Unit heater service
Unit Heater Service in Whitehall, MT
Shop, barn and garage heaters cleaned, tuned and repaired so your workspace is usable in January. We service gas unit heaters throughout the Jefferson Valley — free consultation included.
The building where you actually get work done
Around Whitehall, the shop matters as much as the house. Equipment gets maintained there through the winter, projects get finished there, livestock work happens in the barn, and vehicles get thawed out in the garage. When the unit heater in that building quits in December, work stops — and the pipes in the corner start to worry you.
Suspended gas unit heaters are simple, rugged machines, which is exactly why they get ignored for years at a time. They also live in the harshest air of any HVAC equipment on the property: sawdust, hay chaff, welding fume, grain dust, exhaust and blowing dirt all get pulled through the burner and across the heat exchanger. That takes a toll no house furnace ever sees.
Annual service is what keeps them running and safe. It's also inexpensive relative to a frozen shop, a ruined project or a carbon monoxide problem in a building you close up tight while working.
What unit heater service covers
We clean the burner assembly and blow out the heat exchanger and cabinet — often the single biggest improvement on a heater that's been in service several seasons. We check and clean the pilot assembly and test the thermocouple or thermopile on standing-pilot models, or the igniter and flame sensor on electronic ignition units.
Then we verify gas supply pressure with altitude derate accounted for, inspect the heat exchanger for cracking and corrosion, confirm the vent is intact, correctly pitched, properly terminated and free of nests, and confirm the building has adequate combustion air for the heater's input. We test the fan and limit controls, lubricate and inspect the fan motor and blades, check mounting hardware and hanger integrity, and test the thermostat and wiring.
You get the findings in plain terms, including anything unsafe. When a repair makes sense we quote it on the spot; when a heater is corroded through or has a compromised heat exchanger, we say so and price a suitable replacement instead of patching around a hazard.
Sizing, placement and getting the heat to floor level
Half the unit heater complaints we hear aren't equipment failures at all — they're distribution problems. Hot air rises, and in a shop with a high ceiling most of your heat can end up twenty feet above where you're standing. The fix is usually in placement and aim: discharge directed along the exterior wall, angled slightly down, so air circulates the perimeter and returns across the floor.
Sizing matters just as much. A heater chosen for square footage alone, without accounting for ceiling height, insulation, door openings and how often those big doors get opened on a cold day, will run continuously and never satisfy. We measure the building and calculate the load rather than guessing at BTUs.
If you're heating both a shop and a home on the same property, we can handle both in one visit — forced-air furnace service for the house, furnace repair if something has already failed, and a change-out quote for whichever piece of equipment is genuinely finished.
Local knowledge
Built for Whitehall and the Jefferson Valley
Outbuilding heat is a way of life in Jefferson and Madison counties. We service unit heaters in ranch shops out toward Cardwell and Waterloo, contractor garages in Whitehall, equipment sheds along the Boulder river, and hangar and warehouse spaces over toward Butte. The common thread is dust, cold and buildings that stand unheated for weeks between uses.
That intermittent-use pattern is why rodents and birds cause so many of our no-heat calls here. A heater that sits idle from March to October is an attractive place to nest, and a nest in the burner compartment or vent is both a fire and a carbon monoxide risk. Our annual clean-and-check exists largely to catch exactly that.
Altitude derating applies to unit heaters just as it does to house furnaces, and it's frequently overlooked on shop equipment installed by a general contractor rather than an HVAC tech. We check and correct it as part of service.
Questions & answers
Frequently asked questions
Why won't my shop unit heater light?+
On older gravity-vented models it's usually a thermocouple or pilot problem, or a gas supply issue. On newer electronic-ignition heaters it's typically an igniter, flame sensor, pressure switch or blocked vent. Rodent nests in the burner compartment and spider webs across the pilot orifice are genuinely common in outbuildings that sit unused for months.
How often should a garage or barn unit heater be serviced?+
Once a year before heating season. Unit heaters live in dustier, dirtier environments than house furnaces — sawdust, hay chaff, welding smoke, grain dust and vehicle exhaust all end up in the burner and heat exchanger. Annual cleaning and combustion checks keep them safe and prevent mid-winter shutdowns.
My unit heater runs but the shop still isn't warm. Why?+
Either the heater is undersized for the space and its insulation level, or air distribution is poor. Unit heaters need to be aimed and located so discharge air sweeps the perimeter and returns across the floor; mounted in the wrong spot or angled wrong, they stratify heat at the ceiling while you work in the cold. Adding a circulation fan or repositioning the heater often solves it without new equipment.
Is it safe to run a gas unit heater in a closed shop?+
Only if it's properly vented and has adequate combustion air. Unvented or improperly vented heaters in a tight, closed shop are a carbon monoxide hazard, and welding or solvent use makes it worse. We verify venting, draft and combustion air on every service call, and we'll tell you plainly if what you have isn't safe as installed.
Do you service unit heaters in outbuildings outside Whitehall?+
Yes. Shops, barns, equipment sheds, hangars and detached garages throughout our roughly 50-mile radius — Cardwell, Butte, Boulder, Three Forks, Twin Bridges, Silver Star, Harrison, Willow Creek and the ranch properties between them.
Can you replace an old unit heater with a more efficient one?+
We can. Modern separated-combustion and power-vented unit heaters are far better suited to dusty, tight shops than old gravity-vent models, and they can draw combustion air from outside rather than from your workspace. We'll size it for your building's dimensions, insulation and use, and quote it as part of a free consultation.
Related services
Other work we do nearby
Furnace & Heating Repair
No heat, short cycling, or a furnace that won't ignite on a 10-below Whitehall morning — diagnosed and repaired right the first time.
Air Conditioning Repair & Service
Warm air, weak airflow, iced coils, or a condenser that won't start during a Jefferson Valley heat stretch.
Forced-Air Furnace Service
Full seasonal tune-ups and combustion checks that keep forced-air systems safe, quiet, and efficient all winter.
HVAC Equipment Change-Outs
Furnace and AC replacement sized for Montana loads, installed cleanly, with honest repair-versus-replace advice.
Keep your shop workable all winter
Call (406) 266-1675 or request a free quote for unit heater service in Whitehall, Cardwell, Butte, Boulder and surrounding areas. We'll clean it, tune it, and tell you honestly what it needs.