Kaplan Heating Repair You Can Count On
Kaplan is one of our closest service communities in Vermilion Parish, just a short drive from our Abbeville headquarters. With a population of about 4,600, Kaplan is large enough to have a solid mix of housing types but small enough that you probably know your neighbors, and you definitely notice when a company does good work or bad.
We’ve been earning trust in Kaplan and across Vermilion Parish since 1956. When your heater stops working, we show up, we figure out what’s wrong, and we fix it at a fair price.
The Heating Repairs We See Most Often
Ignitor and Flame Sensor Failures
These are the bread and butter of furnace repair calls, not just in Kaplan but everywhere. The hot surface ignitor that lights your gas burners is a consumable part. It lasts roughly 5 to 7 years, and when it fails, the furnace won’t light. The flame sensor, which confirms combustion, gets coated with carbon deposits and corrosion over time and needs periodic cleaning or replacement.
Both repairs are fast and relatively inexpensive. If your furnace clicks and you hear the draft inducer motor start but the burners never light, one of these two components is almost certainly the cause.
Reversing Valve Failure on Heat Pumps
If you have a heat pump and it cooled perfectly all summer but now blows cold air in heating mode, the reversing valve is the likely suspect. This valve changes the direction of refrigerant flow to switch between heating and cooling. When it fails mechanically (the valve body sticks) or electrically (the solenoid coil burns out), the system stays in cooling mode year-round.
Replacing a reversing valve is a bigger job than swapping an ignitor. It involves recovering refrigerant, brazing the new valve into the refrigerant lines, pressure testing, and recharging the system. It’s a repair that requires specialized equipment and training, and it’s one we handle routinely.
Auxiliary Heat Strip Failures
Most heat pumps in Kaplan homes have electric heat strips inside the air handler as backup heat. These strips activate when outdoor temperatures drop below the heat pump’s efficient operating range (around 35°F) or when the thermostat calls for a rapid temperature increase.
If one or more heat strips burn out, you may not notice during mild weather because the heat pump can handle the load alone. But on a 25°F morning, the missing backup heat becomes obvious. Your house never reaches the set temperature, and the system runs nonstop. We test each strip individually during our diagnosis.
Cold Snaps Hit Harder Here
Kaplan’s flat, open geography means cold fronts roll through with little to break the wind. Combined with the humidity from nearby marshlands, the “feels like” temperature on a windy winter morning can be 10 to 15 degrees below the actual air temperature. A marginal heating system that barely keeps up in calm 35°F weather can fall behind completely when the wind picks up.
If your system has always struggled on the coldest days, the equipment may be undersized for heating. We can evaluate your system’s capacity and recommend options, including ductless mini-splits for rooms that are consistently cold.
Call F & R Air Conditioning for heating repair in Kaplan: (337) 893-5646.