Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Get help with Storm & Hail Damage Repair
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005Heating and cooling equipment checked after hail, high wind, flooding or a power surge, with the damage traced part by part and a plain answer on whether repair or replacement makes more sense.
01Storm damage
Hail, wind, water and power surges each damage equipment in their own way.
Flood water can soak the controls, motors and wiring of an outdoor unit, or a furnace or air handler in a basement. Equipment that has been under water is checked and dried before it is powered again, and parts that were submerged often need replacing.
A nearby lightning strike or the surge when power comes back can damage control boards, capacitors and compressors. A system that stays silent, or runs its fan without heating or cooling, is tested electrically to find which part took the hit.
The thin metal fins on an outdoor coil bend easily under hail. Light damage is mostly cosmetic, while wide areas of flattened fins choke the airflow the unit needs to shed heat. A technician judges whether straightening the fins is enough or the tubing behind them is damaged.
Strong wind or a falling limb can shift an outdoor unit off its pad or bend the copper lines running to the building. Kinked or cracked lines can lose refrigerant, so the lines and their connections are checked before the unit runs again.
Leaves and branches packed against the coil cut airflow, and anything that fell through the top grille can bend the fan blade or jam its motor. A technician checks the fan and motor with the power off before the unit is run.
02Repair or replace
What the storm reached, and how many major parts it reached, decides it.
Fins that can be combed straight, a capacitor or control board lost to a surge, a bent fan blade or guard, or copper lines that can be reconnected. The rest of the equipment came through intact, and replacing the damaged parts brings it back to how it ran before the storm.
The outdoor coil was battered hard enough to leak, the compressor failed in the surge, or the equipment sat in flood water deep enough to soak its motors and controls. When several major parts are affected at once, replacing the unit tends to make more sense than rebuilding it piece by piece.
Storm & Hail Damage Repair
Serving Abilene, TX.
03After a flood
Water that has gone down outside can still be inside the equipment.
Flood water carries silt and contaminants into parts of the equipment that are never meant to be wet: control boards, wire connections, motor windings and the electrical terminals on the compressor. The cabinet can look dry long before the inside is, and powering it while moisture and residue remain can short a board, burn out a motor that might have been saved, or start a fire.
On gas furnaces and boilers, a valve or control that has been under water is a safety concern of its own, and it is checked before the burner is allowed to fire. A technician works through the equipment with the power off, noting how high the water rose and what it reached, then tests the electrical parts before anything is switched on.
04In the meantime
None of this repairs the damage. All of it keeps people safe and stops it growing.
If flood water has reached the outdoor unit, furnace or air handler, leave it switched off at the thermostat until a technician has checked it. Stay away from any breaker panel that is wet or standing in water.
Keep people and pets away from standing water near the equipment, outlets or cords, and leave anything electrical that is wet untouched.
If a power line has come down near the equipment or the building, stay well clear of it and anything it touches, and report it to the electric utility.
A breaker that trips again after being reset is protecting the wiring or the equipment from a fault. Leave it off and mention it when calling.
05Questions
Flattened fins, dents in the cabinet, a unit that has shifted, bent copper lines or a system that will not start afterwards are the common signs. Some damage, such as a failed board or water in the controls, only shows once the unit is tested, which is why equipment exposed to flood water is checked before it runs.
Not until a technician has checked it. Water and silt can stay inside controls, wiring and motors after the outside looks dry, and powering them can cause a short or a fire and ruin parts that might have been saved.
A few bent fins make little difference. When hail has flattened large areas of the coil, less air passes through it, the unit works harder, and cooling suffers. Straightening them with a fin comb often recovers most of the airflow, as long as the tubing behind them is not damaged.
If it smells of burning, is leaking water, or the outdoor unit is humming without its fan turning, yes: switch it off at the thermostat. A system that runs but does not keep up can usually stay on until it is looked at.
What the system is doing, when it started, what the thermostat is set to and what it reads, and whether the outdoor unit is running. The age of the equipment and a photo of its label help a technician arrive prepared.
Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005