AC Repair in Thornton, CO
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Adams County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of hard work, with hail and wind between rounds
Your air conditioner in Thornton only gets three months to do its job, June through August, and it does that job against afternoons averaging 87°F. That kind of heat load means the compressor and the fan motor run long and hard for a short stretch of the year instead of easing into the season.
The other thing this area does to a unit is hit it from outside. Adams County has logged 135 hail events and 85 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.75 inches. Hail that size dents the thin fins on the outdoor coil and can bend the fan blade or crack the housing. A coil with crushed fins can't shed heat the way it should, so the system runs longer and cools less, and you notice it as a house that won't quite get to temperature on the hottest afternoons.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 135 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 85 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 Adams County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Adams County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Colorado 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 across the coil, which can make it freeze up and stop cooling. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that one needs a licensed contractor since it means opening the sealed system. If the outdoor unit isn't running at all while the indoor fan blows warm air, check the breaker and the disconnect near the condenser before anything else. Thornton has seen 135 hail events over the past ten years, so a damaged outdoor coil or fan blade is also worth ruling out if your unit sits exposed to weather.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged, so the water that normally drains away backs up and overflows the pan. Algae and dust build up inside that line over time and block it. A frozen evaporator coil that then thaws can also flood the pan faster than it can drain. If the pan itself has rusted through or cracked, it will need to be replaced rather than just cleaned out.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and below the room temperature, and that its batteries aren't dead. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker panel and the disconnect switch next to the outdoor unit. A tripped breaker or a pulled disconnect will stop the whole system cold, and Thornton has logged 85 damaging wind events over the past ten years, which is enough to knock loose a wire or trip a breaker at the outdoor unit. If power looks fine everywhere and it still won't start, the capacitor or contactor inside the unit has likely failed, and that's a job for a licensed contractor.