Fire/heat/water damage

[southgalawyer]

Last weekend, our house burned down. Some parts of it, like the shop, didn't burn, but there was tremendous heat and smoke damage, and it was inundated with who knows how many thousands of gallons of water. We got most of our tools and equipment out the next morning (it took from 8:30pm to 3:30am for the fire to be completely extinguished). I have property insurance, not nearly enough to cover all our losses, but at least enough to help us start over. We are trying to assess all of the damage and itemize all the damaged or destroyed property. Does anyone have experience dealing with water/heat damage to tools? How long should we wait before trying to turn on the table saw, or drum sander (which was brand new...still just sitting on my assembly table!), band saw, etc.? Even if they run now, is there any way to determine whether they are damaged to the extent that their life span will be affected? I don't have any real experience dealing with motors internally, and not sure when I could ever find the time to break down a motor to see if there is visible damage to the coil or to rebuild one. Is the best option simply to let everything dry out, plug it in, and hope for the best?

[Phil Thien]

Are you absolutely certain that by working on those tools yourself that you aren't lowering the insurance company's payout?

I'd speak with someone that knows something about this.

I wouldn't touch chit unless I knew for sure my damages would far exceed the policy limits.

And sorry for your loss. Hopefully nobody was hurt.

[shoottmx]

So sorry to hear this, hoping you and all your loved ones are OK. I don't have the depth of knowledge that others here have but I think the motors and controls should be fine after time to thoroughly dry out.

Wishing you the best on your rebuild,

g

[southgalawyer]

I should have said from the beginning that no one was hurt! Thankfully! I was at home with my fiance, my daughter, and her boyfriend. We got all the pets out as well.

[fredhargis]

I have no advice to offer, but do want to extend my sympathies. I hope this works out for you. Probably given the circumstances, personally I would let them dry and then try to fire them up...but there's no doubt someone else has a better grasp on the next steps.

[hcbph]

This should not affect your insurance or it's payout I suspect, but consider it at your own risk.  I'd blow the crap out of everything with an air chuck and dry it off.  I'd also look at using something like WD40 on metal surfaces to reduce the chance of rust.  Now for electrical and electronics I'd also air it out then spray it with electronics water dispersant spray.  It's designed to remove moisture from electrical items.
Now having said all this, there is a chance that heat has damaged the strength of the metal parts.  Also even sealed bearings are susceptible to getting moisture in them so they have to replaced down the road regardless.
Good luck, and very thankful no one was injured.

[Stwood_]

So sorry for your losses there. That is so disheartening to see someone go through that.
Thankfully no one was hurt.

[MsNomer]

Heartbreaking. My deepest sympathy.

[farmerj111]

Glad you are all OK.  I agree with hcbph, blow them out, let them dry and give it a try.  Some of my stuff got pretty wet when I was having my roof replaced and a freak storm blew through after the tear off.  I let it all dry and have had no problems.  The heat may be a different story.

Any idea how the fire started?

[R Clark]

No advice, just that my heart goes out to you and your family.  Glad that nobody was hurt.