What Does a Boiler Expansion Tank Do, and How Do You Know It's Failing?
A boiler expansion tank absorbs water that swells as it heats. How it works, what the pressure gauge tells you, and why a dripping relief valve is the clue.
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Arlington is a Sibley County town settled largely by German homesteaders, and it has hosted the Sibley County Fair since 1885, along with the Arlington Raceway dirt track at the fairgrounds.
We repair and replace furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, boilers and ductless mini-splits in Arlington and across Sibley County. Every visit starts with a $79 trip charge and a written price before any work, and the $79 is waived when you go ahead with the repair.
Arlington's electric utility is city-owned and buys its power through the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, so electric rates and rebates come from the city.
Updated September 23, 2026

Around town: Sibley County Fairgrounds · Arlington Raceway · Highway 5 · Sibley East High School
Book in ArlingtonNatural gas reached Arlington in 1953, so every house built before then started on some other fuel, most likely coal or fuel oil, and was converted later. In the early-1900s two-stories around downtown and along Highway 5, that history shows up as oversized sheet-metal trunks left from the conversion, a brick chimney that may now vent only the water heater, and second-floor bedrooms fed by one or two long runs. Arlington added about 500 residents between 1950 and 1970, its biggest stretch of postwar growth, and many of its ramblers went up then: one story over a full basement, with short duct runs and furnaces now on their second or third replacement.
Growth has been slow since 1970, so newer homes sit in small pockets at the edges rather than in large subdivisions. Out on the township roads, farmhouses run propane and carry several generations of additions, and a heated shop or machine shed is common. Those farms often have two heating systems to keep up: one for the house and one for the shop.
Arlington sits in open Sibley County farmland, and a northwest wind with nothing to slow it packs snow against the side walls of houses and sheds. When a drift covers the PVC intake or exhaust of a high-efficiency furnace, the pressure switch shuts the furnace off, usually on the coldest night. We place terminations above the usual drift line and on the sheltered side. On farms, order propane before a cold snap and keep the lane to the tank plowed, because a drifted road can hold up a delivery.
Summer trouble in Arlington mostly lives on the second floor. The early-1900s two-stories were ducted for a coal-era furnace, with upstairs supplies that barely carry air and no return up there at all, so the bedrooms stay warm long after the main floor cools. A bigger condenser won't fix that. An upstairs return, attic sealing or a ductless head in the upstairs hall usually does. On the ramblers, the condenser often sits in full sun in a bare side yard; keep grass clippings and plantings a couple of feet back so the coil can move air.
Gas-side rebates in Arlington come from CenterPoint Energy. Its heating system rebates cover high-efficiency furnaces and boilers, you can use the dealer of your choice, and the application has to be filed in the same calendar year as the install. Electric-side rebates come from the city: Arlington's electric utility is a Minnesota Municipal Power Agency member, and MMPA's member programs list rebates for air-source heat pumps and central air conditioners. Farms outside city limits may buy power from someone else, so check the bill before counting on either.
Rebate programs change every year; check the utility's current terms before you buy. Our guides: Xcel and CenterPoint rebates, heat pump rebates, what happened to the federal credits.
Central Minnesota Heating and Cooling serves Arlington and the rest of Sibley County, about 47 miles from downtown Minneapolis. We repair and replace furnaces, central air, heat pumps, boilers and ductless mini-splits, and we're open 7 days, 7am–9pm. Call 612-429-3465.
A flat $79 trip charge, waived when you approve the repair. Written price before any work; same prices in every town we serve. Installed prices are on our pricing page.
Cooling depends more on air moving through every room than heating does. With one central return, air from the far bedrooms has to work its way back under doors and down the hall, so those rooms stay warm in summer even when they heat fine in winter. Adding a return at that end of the house is a modest job that often fixes it.
A 96% furnace makes condensate, a steady trickle in cold weather, that has to drain away. If there's a floor drain nearby, a trap and a line to the drain is enough. If not, a small condensate pump lifts it to the laundry tub or a drain line. We keep drain lines away from cold walls so they can't freeze and shut the furnace down.
Often, yes. Ducts left from a coal or oil conversion are usually oversized, so they move air easily, but they tend to leak at every seam and may have no return upstairs. Before we quote, we measure static pressure, seal the joints we can reach and check for old white wrap that should be tested for asbestos. A new furnace on sealed, balanced ducts runs quieter and heats the far rooms better.
On propane it usually pays back faster than on natural gas, because each gallon costs more and a 96% furnace wastes less of it. Installed, an 80% furnace runs roughly $4,500–$6,000 and a 96–98% model roughly $6,500–$9,500. The high-efficiency unit needs PVC venting and a condensate drain that can't freeze, which matters in farmhouse basements with cold corners. We price both so you can compare.
A boiler expansion tank absorbs water that swells as it heats. How it works, what the pressure gauge tells you, and why a dripping relief valve is the clue.
Read the guideClean your outdoor AC coil the safe way: power off at the disconnect and breaker, brush cottonwood off dry, rinse with a garden hose, and know when to stop.
Read the guideA black furnace filter usually means soot, not dust. How to tell the difference, the household and furnace causes to check, and when to shut it off.
Read the guideBrands we service in Arlington: AirEase · Amana · American Standard · Ameristar · Aprilaire · Arcoaire · Armstrong Air · Bosch · Broan-NuTone · Bryant · Buderus · Burnham · Carrier · Champion · Coleman · Comfortmaker · Concord · Daikin · Day & Night · Ducane · ecobee · Frigidaire · Fujitsu · Gibson · Goodman · Google Nest · Gree · Heil · Honeywell Home · Lennox · LG · Lifebreath · Lochinvar · Luxaire · Maytag · Midea · Mitsubishi Electric · MrCool · Navien · NTI · Payne · Peerless · Rheem · Rinnai · RunTru · Ruud · Samsung · Santa Fe · Tempstar · Trane · Triangle Tube · Utica Boilers · Viessmann · Weil-McLain · Westinghouse · York
Heat out in Arlington? Call or send a request.