Boiler partially flooded....how bad?

Question

Sorry...put this in the wrong category the first time...

OK you HVAC guys, give it to me straight. My really nice brand new (installed last Fall) Carrier boiler has water coming about 1/3 of the way up the side because my basement flooded. There is a metal piece off the side that I would imagine is some kind of motor or something, and the water is on it as well....covering about half of it. Is my $5000 investment now down the tubes? Or will it recover? My OLD boiler got flooded a couple of times and still worked ok, but things made way back then seem to have been a little more resilient than a lot of today's products.

BTW...I tried to get them to install this one on a concrete slab, but they were only able to raise it about 3 inches off the floor due to clearance & safety concerns. So I really didn't have any choice where to put it.

Answer 1

I have been in HVAC for 25 years now, the answer to this is-- if any of the electronics got wet, they may or may not be ok, if the gas valve got wet, IT MUST BE REPLACED! No if and or buts about that, other than that if it is dry the burner assemble should be checked to make sure it did not get plugged and is burning clean. If you ask any of the manufactures about the electronics getting wet they will tell you to replace them. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

The fire box and exchanger should be OK. The black box is the burner and is affected by water. Let it drain out and if you feel confident take it off the furnace ( major task) and put it in the oven at the lowest setting it has usually 180 for about three hours to dry it out, check occasionally to monitor any plastic parts for melting( if so remove it from oven and use a hair dryer). Reinstall and voila! Or you could just turn off the electricity and put a small electric heater near it(not too close) to dry it out before restarting.