is working most days, and McAlester summer afternoons average 91°F. That kind of steady load wears on the compressor and the fan motor, the parts that run for hours at a stretch to keep up. When one of them starts to fail, you notice it as air that isn't as cold as it should be, or a unit that runs and runs without catching up to the thermostat.
Pittsburg County has also seen 67 hail events and 61 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. That is large enough to bend the fins on your outdoor unit or damage the fan blade, and wind can take down branches that land on the cabinet outside. Either one can leave the outdoor unit unable to release heat properly, even if the rest of the system is fine.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 67 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 61 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $50 a year off cooling for a typical Pittsburg County home.
Estimates for a typical Pittsburg County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Oklahoma 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.
Oklahoma requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Board issues that license after testing, and it keeps a record of who holds one. It covers the contractor, not each job, so the license tells you this person or company was tested and is on file with the state, not that a particular repair was inspected or approved.
For an air conditioner repair, the license is what stands behind the work. If the job involves opening the refrigerant side of the system, which most air conditioner repairs do, the technician also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal requirement, separate from the state license, and it applies to anyone handling refrigerant anywhere in the country.
Source: Oklahoma State Legislature
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time the filter is clogged, or the outdoor unit is dirty and can't shed heat. A dirty filter starves the system of airflow, and the coil can ice over as a result. It's also possible the refrigerant charge is low, which points to a leak somewhere in the line set. That last one needs a contractor with EPA 608 certification, since only a certified technician is allowed to open the refrigerant side of the system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged. Algae and dust build up inside that line over a cooling season and block the water from draining out, so it backs up and drips inside the house instead. A dirty filter can cause the same problem indirectly, by icing the coil, which then melts and overflows the drain pan. Given how many months your AC runs here, May through September, that line is worth checking each year before summer starts.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped to off or heat is the simplest explanation. If that's not it, look at the breaker box. Storms bring damaging wind and hail through this area, and a power blip during one of those can trip the breaker for the outdoor unit. If the breaker is fine and the thermostat is calling for cooling but nothing happens, the problem is inside the unit and it's time to call a licensed contractor.