Fix it yourself. Stay informed. Don’t pay contractor markup on parts.
Fill out the form, get your advice-line number, and talk to a Duluth-area tech with real-world repair and diagnosis experience.
We listened. furnaceadvice.com was born.
FURNACE ADVICE
Duluth-area techs. On the phone. Not in your driveway.
Expert Duluth-area techs. On the phone.
Providing technical support over the phone — so you can diagnose it, fix what is safe, and skip a two-hour truck minimum in a Minnesota winter.
Why this exists
Homeowners were hungry to repair their own equipment.
We are Duluth-area HVAC repair technicians with long careers in the field. We kept taking the same calls: people who wanted a straight answer, a part number, and a chance to do the simple jobs themselves. Furnace Advice is that line. Not a dispatch board. Not a sales pitch for a new system.
How it works
Six steps. Then you are on with a tech.
Speak directly with a technician, get clear guidance, and follow step-by-step instructions. Afterward we follow up to make sure it held. Hold time is not billed.
01 Tell us what is wrong
Heating or cooling, the fuel, and whether you have ducts, radiators, central air, or a wall mini-split.
02 Fill out the online form
Tell us the symptoms, error codes, brand, and age. The more you share, the faster the tech can get to the real problem.
03 Receive an advice-line number
After you submit, you get a private number to call for this session. That line is for paying customers on an active intake.
04 Call and provide payment
Calls are first-come, first-served. Hold time is not billed. Have a card ready when you connect.
05 Pay the consultation fee
A set connection fee covers the first 20 minutes. Time past 20 minutes is billed per minute. Most calls finish inside the 20-minute window.
06 Parts, if you need them
Once we know the part, you can order it for same-day pickup when it is in stock locally — or we give you the exact number so a contractor cannot mark it up in the dark.
Standard 20-minute call
$80
$20 connection + $2.99/min · Mon–Fri 9–5
Typical contractor minimum
$300
$150/hr with a two-hour minimum
Almost all of our calls
Under 20 min
You are not paying travel, fuel, or a clock that started in the driveway.
Choose your issue
What is the equipment doing?
No heat
Furnace runs, clicks, or sits dead. We walk the sequence of operation until we find the open switch.
Blowing cold air
Blower on, burners off or short-cycling. Often a sensor, pressure switch, or limit — not a ‘new furnace’ job.
Short cycling
Starts, runs a minute, shuts down. We sort limit trips, flame loss, and dirty filters from real failures.
Won’t ignite
Hot-surface ignitors, spark, and flame-sensing. Many homeowners can swap an ignitor with a clear parts match.
Strange noises
Squeal, boom, rattle, or grind. We help you tell a bearing from a delayed ignition before you buy the wrong part.
Error codes
LED flashes and control-board codes. Bring the flash count — we translate it into the next test, not a guess.
No cooling
Outdoor fan, compressor, capacitors, and contactor checks you can do safely with the power off.
Weak airflow
Filters, blower wheels, closed registers, and evaporator ice. Airflow problems fake a lot of ‘bad equipment.’
Thermostat trouble
Wrong mode, dead batteries, C-wire, or a stat that never actually calls. Cheapest fix in the house, often missed.
Why choose us
Transparent pricing. No hidden fees. You keep control of the house.
A tech, not a script
You talk to Duluth-area HVAC repair technicians who have actually worked on this equipment in this climate.
Hold time is free
First-come, first-served. The clock starts when a technician picks up — not while you wait.
Parts without markup theater
We identify the part and the number. Same-day pickup when it is on a local shelf. No mystery invoice.
We tell you when to stop
Gas odor, CO, live electrical, refrigerant — we draw the line. A cheap call is not worth an unsafe one.
What callers say
“I was having trouble with my furnace, and instead of spending hundreds on a service call, I decided to try Furnace Advice. I’m so glad I did. The technician guided me through diagnosing the problem over the phone, and within minutes my furnace was working perfectly again. Not only did I save money, I also learned a lot.” — Jacqui W.
“I called after my furnace stopped working, expecting to schedule a costly service visit. Instead, the technician walked me through the fix over the phone. It was so simple, and I got heat back without spending a fortune. This service is a game-changer.” — Natalie W.