AC Maintenance in Ruidoso, NM
Air conditioners here run from June through August, so May is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Lincoln County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of heat, then hail and wind the rest of the year
Your air conditioner in Ruidoso only works three months a year, June through August, but those afternoons average 87°F, and it runs hard to keep the house cool. A tune-up before that season starts is when a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge gets caught, before a hot afternoon turns it into a breakdown.
The outdoor unit sits outside all year, through storms that brought 51 hail events and 138 damaging wind events to the area over the last ten years, with hail as large as 2.5 inches. A tune-up is also when the coil and the fins get checked for the kind of damage that hail and wind leave behind.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 51 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 138 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in May, before homes here start needing cooling in June.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
A tune-up checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the coils, tests the capacitor and tightens the electrical connections.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Division tests contractors before they can hold this license, and the license is on record with the state. It covers the contractor, not the individual job, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a system is what qualifies them to maintain one in Lincoln County.
For a maintenance visit, that license is what stands behind the person working on your air conditioner. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of the system to check the charge, federal law also requires them to hold EPA Section 608 certification, the same as it does everywhere in the country.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant pressure, cleans the condenser coil outside, and tests the capacitor and contactor that start the compressor. They check the condensate drain for clogs since a blocked drain can back up and cause water damage. They also check the filter, look at electrical connections, and confirm the system is cooling to the right temperature split between the air going in and the air coming out. Anything involving refrigerant has to be handled by someone with EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement everywhere.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year is enough for most systems, done before the cooling season starts. Here that means getting it looked at before June, since the system only runs through the summer and you want it checked before the heat sets in. A yearly visit catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it leaves you without cooling on an 87 degree afternoon.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most of the failures that leave people without cooling in the middle of summer are things a technician can catch ahead of time. A capacitor that is starting to weaken, a coil coated in dirt that makes the system work harder, a drain that is about to clog. Ruidoso also sees a fair number of hail and wind events, so having someone look over the outdoor unit each year is a chance to catch storm damage before it turns into a bigger problem.