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Flooded Furnace - how to proceed?

RonnieJ
RonnieJ Member Posts: 46
in Oil Heating
Hi everyone. A good friend of mine is helping his girlfriend - she has an old farm house (1800's) that flooded in the rain today. The fire department was out to help pump out the basement - she had 2.5' of water - the sump pump failed to activate.

She has an oil-fired furnace - I don't have any information about it yet. Is it safe to turn the power on to the furnace? Should they try to let it dry out? With electronics and water, we normally let it dry and often things are fine - unless they were damaged by shorting. I know there must be a pump for the burner, and the fan for the furnace.

What advice would you offer, please?

Thanks!

Ron
Energy Kinetics EK, Goodman GSXC72400, SpacePak ESP 2430J

Comments

  • Leon82
    Leon82 Member Posts: 684
    edited January 2019
    Anything electronic submerged is most likely scrap, and no reputable company would restart it.

    You would have to file that under your house your rules, but I doubt anyone will recommend restarting it.

    The boler iron may be fine. I would have the talk to the insurance company
  • RonnieJ
    RonnieJ Member Posts: 46
    Thanks Leon82. They've got a fireplace, so are using that to provide heat. They are working on getting their oil service team out tomorrow.
    Energy Kinetics EK, Goodman GSXC72400, SpacePak ESP 2430J
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 16,298
    Many would say scrap it. Depends on the damage. Is Homeowners insurance involved maybe a new unit could be installed.

    If the old one is rebuilt/reused make sure all safety controls are replaced and funcitioning
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,333
    Furnace (hot air) or boiler (steam or hot water)?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,262
    Wouldn't 2.5 feet of water fill the burner chamber/fire pot??
    Sounds like a total loss to me.
    kcoppdennis53
  • RonnieJ
    RonnieJ Member Posts: 46
    It's a hot-air furnace, oil fired. I have never seen it - but had dinner there recently. Beautiful old house - but the basement has water issues - " a river runs through it". I would assume the chamber was partially submerged. They made sure the power is off and will wait for a tech to examine and provide advice. Thanks everyone for your responses.
    Energy Kinetics EK, Goodman GSXC72400, SpacePak ESP 2430J
  • Intplm.
    Intplm. Member Posts: 2,160
    They should be getting a report from the fire department or the fire marshal. When thats in hand, they should be able to go from there. The fire marshal or building official will usually red tag the unit and make recommendations to have a building inspector come in.
    Have a reputable service company go over it

    Then a more informed decision can be made.

  • RonnieJ
    RonnieJ Member Posts: 46
    Thanks Intplm. They had their service company out - they were able to service the unit, replace a circuit board, and they are back in operation.
    Energy Kinetics EK, Goodman GSXC72400, SpacePak ESP 2430J

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