Ten months of heat
Furnaces in Archuleta County run from September through June. Overnight lows average 13°F through December, January and February. That is close to year-round work for a machine that in most places gets a real break.
Furnace Maintenance in Pagosa Springs, CO
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Parts don't get a season off
Ten months of runtime puts more hours on an igniter and blower motor than a few months a year ever would. Problems that would take years to show up elsewhere can show up in one winter here.
A quick visit checks that the furnace turns on and the air coming out is warm.
A thorough one pulls the burners, checks flame sensor and igniter wear, and measures gas pressure and temperature rise against what the furnace is rated for.
Most furnaces here burn gas, which means a burner and venting check, not just a filter swap
September is when the furnace starts earning its keep here, so August is the month to get it looked at. Wait until the first cold snap and you're calling after something already failed, not before. A check in August catches a cracked igniter or a weak flame sensor while the furnace is still sitting idle, with time to get parts ordered if it needs them. Once September hits, the furnace runs close to flat out through June, and there's no slow start to a season to catch problems early on.
Check it before the season
It works hard here, so worn parts show up fast once the season starts. Get it checked before then.
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Before the roads turn bad
Winter storms hit Archuleta County 123 times between 2015 and 2024. Heavy snow and ice make roads slower for everyone, including a contractor trying to reach a house with a dead furnace in January. Getting the furnace checked now, while the roads are clear, means a worn igniter or flame sensor gets caught before a storm decides when it fails.
Short cycles mean something's wrong
A furnace that shuts off a few minutes after starting is tripping on a safety switch somewhere, often a flame sensor coated with residue or a limit switch sensing more heat than it should. It will keep doing this until someone cleans or replaces the part. Left alone, the short cycling itself wears out the blower motor faster.
A yellow flame instead of blue
Burners should throw a steady blue flame. Yellow or flickering means the gas isn't burning clean, which can point to a dirty burner or a venting problem. This one isn't a wait and see. It's a reason to shut the furnace down and get someone out before running it again.
A tune-up catches what the furnace won't show on its own. A technician checks the heat exchanger for cracks, something you cannot see without pulling the furnace apart, and a cracked one can leak exhaust into the air the blower pushes through the house. They check amp draw on the blower motor against what it should be pulling, which catches a motor on its way out weeks before it quits. They check the inducer motor and the venting for a blockage that would otherwise show up as a furnace that shuts down mid-cycle for no clear reason. None of this shows up by looking at the furnace or feeling the air coming out of a vent.
A full tune-up starts before the furnace even fires. The technician pulls the burners to inspect them for rust or corrosion, then checks the flame sensor and igniter for wear that a visual glance wouldn't catch. Gas pressure gets measured and adjusted if it's off, because too much or too little changes how clean the furnace burns. Temperature rise gets checked against the rating plate, since a furnace running hotter or cooler than it should points to an airflow problem or a failing part. The blower wheel gets inspected for dust buildup, which throws off airflow even when the motor itself is fine. Every electrical connection gets checked too, since a loose wire causes the same short cycling as a bad sensor but gets missed if nobody looks.
