We live in the Mississippi River floodplain, and if anyone is following news of the Ohio/Mississippi river valley, the water is rising. We are looking at a crest that will have water 4-6 ft deep in my yard. All forklifts in the area are already busy or hauled out. We have decided to leave it in place, and remove all electrics from it once the water is touching the base. Before that point it'll be running. Earth says it should be alright, but I'm curious has anyone here experienced flooding, and if so, how well did the insulation hold up, did you have to rework anything??
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A couple of things to consider Josh;
Any batt insulation on the sides and front is doomed.
You will have to decide whether to strip it now or strip it later
to paraphrase the purolator filter guy.
Dont forget one major thing that stink water is going to
get in the fire box and ash pit too-yes it will.
And your going to have to drain the water out and wash
the inside of the firebox with hot water and Dawn Dish Soap
in a hose coupled garden sprayer.
If you have an ash pit basket/drawer your going to have to get
it out of there quick and I would recommend that you cut the
power to the boiler and stop burning today.
If there are simple grates in the boiler they should be removed
also and all the ash removed andthen vacuumed out of the ash pit
as the chemical reaction with the swamp water wil not be pretty.
If it were me:
I would pay extra for a boom truck or forklift to move it No Matter What and be sure to seal off the
the electrical cables in an explosion proof box as that is the only and I repeat only
way you will keep them safe and dry.
Your circulator or circulators are another issue as they are not wired as an explosion
proof fixture nor are they ment for submersible service and if you do not remove the
pump(s) you can plan on replacing them rather than letting them dry out-not gonna happen.
You also need to plug the Pex pipe and hope the tubing its in will not take in water as thats
death to the pipe run.
As far as the electrics are concerned thats also a hot mess. see if you can purchase an explosion proof
panel box small enough for the wiring and follow the instructions completely. If you do not your screwed.
After this is all over your going to have to decide whether you can afford to have crushed bank run gravel
brought in and then seeded with good top soil and grass to to make an island for your boiler and wood supply.
Better to do it now as I can tell you that the Great Lakes are filling up and its not even February 1st.
