RUMFORD — A Wisconsin snowmobiler believes he knows why a Rumford man’s 2007 Arctic Cat sled erupted in flames in January at a Rumford gas station.

Dave Oberbeck, an architect from Wausau, said on March 25 by email that a similar thing happened to his 2007 Arctic Cat F5 LXR sled. He said it shares the same type of gas tank as the Rumford man’s sled.

On Jan. 9, Arthur Tate, 20, of Rumford and his friend, Dakota Bentley, 20, of Mexico, stopped for gas at Judy’s Variety, a convenience store and fuel station on Route 2. Tate was riding a 2007 Arctic Cat F6, owned by his father, Joseph Tate Sr. of Rumford.

After refueling, Arthur Tate pull-started the snowmobile, drove it away from the pumps to a nearby snowbank, and shut the engine off. He went into the store to buy a drink, returned to the sled and restarted the engine.

Bentley said as soon as Tate did the pull-start, the snowmobile erupted in flames near the foot panel.

A store employee with a fire extinguisher put the fire out. Rumford firefighters called to the scene ensured it was out. They also sopped up leaking fuel.

Oberbeck labeled the problem equipment failure. He said a stress crack or cracks occur at the fuel sending unit, which allows fuel to flow directly into the engine compartment area.

“It is my opinion, this is an extremely dangerous condition that Arctic Cat needs to investigate,” Oberbeck wrote. “It does concern me that this problem is occurring and no alert notification that I know of has been issued to the owners of these (2007 F series)  snowmobiles.”

He said that on March 22 he filled the tank to full on his 2007 F5 sled at a gas station.

“Fortunately we stopped for lunch after going only a few miles,” he said. “I smelled the fuel while riding and immediately upon stopping pulled the side panel upon which I saw fuel running down the side of the portion of the gas tank in the upper engine compartment.”

He said he pulled the instrument console, “which exposed the top of the gas tank and saw fuel filling the collar area and flowing over the sides.” He said the gas was leaking from a crack in the gas tank “collar” near the fuel sending unit and flowing down onto the cylinder and near the exhaust.

Two days later, Oberbeck said he filed a report with the U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission about the incident, which he said was similar to the Rumford incident. To file reports, visit www.saferproducts.gov.

“Luckily, my report was on a fuel leak that did not catch fire,” he said.

He said he also notified his local Arctic Cat dealer, seeking a replacement fuel tank.

Oberbeck said he had to contact the dealer to learn that the company asked him to bring his snowmobile in for an “evaluation.”

“I am somewhat disappointed that I had to call them to find this out after waiting a week for them to call me with Arctic Cat’s response,” he said.

“Next step will be to drop off the sled for them to look at. (It) should be very evident this is a defect in the tank construction. Hopefully Arctic Cat will address this issue or they will lose a loyal customer.”

Oberbeck said he also researched the problem on the Internet to learn if Arctic Cat recalled 2007 F series snowmobiles that he might have missed. He found none.

However, he said he did find a report of a 2007 F series sled on the Consumer Protection Safety Commission site with the same problem that his sled has. That can be viewed at www.saferproducts.gov/ViewIncident/1229512.

That owner said his 2007 Arctic Cat F5 snowmobile with 2,800 miles on it, developed a stress fracture about 2 to 3 inches long in the front portion of the gas tank that holds the fuel pump. He said that area is not prone to human contact while riding.

“Gas under pressure streams out onto engine and is an extremely dangerous situation which can involve burns, fire and/or explosion of the snowmobile,” the owner said in the 2012 report.

“Several complaints have been reported on websites and it seems to affect 2007 and later models (F5, F6 & F7). There have been reports of the F6 model exploding after filling the gas tank,” according to the owner’s report.

The owner said his snowmobile would expel gas from full to about ¾ full.

“This is a very serious situation and I don’t see how Arctic Cat hasn’t recalled these snowmobiles due to the safety issue involved,” he said in the report.

Several calls made since March 27 to Arctic Cat’s main office in Thief River Falls, Minn., and to its spokesman, Kale Wainer, about the problem and whether any 2007 F series sleds were recalled, were not returned. Additionally, emails to Wainer were returned as undeliverable.

A man who answered the phone March 27 at Arctic Cat dealer Colby’s Inc. in South Paris, said Arctic Cat didn’t recall any 2007 snowmobiles.

According to its website and the federal consumer protection website, Arctic Cat, however, did recall several other snowmobiles for fuel tank area-related problems.

In cooperation with the Consumer Protection Safey Commission in December, Arctic Cat recalled 2013 Bearcat wide-track snowmobiles, citing leaking fuel tanks that could pose a fire hazard in about 3,900 sleds, according to a Snowmobile.com story.

Oberbeck said Arctic Cat did correct a gas tank on his 2006 Sabercat 500 LX sled. Arctic Cat recalled that sled in April 2006 for leaking fuel tank problems.

“A reinforcement collar was installed in the filler neck (2006) and a new tank installed this season, because a crack developed in the filler collar.… still under the same recall,” Oberbeck said.

He said that defect was outside the engine compartment.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Rangeley selectmen delay action on damage caused by pothole

Next »

Budgets for sheriff, communications departments pass first hurdle