SANDY- condenser under water

[deadeye52]

Hi: working in atlanic city area. some condensers under water serveral inches to completly covered. At what point do you say the entire unit should be replaced. thanks.

[doc havoc]

Provided there are no leaks in the unit, the refrigeration side of things should be okay. Exposed electrical components should probably be replaced (contactor, TDR, boards, fan etc). Compressor should be okay. I would say if repairs exceed 1/2 the cost of a new unit, replace it. Don't forget to give the coil a good cleaning. It may have been under water, but I bet it was filthy water.

[2sac]

It's sealed. May need contactors, relays or condenser motors but that should be it

[whitextreme]

They were most likely covered in salt water the coil is going to fall apart

[craig1]

Wash the coil with with fresh water, rinse the contactor, capacitor, and compressor terminals with electrical contact cleaner.

Replace the fan motor if it was submerged.

[kdean1]

Several years ago when there was extensive flooding in the midwest, insurance companies said that units that were submerged should be replaced.
I agree that the refrigeration system should be okay. If the water did not reach any electrical connections or motors then just replace the contactor and the board. Also replace the reversing valve solenoid if it is a heat pump.

[behappy]

Wash the coil with with fresh water, rinse the contactor, capacitor, and compressor terminals with electrical contact cleaner.

Replace the fan motor if it was submerged.

We had the same thing after Katrina here.
If fan motors went under they need to be replaced (they will go soon if you don't (and they run)).
Contactors replace them.

Almost everything else and be washed with fresh water, dried (self explanatory).
Then WD-40 all parts. We have units that are still running 6 years later. The coils look like c#@&,
but they are still running. They key was to get there early and wash with fresh water. the longer you wait the less likely the unit will survive.

Good Luck.

[cg-vet]

I've got a Trane 60k downflow furnace that came out of a flood back in 95. Hosed down all the components, blower motor included. Blower still runs like a champ today. With that being said, if it were for a customer and not myself, I would have replaced the blower motor.

[Tjune54]

Before I tried to recondition any flooded equipment I would check with the Manufacture first.

After Rita in 2005 our company received a letter from Trane through our distributor, that said any unit submergered must be replaced and they would not supply any support if a refurbed unit caused damage in any way.

We belived this to mean no legal or phyiscal support. So we would only quote replacement.

You could end up owning anything you repair or refurb and any libility that goes with it.

Now I am not a an attorney so this is just our on interpretation of the letter.

[cuchulain]

During Ike in 08 95% of our island was covered in water ranging from 6" to 12' (I had 7' myself). If the water made it up to ANY electrical components...including the terminals on the compressor then we were told the warranty was null/void from each of the manufacturers. We replaced all electrical components that went under water. Cleaned terminals. washed out condenser coils with fresh water for the ones that didn't have warranty or insurance wasn't taking care of. starting about 2 yrs after ike we found units starting to over amp on the compressor or coils starting to rot, or pit. Alot of the units that got cleaned out eventually failed (not all, but a good portion).