AC Repair in Raton, NM
If your air conditioner quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Colfax County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Raton doesn't ask much of your AC, until a storm does
Summer afternoons here top out around 81°F, mild enough that most homes barely lean on the air conditioner. It's not heat that wears out equipment in Raton. It's what comes with the storms.
Colfax County has logged 80 hail events and 157 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.75 inches recorded. That kind of hail bends the thin aluminum fins on your outdoor coil and can dent or crack the fan housing, and high wind can rock the unit on its pad or send debris into it. If your AC is running rough, short-cycling, or not cooling like it used to right after a storm rolls through, the outdoor unit is the place to check first.
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 80 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 157 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 Colfax County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Colfax County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, New Mexico 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.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Division tests contractors before it issues that license, and the license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. So the same license that let them take on a big installation across town is what covers the repair on your air conditioner.
For this job, the license is what stands behind the work, but opening the refrigerant side of your air conditioner also requires the technician to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That part of the rule is federal and applies no matter what state you're in. Between the two, a technician working on your air conditioner in Colfax County has to answer to New Mexico for the work and to the EPA for handling the refrigerant.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. A refrigerant leak will do the same thing, and so will a compressor that has failed. Raton summers only get into the low 80s, so a system that struggles here on a mild afternoon is telling you something is actually wrong, not just working hard. A contractor will need to check refrigerant levels, and only someone with EPA Section 608 certification is allowed to open that side of the system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Usually the drain line is clogged and water is backing up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the condensate pan has rusted through, or the coil has frozen over and is now melting and overflowing. A clogged drain is straightforward to clear, but a cracked pan means a part needs replacing. If the coil itself froze, low refrigerant or blocked airflow is probably why, and that points back to the filter or a leak.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. If those check out, the capacitor that starts the compressor may have failed, or a safety switch has shut the system down to protect it. Raton sees frequent hail and wind, with 80 hail events and 157 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, so it is also worth checking whether the outdoor unit took a hit. A licensed contractor can trace the actual cause once the obvious things are ruled out.