Furnace Repair in Moses Lake, WA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Grant County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat puts a lot of hours on your furnace
From October through May your furnace is the thing standing between you and a 25 degree night. That is eight months of the burner cycling on and off, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the parts that get the flame going. Over a winter that adds up to a lot of cycles.
Most homes here run on electric heat, so when the power goes out, the furnace stops with it. Grant County sees its share of winter storms and wind, and Washington households lost power for a full day or more often enough in 2024 that it is worth knowing your furnace will not restart on its own until the power does.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 25°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 93 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the Department of Labor and Industries. It does not mean anyone tested this contractor on furnace work or gas connections. There is no trade exam behind it, just a record that the business exists and is registered to operate in the state.
For a furnace repair, that leaves the registration as a paper record rather than a check on the work itself. Washington's rule stops at registering the business.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the set temperature is above room temperature, and check the batteries if it has them. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, since that shuts it off for service. A furnace that still won't start after that usually has a safety switch tripped somewhere, or an ignition part that failed. That needs a contractor to open it up and test it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the blower is running before the burners have caught up, and it clears out in a minute or so. If cold air keeps coming, the igniter or the flame sensor may be failing, so the burners aren't lighting even though the fan runs. A dirty filter can also cause this by starving the burners of airflow they need to stay lit. If changing the filter doesn't fix it, the ignition system needs a contractor to test it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out. That's the small part that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is lit, and once it wears out it shuts the gas off even with the pilot burning. A draft blowing across the pilot can also blow it out, so check for that first. If the pilot won't hold after that, the thermocouple needs replacing, and that's a job for a contractor since it involves the gas valve.