How "durable" are furnace fan control boards?

[mrsilv04]

I ordered a replacement furnace fan control board online. This is an White Rodgers/Emerson unit, for a 90+% efficient unit.

http://www.grainger.com/product/TRANE-HSI-Module-with-Cover-30NX15
(It didn't come from Grainger, only including this link as an example)

It showed up today. The company didn't even put it in corrugated box to ship it in. It was shipped only utilizing the manufacturer's packaging (a thin white corrugated box, just one step above poster board). I can gently shake the box, and feel/hear the control board moving around inside of the box. They just taped a UPS label to it, and sent it out.

One end of the box is crushed (of course that wouldn't take much to do). To add insult to injury, the UPS driver then left it laying on ma wet door mat, where it was for several hours.

Of course, there's a wooden bench sitting about 18" away from that wet door mat, where it could have been dry and up off the ground.

So, we have two idiot parties here. The vendor and UPS.

How durable are these things? It has been exposed to moisture, it was crushed, and it rattling around inside of a flimsy box.

I'm not even going to open it up, until I can speak with the idiots who sold this thing to me.

Should I simply demand a refund, and for them to issue me a call tag for return shipping, right off the bat?

 

[Doog]

If it wasn't wet it's probably Ok

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
I ordered a replacement furnace fan control board online. This is an White Rodgers/Emerson unit, for a 90+% efficient unit.

http://www.grainger.com/product/TRANE-HSI-Module-with-Cover-30NX15
(It didn't come from Grainger, only including this link as an example)

It showed up today. The company didn't even put it in corrugated box to ship it in. It was shipped only utilizing the manufacturer's packaging (a thin white corrugated box, just one step above poster board). I can gently shake the box, and feel/hear the control board moving around inside of the box. They just taped a UPS label to it, and sent it out.

One end of the box is crushed (of course that wouldn't take much to do). To add insult to injury, the UPS driver then left it laying on ma wet door mat, where it was for several hours.

Of course, there's a wooden bench sitting about 18" away from that wet door mat, where it could have been dry and up off the ground.

So, we have two idiot parties here. The vendor and UPS.

How durable are these things? It has been exposed to moisture, it was crushed, and it rattling around inside of a flimsy box.

I'm not even going to open it up, until I can speak with the idiots who sold this thing to me.

Should I simply demand a refund, and for them to issue me a call tag for return shipping, right off the bat?


Arranged for an exchange (sans shipping of course) for a fresh new board.

No use haggling over a board that has seen physical abuse. Some components on the board may have been damaged w/o you knowing it, and by the time you've unboxed it and installed it to test (and realise it does not work), it would be a bit too late to arrange for refund or exchange...

Q.

 

[crazyoildude]

install it and if it works its all good

 

[92saturnsl2]

^^^ What he said.

Electronics are not as sensitive as you'd think. I've worked with them all my life. If you install it, and it works, you're good to go IMO.

If this is something that will keep you up all night worrying about it, get an exchange if you don't mind waiting. That might also send a statement to their vendor to improve their packaging, or maybe not.

 

[bvance554]

I think you're being a little harsh on the UPS driver. He left it at your doorstep. When you order online and if it asks for 'special shipping instructions' maybe you should annotate that the delivery person place it on the bench versus the door mat like he or she does at every other house.

 

[djb]

As long as power isn't applied, modern electronics can withstand long periods of immersion. A few hours in a damp box isn't going affect the reliability. Just check for physical damage and install it.

 

[Exhaustgases]

Electronics is not durable when it comes to ESD, that is if the board has any sort of micro circuits on it. IC that is.
Just a shuffle on a carpet and static charge will ruin it.

Take some pictures of the box, and where it was. Does it have a warranty?

 

[edwardh1]

usp fed ex need thin bags to put stuff in when its raining.
our ups guy left a cardboard boxed dvd under the roof drip line when he/she could have put it against the door.
dumb

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: bvance554
I think you're being a little harsh on the UPS driver. He left it at your doorstep. When you order online and if it asks for 'special shipping instructions' maybe you should annotate that the delivery person place it on the bench versus the door mat like he or she does at every other house.
No, I don't think so. I have a small overhang on my porch that shields most of the surface from rain unless it's blowing sideways from the west; otherwise the first 8-12" gets wet when it rains but the rest of the porch, especially the corner where the garage meets the house stays bone dry. Came home on a rainy day recently to a UPS-delivered package that was in that 8-12" wet zone. Are the drivers so mentally challenged that they have to be specifically told to leave the package on the dry part of the porch? Really?

 

[beanoil]

United Package Shredders and Fed-Up do not care about your package. Their job is only to get it there.
The board is likely OK, electronics are designed to withstand some of what is considered abuse. It's likely in an anti-static bag inside the box if it has sensitive chips on board. Should be fine, if you do not see obvious damage to raised components on the board like caps and heat sinks bent over, or broken, install it.

 

[HerrStig]

Talk to the vendor. Boards make it through wave solder and ovens in the building process, and are pretty tough. If the vendor thinks the board is compromised, they'll want to avoid a warranty claim by shipping you a new one.

 

[Donald]

I would talk to the vendor first before opening it. If they say to install it and see if it works, then go ahead. If they say to send it back, then do that. Some companies are sensitive when it comes to accepting a board back once its been installed.

 

[mrsilv04]

I didn't open it, and the vendor wants it back. Fine with me.

They issued an electronic prepaid shipping label via USPS (and not UPS).

I packaged it for its return trip, the way it should have been packaged when it was shipped to me. Properly cushioned inside of a larger shipping box.

 

[zzyzzx]

I want to know where you bought it from so that I don't shop there.

 

[crazyoildude]

you are talking ups.. You are lucky it survived the trip...The only ones worse than ups is the USPS those guys are Brutal on things

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
you are talking ups.. You are lucky it survived the trip...The only ones worse than ups is the USPS those guys are Brutal on things


I used to manage a warehouse for a software company. I've personally shipped software into nearly every country on this planet. The ones I haven't shipped to are literally Cuba, Syria, North Korea, and Iran... for obvious reasons.

Proper packaging goes a *long* way to protecting the contents between Points A and B, despite who happens to be handling the package.

 

[Neely97]

Our UPS and FED EX folks are nice, they even help bring heavy stuff inside, must be a New Jersey thing for bad service.
Once again it is not their job to package, only deliver.
The vendor was at fault for not protecting merchandise.
The board should have been in static/water proof bags, boxed in foam with proper fragile labeling.
Of course this is just my opinion.

 

[Kawiguy454]

I used to component level repairs to gauging and instrumentation cards used on the factory floor at Chrysler plant. We would get large boxes shipped full of dozens of boards all piled together and coated with every form of cutting oil grunge and gunk. The first thing we did was put them in a deep sink full of hot soapy water and scrub every one of them with a toothbrush.

Electronics are hermetically sealed and extremely durable. Static electricity and being energized while wet are the weak spots.

Wet boards were left out in the sun for a day to dry before we fixed them and sent them back to service. Unless the board had physical damage or didnt work it was fine.