AC Repair in Dallas, OR
If your air conditioner quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Polk County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Polk County doesn't ask much of an air conditioner
Summer afternoons here average 77°F. Most homes in the county don't need cooling at all, so an air conditioner here sits idle far more than it runs. That's an easy life for a compressor.
When a unit does fail here, it's rarely the heat that wore it down. A system that sits for long stretches can develop problems from sitting instead. A capacitor weakens with age whether it's used or not. A contactor can stick from disuse. Refrigerant can run low slowly, and nobody notices until the one hot afternoon it's asked to work. If yours isn't cooling, the cause is more likely a part that's given out than anything this climate did to it.
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 3 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 Polk County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Polk County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Oregon 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.
Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Contractors Board issues this license, and it covers the contractor, not each job. If your repair runs under $1,000, Oregon does not require a licensed contractor for it.
An air conditioner repair means someone working on the refrigerant side of the system. That requires EPA Section 608 certification, a federal rule that applies no matter what state you're in. So on this job you have the state license covering the contractor, and the federal certification covering whoever actually handles the refrigerant.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time it's a dirty air filter choking off airflow, low refrigerant from a leak, or a dirty condenser coil outside that can't shed heat. A frozen evaporator coil will also blow warm or weak air until it thaws, and that freezing itself is usually caused by one of the first two problems. Check the filter first since it's the one thing you can rule out yourself. Anything involving refrigerant has to be handled by a technician with EPA 608 certification, since federal law requires that to open the refrigerant side of any system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it cools, and that water is supposed to run out through a drain line into a pan or outside the house. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time and block it, so the water backs up and drips or pools near the indoor unit instead. A dirty air filter can also cause the evaporator coil to freeze and then leak once it thaws, so that's worth checking too.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker. Make sure the thermostat is set to cool with a temperature below the room, and check that the breaker for the outdoor unit and the indoor air handler haven't tripped. If both look fine, the problem could be a bad capacitor, a failed contactor, or a tripped safety switch on the system itself, and those need a contractor to open it up and take a look. Oregon licenses HVAC contractors through the Construction Contractors Board, and a contractor can price the job once they know what's wrong.