Bad fuel? CamBay sees epidemic of furnace breakdowns

Workers at the Cambridge Bay Housing Association say they’ve been constantly replacing furnace fuel pumps over the past few months. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Why are furnace fuel pumps breaking down all over Cambridge Bay? About 200 of these pumps have broken down since December, prompting many residents to wonder about the quality of home heating oil stored at their tank farm. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

CAMBRIDGE BAY — About 200 furnace fuel pumps have broken down in Cambridge Bay over the past four months, leading many residents wondering if a bad fuel supply is to blame.

The fuel pumps started breaking down late last year, said Martin Moffitt, northern operations manager for the Enokhok Development Corp., which owns and manages rental property in Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk and Gjoa Haven.

On Dec. 21, three of the four fuel pumps on the four furnace boilers in the 35,000-square-foot Helen Maksagak building stopped working in a blizzard, when the wind chill dipped to -37 C.

But that was just the beginning of the fuel pump problem, Moffitt said.

Since then Enokhok has replaced 19 fuel pumps in its various properties around town, sometimes three times at the same address.

Usually less than six fuel pumps a year need to be replaced, Moffit said.

The breakdown of a furnace fuel pump isn’t dangerous in itself, Moffitt said.

However, if no one noticed the breakdown within eight hours in sub-zero weather, the lack of heat could lead to other damage, such as broken pipes.

The fuel pumps draw fuel from storage tanks and delivers it to furnaces through a nozzle.

And even the slightest bit of residue can plug them up, causing the furnace to stop working.

Each time a fuel pump breaks down, the cost of buying another one is about $150,with another $150 or so in installation costs.

To date, broken fuel pumps have cost Enokhok about $6,500 this year.

Maintenance workers at the Cambridge Bay Housing Association also confirmed they’ve replaced more fuel pumps than usual — one in on the morning of April 16.

A furnace maintainer at Jago Service Inc., an electrical, heating and plumbing contractor, also said he has replaced many pumps, which appeared to be blocked by residue.

So many fuel pumps have required replacement in town that sometimes the housing association and the Jago firm have been forced to borrow fuel pumps from Enokhok’s supply.

Similar breakdowns have occurred in Gjoa Haven and Kugluktuk, but to a lesser extent, Moffitt said.

As to the cause, Moffitt points to the delivery of aviation-grade fuel, delivered to Cambridge Bay this fall.

Additives were put into the kerosene-based fuel to make it work for non-aviation use, but now Moffitt wonders if this move backfired.

Moffitt has been in contact with the petroleum products department at the Government of Nunavut, which is responsible for the purchase and delivery of fuel for Cambridge Bay.

A GN-commissioned test by the Alberta Research Council showed the suspect fuel looks okay, but now the additive is being separately tested.

Some people in Cambridge Bay wonder if they are facing the fall-out from bad fuel, as was the case in the Baffin and Kivalliq regions in 2002.

Then, the Alberta Research Council tests concluded gasoline from the Baffin and the Kivalliq produced potentially harmful engine deposits.

Even treatment with a deposit control agent didn’t appear to have much impact on reducing the gummy deposits particularly on small motors.

Some people in Cambridge Bay also suggest the breakdowns in the fuel pumps may due to the type of fuel pumps used there.