Basement flood

[Cicada]

I found that my sump pump quit working sometime Saturday and had 9 inches of water in the basement Sunday. Got two new pumps and started emptying the water. Didn't occur to me until later that the reason it seemed cold in the house Sunday morning was the fact that the water was higher than the pilot light in my furnace and water heater. Can't get the pilot to light at all in the furnace and it will light in the water heater, but as soon as I turn the gas to "On" and turn up the temperature it flames for 5 to15 seconds and then fades out. I don't have a drain in the floor so it is only ground water, no sewage. Any ideas on the furnace and water heater as far as possible problems and solutions? Basement is unfinished, so no insurance on flooding down there.

[CAMAN]

First thing I would do is remove and clean the thermocouples and burners, probably some crud in them.

[Tom7227]

I'd say you were at the service call stage of life. TFC for the do it your self solution.

[CAMAN]

I should ask if the electronics in either of the units got wet, if so you probably have a little more than a thermocouple or burner issue, and probably have some circuit boards to replace, or fully replace the units if they are getting to the end of their useful life.

[Cicada]

I wonder if the elctronics in the furnace didn't. The gas control is pretty stiff and looks like it may have melted a little. This thing is about 30 years old though and not sure if it was that way before. Last time I needed repairs, there was only one of hte parts in the US. The Good Lord was looking over me and that part was here in town. I have hot water radiators for the furnace, if that makes any difference. The water heater had the electronics above the water level. I tried again last night and same thing. Pilot lights, heater kicks in for a few seconds then the flame fades to black.

[nobody05]

I'm guessing that being said you have a water heater with a sealed combustion chamber therefore it sucks it's air from the bottom of the heater through 2 fine screens one on the inside of the heater and one on the outside . You will have to take the burner out and wipe the leftover water out of it and dry the screen out with a torch to burn whatever the water carried inside of the heater. Then there will be another screen around the way bottom of the outside of the heater usually a black piece of plastic with smaller holes in it. That also should be cleaned also! Hope this tip helps! Hard to explain by words but simple when you get looking at it! What it's doing it's cant get any air to burn therefore burning until it snuffs itself out!

[Surface Tension]

First thing I would do is remove and clean the thermocouples and burners, probably some crud in them.

That would be my guess and wouldn't doubt water in the burners still.

Time to make the call and have it serviced.

[FishLocker]

I would go the route of professional service as well. An old furnace like that has little for electronics but everything needs a thorough cleaning and testing before firing back up.

It may be ground water, but you have a grey water situation as I am sure you have floor drains that hook up to your sewer system and that will contaminate everything your ground water contacted. It is all new food for the bacteria etc that is in your floor drains, and it will cross contaminate.

I used to do water damage restoration, and there are ways to decontaminate your studs and the concrete as well as the base of the furnace and water heater etc., so feel free to PM me if you have questions.

the FishLocker

[upnorthvoice]

I would call my homeowners insurance agent asap. You had a malfunction of a sump pump not a flood.

Maybe they will pay the bill.

[fishinchicks]

We are going through a similar thing, only we caught ours at 2.5 inches. Call your insurance agent, and see what they say. We took photos of everything, and were sent a check to cover the carpet, and a few other misc things that were ruined.

[Down Deep]

About 15 years ago I had a power failure and the basement flooded with about 2 inches of water. It was covered 100% by insurance because of the pump failure. You might have 100% replacement, but don't be suprised if your company wants to discount your furnace because of the it's age. They will likely say it was beyound it's useful life. You have a big job for professionals because mold is a real potential and it happens quickly. If you have carpet on the floor, get that out of there immeadiatly and turn on some fans.

[Cicada]

Thanks for the help everyone. Finally getting hot water. As I thought, the water heater wasn't getting air. I pulled off the plate in front of the heater so it would get air and it stayed lit. I ran it with the plate off for an hour or so and it must have dried itself out. Put everything back and I will get to shower for the first time in a week. Pain in the tush boiling water for a bath every morning. I have gotten the pilot to light in the furnace, but still won't fire up. So, next I'll try taking the thing apart and cleaning everything. I have no floor drains in the basement. It has cement floors and walls, but is good for nothing but storage anyway. I did call my insurance agent and I do not have coverage for this. He said I could add ti to my policy, but if I file a couple of claims for the same thing, I run the risk of them dropping me. Again, thanks for all the replies.

Greg