Furnace problem

BeverlyAnn

During the storm on Saturday morning I had water in my basement. I have a Lennox furnace with central air. It is still working, but I noticed that there is water comming out of differrent places on on furnace. I might have gotten some water in it, but it is still cooling the house. Can it be repaired or do I need to get a new furnace. This one was installed just last year and I really cannot afford a new one at this time. Thanks

Jackofall1

Welcome BeverlyAnn, to the best darn DIY'r site on the web.

If your furnace has a flue (vent) pipe that runs up to the roof, the water may have entered through that. Check to see if there is a cap on the top of the pipe, if not, then the water definately came from that location.

If your furnace is a high efficiency unit (PVC) vent out the side wall, then the water most likely came from the coil in the furnace plenum, (condensate from the AC evap coil) if this is the case then you have a plugged drain line on the coil and water is overflowing the catch pan around the coil.

Mark

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biggles

if you remove the fan access panel on the bottom is there water in the bottom of the unit and where is the water coming out of the furnace if it is anyplace but the white plastic pipe just above the furnace where the duct connects...that should be showing water draining off trickle if the house is cool....the only time you see water is when or just after the outside part "CONDENSER" is running.see that black insulated line going into the furnace that pipe should always be cold to when the cooling is running....if you have water on the top of the furnace where the duct connects thats a problem...do you see water trickling out of the drain pipe

BeverlyAnn

Yes there is water trickling out of the drain pipe. It is also very wet at the top of the unit, like it is sweating. What I really want to know is do I have to replace the furnace, get it fixed if possible or will it correct itself?
thanks

Jackofall1

Sounds to me like your coil is sweating evident of water on the top in the area at the base of the plenum. Could be just from high humidity in the basement condensing on the cold sheet metal.

When was the last time you changed your furnace filter?, there may not be enough air passing through the coil.

Mark

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biggles

if the duct is chilled and leaking air it will condensate if the water from the rain wasn't that high..then its just the unit but a clean filter and seeing if the evap coil is clean right above the heat exchanger is a definite.if water is going any place but the drain pans at the bottom of the A coil it could be $$$ latter into the heating season.the heat exchanger can't handle having water constantly dripping down if the coil is dusty/dirty.the resulting water damage will call for a furnace change out bigtime.

Jackofall1

I went back and read your original post, I had missed the part about having water in the basement.....dah.......how deep was the water in the basement?

I am sure what you are seeing now is the results of a very humid basement and the cold furnace plunum condensing moisture on the surface of the duct closest to the furnace.

If you can, you need to get a dehumidifier in there and dry out the basement.

Again let us know how deep the water was in the basement, there really isn't anything you can damage on the furnace if all that happened was the floor was wet, you should change the filter just in case it got wet to.

Mark

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BeverlyAnn

I had about 2 feet of water. I had always used a dehumidifier, but it must have shorted out when it got wet so I have to go tomorrow and get another one. I have been using fans and I used a wet vac when the sewer water finally went down. It is a mess. I did have the original installer of the furnace out and he told me that he could not touch it because there was water and that I needed to have it replaced. It is only 1 year old. But the furnace was and is working and I did put a new clean filter in after I could get down there. After he left I turned it off for the rest of the day then started it up late evening. After reading these posts I went down and checked the furnace. The water is comming out of the pvc pipe that comes out of the furnace. I have them comming again tomorrow and I will show them these posts. My air cond unit outside is fine, not leaking and I always hose it off to get any dust or whatever on the coils or whatever they are called, clean. Thanks again for answering and helping me to make a good decision for myself. My hot water heater also went out, but I let it dry for a full day and I got that started. Just can't afford anything new right now. I had 3-1/2 feet of water last July and lost everything.

Marty S.

Water 2' deep would likely ruin the blower motor and furnace control board but you can take a wait and see approach. Gas valves can not be trusted to shut off after they have been submerged so replace the valve on that water heater. Home owners insurance has paid for the repairs when customers of mine had the same problem.