All my Festool tools were flooded during Harvey - How do I salvage?

[oil trader]

Hi all, I know we have a strong east-coast contingent of posters here, and I'm sure some of you suffered lost tools during Sandy. 

My house currently has 3 feet of water in it, one week after Harvey hit, and all of my tools are/have been submerged.  This includes about 12-15 systainers with Festool tools in them - Dominoe, track saw, 2 routers, etc...  None of them are battery powered, and all of them were unplugged when the water hit. 

Two questions -

1) Does anyone have experience saving flooded or submerged Festools?  Is it reasonable to believe that I can save some of them?  What steps did you take to do so?

2) If I can't save them, how much do Festool motor repairs typically cost?

Thanks for the help.  We didn't live in a flood plain, and don't have flood insurance, so the losses from this storm are going to be in the mid six figures.  I can deal with losing my couch, TV, etc...but losing all my tools will be really painful.

 

[c_dwyer]

[member=20533]oil trader[/member]:
So sorry for your devastation and impacts to you and your family.  I hope you are able to recover in some form or another.

Although I'm not sure if this will work (doubt it), I was once able to recover some of my camera equipment by immediately drying it in an oven on it's lowest setting (125 degrees or so) for an extended period. I've heard others packing their camera gear in gallon-sized ziplock bags partially filled with dry, uncooked rice and sealed.  The rice will draw the moisture, and you'll want to get at it before any corrosion sets in. For your gear, you'd probably have to tie off a trash bag with the power tools inside and a few sacks-worth of rice. Maybe let it sit a week?

 

[Tinker]

i sympathise with you.  That storm was way beyond any expectations and the flooding was way beyond anybody's experiences. 52 inches of rain is almost up to my nose.  Even if I stand on my tippy toes.

I wonder if WD-40 would be of any help.  The WD in the label stands for "Water Displacement" I use it to prevent rust on machinery.  I don't know if it would be safe to spray into the motor parts of your tools. Perhaps there is somebody to chime in on that solution or if it is a non solution.
Tinker

 

[lwoirhaye]

http://knowhow.napaonline.com/tool-repair-flood-can-salvage-cant/

 

[Bohdan]

One of the techniques that I have used with electronics and tools that have been submerged in salty or dirty water is to give them a good soaking and multiple rinses in distilled water with a final soak and rinse in methylated spirits (basically ethanol).

The clean water wash removes the dirt and salt and the alcohol removes the water and evaporates to stop corrosion. Tools that may be subject to rusting can benefit from a coating of a water displacement spray and wipe.

After a good blowout with compressed air and when you are sure that the tools are absolutely dry you can power them up on an earth leakage circuit breaker to see if the repair was successfull.

 

[deepcreek]

[member=20533]oil trader[/member] I'm so sorry to hear about your tools and home.  I assume you're in one of the reservoir or river areas to still have water in your house after a week.  I live just South of town and it receded several days ago here.  Of course farther South, the Brazos River is still wrecking havoc as it crests.

To be honest, I do not think your tools are going to be salvageable.  Perhaps someone from Festool service will chime in and say otherwise but electric motors and electronics are not designed to survive extended submersion.

Also in my experience, flood water is not at all clean.  It contains lots of contaminants.  Not just poop and oil residue.  Really bad stuff. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/us/houston-contaminated-floodwaters.html?mcubz=0

Again, I am very sorry. 

I have a friend on the North side with a shop full of Festool that was inundated with six feet of water.  He told me it was a total loss.  He has insurance but expects to receive a fraction of the value.

Best of luck with your recovery.  Let me know if I can help in some way.  I'll say a prayer for you.

Joe

 

[rmwarren]

[member=20533]oil trader[/member] - hope that your recovery is swift.

We experienced Sandy with 3' of water in the shop, I sent a CT36 in for repair to be informed it was not possible. They trashed it and I replaced.

Managed to salvage a lot of hand tools by cleaning them immediately and applying protective oil etc. but nothing with a cord/motor survived.

WD-40 worked for some stuff like swivel casters, other items like old hand saws have repeatedly rusted. Saved some planes with a short bath in citric acid then coated with Boeshield.

Best of luck to you.

RMW

 

[nclemmons]

A few years ago, I had storm water backup that ruined several Festools -routers, saw, domino, drills.  None were salvageable.  I did reach out to Festool and they advised replacement parts with labor costs would be more than a new tool.

Interestingly, I had several Porter Cable tools -drill, sanders, routers that also were flooded that I dried out and they worked fine.

I did try to dry out the Festools but with no luck.

Wish I had better news.  My tools were submerged for less than 3 hours so they go south in a hurry in my experience.

 

[Holmz]

One of the techniques that I have used with electronics and tools that have been submerged in salty or dirty water is to give them a good soaking and multiple rinses in distilled water with a final soak and rinse in methylated spirits (basically ethanol).
...

I just rinse a few times with the cleanest water you can find... Especially the last rinse.
Then leave them in the sun for a day or three.

Ethanol can be used for drinking if it doesn't work out...

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

I've had a couple of corded power tools fall into water.  I had a Bosch Jig saw sit in a bucket of water for a couple days.  Packed it in uncooked rice and it's fine and still runs great.  The other was a circular saw.  I just let it sit in the sun for a couple days and it still works.  None were Festool.  Hopefully you can get them dryed out and working again. 

 

[Holmz]

Vacuum bag would be good after the sunshine work is done, just to really pull out any remaining moisture.

Don't rush it.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

First off, rice is NOT a desiccant. That's a really bad myth, and can lead to corrosion by not getting water out of a system in a timely manner.

But just as importantly, even if you did have proper desiccant packets, that is not a good means for drying out internal components. You need a more positive driving force for removing contained moisture.

As has been stated previously, you want to thoroughly soak/rinse the tools in clean water, with the final rinse using distilled water, if possible.

To avoid corrosion, you want the tools to dry out as quickly and thoroughly as possible. For this, something like a makeshift kiln is best. What you want is an elevated temperature in a dry environment. This can be as simple as a hot car on a sunny day. If that's not possible, use a space heater in an area with reasonable air movement (so the relative humidity stays low).

After they are dry, wipe down the tools to remove any possible corrosion, and apply a light film of oil to any corrosion-prone surfaces and bearing surfaces. Finally, open up any gear boxes and examine them for water intrusion. If the grease is milky, completely remove all the old grease and repack the gearbox. Your biggest problem is likely going to be sealed bearings that got waterlogged.

 

[Gregor]

I would say, in case the tools are submerged in dirty water anyway:

1) wash with clean water till surface dirt is gone
2) disassemble (remove casings to not have pockets filled with fluid whatever)
3) wash with more clean water till any dirt inside is also gone, last washing with distilled water
4) coarse-dry with clean rags or oil-free lower-pressure air (don't aim into bearings and such)
5) wash with pure isopropanol (in a good ventilated space, wear compatible gloves) to remove the rest of the water
6) coarse-dry (as in 4) to speed up the process
7) let the rest of isopropanol evaporate (also in a good ventilated space)
8) assemble and hope for the best

Test if the materials are compatible with isopropanol before generously applying it, usually it's no problem but some plasics/rubbers might be allergic to it (getting brittle or bleeding color). Should you be unsure then stop after washing with distilled water, skip the solvent and use force dryig (heat, low air moisture, ventilated air) instead.

In case the tools are small enough and you have a good (in terms of actually holding the temperature you set) convection oven where they fit:set the oven to short of the maximum that's listed for storage temperature range in the manual for the tool, check with a thermometer, put tool (best: disassembled, so the warm dry air will reach any fluids left in there) in there to quickly get rid of any water you might have missed while drying (opening the oven door from time to time for a moment can speed it up).

Do the oven thing only when drying distilled water, don't do it with flammable solvents (like isoprop)!

 

[Naildrivingman]

I have nothing to add, but prayers of thanks that you and your loved ones are safe.

 

[#Tee]

would be awesome if festool can replace all damage power tools as their donation to the harvey victims.

 

[Holmz]

Irma is also on the way I heard??

 

[#Tee]

yup its all over yt. its gigantic

 

[smirak]

[member=20533]oil trader[/member]

Have you already checked with your insurance company? I know back during Katrina the insurance companies tried to state that since you didn't have flood insurance, you weren't covered. I don't remember the outcome, but I seem to remember that it was a huge stink. My uncles house was flooded by storm surge in Moss Point, MS. He was not required to have flood insurance either. I don't remember what happened and he's dead now, so I can't ask.