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Author Topic: Eskimo F1 Rocket  (Read 4614 times)

Offline Coachkwj

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Eskimo F1 Rocket
« on: Jan 22, 2018, 06:57 PM »
Have been looking at electric augers lately as I'm getting too old to lug around my older 43cc Eskimo. Still runs like a champ but weighs a ton. Just saw the 8" F1 Rocket at Reed's for $289.99 with free shipping. That's over half what an electric costs. Was wondering if anyone has any reviews of the F1. I'm really close to pulling the trigger on this. 22 lbs. Can't say electrics are lighter anymore. Never heard anything bad about Eskimo and 5 year warranty to boot.
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Offline Coachkwj

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #1 on: Jan 29, 2018, 12:51 PM »
Pulled the trigger last Tuesday and it arrived Friday. 3 days free shipping direct from Eskimo. How do you beat that. Unpacked it, attached Auger, added fuel and fired up on first pull. Let it run awhile on high and put it away until my trip Saturday. What a difference carrying this at 22 lbs vs my old monster which my son now owns. Stars right up and cuts like butter. Only issue was it shot ice chips everywhere but that is actually good unless it gets in your boots. Price under $270.00 with free shipping in 3 days (using Bass Pro Price match and rewards points) and cuts like a dream. What more could you want. 5 year warranty also. Now to see how it holds up.
Very pleased so far. Cut at least 100 holes, several just to break it in, and very little fuel used.
A+ in my book.
Glad I didn't spend $500 - $600 on an electric that weighs the same.
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Offline WYIfish

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #2 on: Feb 01, 2018, 11:10 PM »
I have a jiffy that would make a fine boat anchor.   Any chance you could PM me the auger size, and cc's.   I have the ion sickness and maybe a good dependable light weight eskimo would be a wiser way to go.   At the price that is.
WYIfish  Dave Freeman
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Offline cbach1981

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #3 on: Feb 02, 2018, 04:15 AM »
Just got myself a P1 Rocket auger 10" propane version of the F1. Love it! No need to mix gas, quiet as can be, and plenty of power for drilling. Spent $381 at www.sportmansguide.com and had it in 4 business days (stupid weekend in the middle of it, so it took 6 days total, lol). Not sure how long a tank lasts yet, I've only gotten out once and I'm covering another guys shifts for 2 weeks since his wife is having a baby today.

Offline Coachkwj

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #4 on: Feb 07, 2018, 12:58 PM »
WYIfish-
Mine is 8" 33cc motor. Did a price match at Bass Pro and got to use my points. Matched Reeds sale price of $289.00. Didn't get the extra blades Reeds was offering but free shipping (got it in 3 days from Eskimo) and used $35.00 worth of Bass Pro points which have been collecting dust as BPS is much pricier than say Tackle Warehouse. 5 year warranty too. All metal transmission.
https://www.reedssports.com/eskimo/eskimo-f1-rocket-auger-8-inch-289250
Link to Reeds attached.
I think you'd be nuts to look anywhere else. JMO
Eskimo Customer Service is outstanding. Had a spring pop off the throttle on my old 35 year old 40 lb. model and they sent me 3 at no cost.
Jury might still be out on motor as I believe it is made overseas but from USA made parts?
I use Tru-Fuel 50:1 (no mixing and premium gas and synthetic oil) and always bring extra although on 2 outings now cutting maybe 150 holes, tank is still 3/4 full.
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Offline Chris338378

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #5 on: Feb 08, 2018, 08:37 PM »
You got a good deal for sure.  Good luck with your new auger.

Offline CJohnson27

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #6 on: Feb 11, 2018, 08:53 AM »
I got the F1 this year as well. Thing is awesome but I am having fuel leak out of the airbox. I followed all the instructions and every time i start it the airbox is full of fuel and drips. I am going to call eskimo cause I agree the auger is awesome and at only 22 pounds it is hard to beat!

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Offline lefty2053

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #7 on: Feb 11, 2018, 10:44 AM »
I got the F1 this year as well. Thing is awesome but I am having fuel leak out of the airbox. I followed all the instructions and every time i start it the airbox is full of fuel and drips. I am going to call eskimo cause I agree the auger is awesome and at only 22 pounds it is hard to beat!

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Did you make sure the choke wasn't on when priming it?
<===Lefty===

Offline CJohnson27

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #8 on: Feb 11, 2018, 01:53 PM »
Did you make sure the choke wasn't on when priming it?

Yeah I have it on the run position then prime before switching it over to the choke position. Im having the warranty people look at it this week. Might miss a day or two of fishing but what can ya do...

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Offline Coachkwj

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #9 on: Feb 17, 2018, 08:32 PM »
CJ-
Did you get you auger back? What was the problem? I've used mine 4 times now without a hitch. Today was a different story. Started on first pull as usual but then after moving it wouldn't start to save my life. Had the same issue with gas dripping. It would fired right after priming but die.After fooling around and about 30-40 pulls it finally started. Seemed like the idle was low. Good thing there is a warranty center a couple miles away and I have plans for next weekend and won't need it. What a bummer after such a promising start. Hopefully something minor. Will advise when fixed.
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Offline CJohnson27

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #10 on: Feb 19, 2018, 07:35 AM »
CJ-
Did you get you auger back? What was the problem? I've used mine 4 times now without a hitch. Today was a different story. Started on first pull as usual but then after moving it wouldn't start to save my life. Had the same issue with gas dripping. It would fired right after priming but die.After fooling around and about 30-40 pulls it finally started. Seemed like the idle was low. Good thing there is a warranty center a couple miles away and I have plans for next weekend and won't need it. What a bummer after such a promising start. Hopefully something minor. Will advise when fixed.

So I did a little tinkering without tearing it apart. The store I bought it from said itd absolutely be a warranty thing if I bring it to them. When I pulled the air box cover off and removed the foam you can see that there is a flap that closes when you hit the choke lever. Well it only made sense that when im priming it on run it is going to fill the air box. I prime it once while on run and once on choke and it usually pops right off. It doesnt drip fuel anymore. Just fills the box some. When you take the cover off make sure that the primer hose is in its home and not out and pumping fuel directly into the box.

As for the running and dieing shortly after. Check and make sure your gas cap isnt super tight on it. Mine would almost lock up and not give fuel but as soon as I loosened the cap just a smidge you could hear the tank relieve pressure and ran great again.

I will probably drop it off end of season just to make sure there is no issues but those two fixes seemed to stop my problems. Let me know and I will look at mine tonight  again to see if I can help more!

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Offline Coachkwj

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #11 on: Feb 19, 2018, 01:55 PM »
Below are suggestions from Eskimo.
The only thing I can think of is the cap? Gas lines are all tight. Never tried holding down throttle while starting. That would mean it's flooded I think. Could be the case. One thing I did notice was after priming the bulb would not pop back out right away. Maybe something clogged or there is an issue with the cap of filter. Gonna play around with it tonite. Eskimo responded right away and seems super willing to help. I bought it from Bass pro and have until March 24 to return it for exchange if I go that route. If I can't get it going there is a service center about 5 miles away but nobody has answered the phone in 3 days. When it's working don't think you can beat it but if it doesn't start........


Sorry to hear you had issues this weekend, I’ve got a few things you can try out. It’s hard to say what the gas around the carb is a result of but something here should help. You may have already tried some of these things, but just to be thorough, I’d like to go over these:

 ·         You noted that you had trouble starting after you moved it, when you store it even just briefly, you should make sure that the gas cap is up.

·         Make sure the gas cap is venting correctly, you can slowly open your tank, if you have hissing then your tank may not be venting properly. You can fix this by reopening the slit in the duckbill.

·         Make sure when you’re priming it, the choke lever is in “run” and not “choke” if you prime in choke, the gas has nowhere to go so that could potentially be why you’re getting dripping.

·         Check the position of the primer line, the vibration from the engine can cause the primer line to come loose from the clamp. This should be located behind the air filter. The primer line should be held in place by a small clamp, if it’s not behind the clamp, it will need to be re-secured.

·         After you prime in run, make sure you’re switching it back to choke. Fully engage the throttle and attempt to start the auger with short quick pulls.

 
Let me know if any of this helps or if you’re still having issues. We can do some more troubleshooting steps to figure out what’s going on and get you up and running again. I apologize for the inconvenience over the weekend, like I said please feel free to contact me with any issues or further details and hopefully we can get this taken care of.

 

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Offline CJohnson27

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #12 on: Feb 19, 2018, 02:18 PM »
Id bet one if not a few of those things will solve the problems. I hated the thought of bringing my brand new auger in but with a little investigating I think I figured it out. Its an awesome auger when it gets going. Especially after watching some of my other buddies have problems with their augers the last couple weeks.

Thats why no matter what I bring mine!

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Offline Coachkwj

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #13 on: Feb 27, 2018, 08:12 PM »
Can't believe the customer service. Emailed back and forth for around a week troubleshooting it. Finally he sent me pix of the gas cap and there is a rubber valve to vent the tank ( gimme the old screw and o-ring any day) and the slit was actually stuck shut. Unit would start right up first time and then maybe second time depending how long I would run it. Then it would have trouble starting due to the vacuum created by the cap not venting. I opened up the valve which is a piece of molded rubber located inside the gas cap and she runs like a champ now. Never more than 2 pulls, usually one. Learned amount to prime based on temperature. Hats off to Eskimo and their patience and dedication. I use TruFuel 50:1. Starts and runs great, lightest out there, cuts super fast, no smoke, no smell, no electric for me. Not yet anyway.
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Offline CJohnson27

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #14 on: Mar 01, 2018, 01:06 PM »
Agree I love the F1. Ill have to look at the cap and check that ring. What did they say about priming it? When I leave it sit in the cold overnight it is a pain to start. Once I get it going its single pull almost every time.

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Offline Coachkwj

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #15 on: Mar 02, 2018, 10:20 PM »
No more than 3 pumps on the bulb. When it's close to freezing try on 2. And make sure choke is open. Then close choke, pull rope slowly until it engages, then short fast pull. Make sure switch is on. If you pull a few times with switch off it will flood. Learned the hard way. Easy to accidently switch it off or forget to put it on.
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Offline lefty2053

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #16 on: Mar 03, 2018, 06:26 AM »


<===Lefty===

Offline CJohnson27

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #17 on: Mar 15, 2018, 10:57 AM »
Well I am unfortunately getting to use the warranty on my f1. I was using it yesterday and me and a buddy were heavily scouting a lake and drilling a good amount of hole. Very last hole I drilled before we were going to call it and I look down and the hoop that the blades connect to was sheared in half and was missing down the hole.  >:(
Looked online and it was out of stock. I am assuming it has been a problem. Called them this morning and they said they needed pictures and would be sending a new one out. Great customer service but a bummer when we are in prime panfish season up North.

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Offline Angler15

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #18 on: Mar 15, 2018, 09:24 PM »
I just had the gas tank on mine replaced because it was leaking out of the gas cap. They said the tanks fill spout wasn't molded properly. It drips out of the airbox when I lay it on its side and also spits gas out of the air filter. I can't figure out why. Mine sometimes revs up really high while cutting and seems like it runs and starts better with at least 3/4 tank of gas in it. My blades seem fairly sharp but lately, it's been taking forever to drill a hole. It just spins, barely cutting for the first foot of ice and then it grabs and finishes okay. I am going to try a new set of blades tomorrow. Sorry about your issues, I hope they get fixed quickly.

Offline lefty2053

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #19 on: Mar 16, 2018, 07:42 AM »
I just had the gas tank on mine replaced because it was leaking out of the gas cap. They said the tanks fill spout wasn't molded properly. It drips out of the airbox when I lay it on its side and also spits gas out of the air filter. I can't figure out why. Mine sometimes revs up really high while cutting and seems like it runs and starts better with at least 3/4 tank of gas in it. My blades seem fairly sharp but lately, it's been taking forever to drill a hole. It just spins, barely cutting for the first foot of ice and then it grabs and finishes okay. I am going to try a new set of blades tomorrow. Sorry about your issues, I hope they get fixed quickly.
If you have the choke on when priming it that would cause fuel to come out of the air box. Make sure you spin the auger after holes so you don't get build up on the blades,this would cause poor drilling.
<===Lefty===

Offline Gills-only

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #20 on: Mar 16, 2018, 07:51 AM »
Have been looking at electric augers lately as I'm getting too old to lug around my older 43cc Eskimo. Still runs like a champ but weighs a ton. Just saw the 8" F1 Rocket at Reed's for $289.99 with free shipping. That's over half what an electric costs. Was wondering if anyone has any reviews of the F1. I'm really close to pulling the trigger on this. 22 lbs. Can't say electrics are lighter anymore. Never heard anything bad about Eskimo and 5 year warranty to boot.
.     My electric is only 5# lighter, 17# with the 9ah battery

Offline Coachkwj

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #21 on: Mar 17, 2018, 07:54 PM »
Which electric uses a 9Ah battery?
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Offline Gills-only

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Re: Eskimo F1 Rocket
« Reply #22 on: Mar 17, 2018, 08:36 PM »
Which electric uses a 9Ah battery?
.    Milwaukee fuel drill, prolly around 600-700” ice on a battery

 



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