AC Maintenance in Hudson, WI

Did you know that preventative maintenance can increase the lifespan of your air conditioner? We know air conditioner installs can be costly. Let’s work together to keep your air conditioner cooling as long as possible.

Why preventative maintenance is such a big deal

Hurlburt Heating, AC and Plumbing strives to be a trustworthy and reliable HVAC contractor in the Hudson community. While other companies might try to sell you equipment you don’t need, we want to be transparent with you about the state and life expectancy of your air conditioner. If we can, we’ll help you keep your AC running before jumping headfirst into a replacement.

That being said, sometimes it is best to replace old equipment rather than repair it. Often you’ll get to a stage in the life of an air conditioner where all the internal parts start failing at once. While these parts might not cost too much individually, they all add up. And if you choose to repair, you’re still stuck with an old air conditioner at the end of the day. 

With preventative maintenance, our goal is to catch small problems before they become big ones. Doing an annual tune up on your AC system also gives us a chance to talk with you about how it is looking and we can give you an idea whether you should start planning for a replacement in the near future or not. 

What kind of preventative maintenance does an air conditioner need?

The two most beneficial things you can do for your air conditioner is to change the furnace filter regularly and have an annual tune up done by a trained professional. 

For 1’’ furnace filters, we recommend you check them once per month. Depending on the traffic in your home, it may not need to be changed but it is good to get into the habit of checking the filter often. We see a number of calls each year simply where the homeowner forgot to change the filter.

What happens at an AC tune up?

When we tune up your air conditioner, we will hook up our gauges and check the refrigerant level in the system. If your AC is low on coolant, that means you have a leak somewhere that needs to be addressed. 

While we are there, we will clean the AC condenser and the drain to the evaporator coil. 

One of the biggest benefits of having a trained HVAC professional tune up your AC equipment is that we notice things you might not. A fan motor with a bit of a rattle might be on its way out. A whiney compressor could be a sign of a leak in the system or simply an impending failure of that part. 

How often do you need your AC tuned up?

We recommend once per year, typically in the spring before cooling season starts. However, if you have a newer air conditioner, you could get by with a tune up every other year. Some maintenance is better than no maintenance. Even if you only have us out every couple of years, you are already ahead of the game. 

If you don’t have an annual tune up done, make sure you keep an eye on your AC condenser and rinse it out with a garden hose a couple of times per year. We have a lot of cottonwood trees in Hudson and when they blow their seeds, they can get stuck in the condenser coils. This can be a big problem, as it impedes the system’s ability to release heat. All you need to do is take a sprayer and rinse the seeds down so the coils are clear. You don’t need a lot of water pressure, just enough to clean the coils out. 

How long does an air conditioner normally last?

They typically have a lifespan of around 15 years. If your AC is getting to that age range, your annual tune up is even more important if you want to keep it running as long as possible. Checking the charge regularly and keeping things clean might help you squeak a few more years out of it. 

Is it worth it to have a tune up done on my old R-22 air conditioner?

It is always worth it to have a system check to see what kind of shape your air conditioner is in. R-22 coolant was phased out in 2010, so your air conditioner is nearing the end of its lifespan. R-22 coolant is no longer made or imported, so the only R-22 on the market is old gas that has been recovered from other AC systems. Because it is so hard to find, R-22 has gotten extremely expensive. This means, if your AC has a leak and needs to be recharged with coolant, you are better off replacing the unit than trying to find enough used gas to maintain it. 

However, if your old R-22 air conditioner is still running and doesn’t have any signs of a coolant leak, then it is perfectly fine to keep it running as long as you can.