2 HP Jiffy 79 ST owners, a little help please

[yoopermjm]

I have this auger, purchased a few years ago and used lightly the first year but not used much until this year and it seems underpowered to me.  It has been that way since I got it and when I went back to the store, they said the motor needed to be broken in and then it would work better.  It has not changed at all.  It will not simply drill a hole in the ice going down all the way.  You have to raise it up and let it get a good rpm going about four times in 18 inches of ice or it just bogs down.  If I don't press down too much to keep it spinning, it doesn't really cut.

I tried switching to amsoil and mixed it 80 to one with not much difference.
I'm now getting new blades to see if that's the problem. 
A friend said to take off the two little rippers in the center and that would make it work better, but that doesn't see right to me because I would be trading cutting surface for speed of spinning and the result would seem to be the same.

My question is:   is this normal because the 2hp while light is underpowered?  Is this the way yours works?
If you have one of these, I'd love some advice.

[duck doctor]

I don't own a 2hp Jiffy but my 3hp seemed to be a little "doggy" out of the box. I ripped off the red caps that are on the carb adj screws and fiddled with it until it ran smoothly with high rpm's. Try adjusting the carb.

[dkfry]

The newer 2hp tecumseh augers do not have adjustable needles on the carburetor. Your carb may not be adjusting itself properly (fixed jet compensating carb)and it is poor shape or maybe its fine, can't tell without trying it myself. I'd at least replace the spark plug and make shure you always run a fuel stabilzer. Taking the two blades off bolted onto the powerpoint is a stupid idea and won't help anything. I have a 2hp with the stealth dills with the junk fixed carburetor but mine runs great. You can easily bog it down when drilling though, the stealth blades cut very well and can bite more ice than the engine can power through. I keep upward pressure on the drill to keep the rpms up and don't let it bog. I suspect the way your drilling holes is the problem, you bog it down too much.

[Wild Turk]

Some of the 2 Hp tecumseh motor have a fixed high and an adjustable low jet. The screw should be seated/Turned in wicked slow and easy till seated and then bcked out 1 turn. This is a starting point. If you squeeze on the throttle and it dies down some back out about 1/8 to 1/4 turn and  try reving the throttle again. Might run smoother while reving up. If it starts to die out then turn the jet in to just under 1 turn and run the throttle.

If it is a 2 screw adjustable carb start with both screws out 1 turn. work the low jet first=closest to motor and then after it responds to the throttle with out hesitation then hold the throttle wide open= you don't want it to run at high rpm as when it gets into cutting ice it will bog right out like it sounds this auger is doing. In this case turn the high jet screw out 1/4 turn as this will enrichen the carb and maintain power in the cut.

Do all this tuning/Testing with your blade cover on.

A friend at work yesterday said his does the same thing as yours= his is an old eskimo that he sent to a small engine shop to replace a head gasket and get a tune up. Told him to turn the high jet out 1/4 and it will power through the ice while cutting as the motor is starving for gas and getting too much air.

Good Luck.
Kevin

[Kim]

I think the carb just needs adjusting. I have a new eskimo with 1.8 hp and runs great all the way through about 30" of ice. I think it would even power a 10" auger. Also check to make sure the gear case has oil or grease that it needs. If gears are binding because of lack of lube that could be robbing it of HP.   Great post wild turk

[Fisherman 1]

I have this auger, purchased a few years ago and used lightly the first year but not used much until this year and it seems underpowered to me. 

My question is:   is this normal because the 2hp while light is underpowered?  Is this the way yours works?
If you have one of these, I'd love some advice.

Going out on a limb, but I'm going to bet that it was put away "wet & dirty" so to speak, old gas left in the tank to sludge it up.  Get the carb cleaned and use a healthy dose of "Seafoam" in your oil/gas mix.  The 2HP may be a bit slower in drilling, but a well running engine should not bog down. Leave the cutter head alone, it works best the way it was designed, otherwise tell your buddy to lop 2 inches of his johnson and see if it works any better.

[yoopermjm]

Thanks for all the good advice.  I think I'll try a combination of new plug and carb cleaner with fresh gas and amsoil plus seafoam.  It could definitely be the way I'm cutting the hole too, though my fishing buddy has the same problem when he borrows it when we're on the ice.  Hopefully one or all of these helps.  It does work, just not that well it seems.  Thanks again, I'll have time Thursday to work on it and hopefully to test it too...

[Wiener]

When you mix your gas, make sure it does not have ethanol in it.

The ethanol messes with the flashpoint, and is known to attract water.

Good High Octane gas, Amsoil and SeaFoam (or stabil).

You may need to get the carb cleaned.


Wiener

[yoopermjm]

Well I got my new 8 inch chipper blades today from the boys at Feldman, only to discover when I got the main blade off that I have a 9 inch auger.  Who knew?  So back they go, if feldman ever returns my call.  On the upside, I changed the gas and put in some fresh with amsoil and seafoam, and it actually seemed to run better.
Kinda like the 9 inch hole.  Wondered why it was so much bigger than my buddies 6.  Guess old-timers disease is setting in sooner than I'd hoped...

[dkfry]

The 2hp power bog down a bit easier than the 8" if you let it. I would get some of the Aqua colored Stabil (for ethanol) to add to the gas, its not a solvent like seafoam and is made to protect against corrosion and gumming.

[Wild Turk]

Seafoam is actually white gas a more refined petrolum product then what gas is. They add oil/Not sure of the type?? Might be straight castor?? But save your self some $ and add Coleman stove fuel/instead of seafoam. Hard to believe they sell the stuff but yes they do. Take the cap of your gallon of coleman fuel and the cap off your Seafoam container and take a big whiff and see if you can smell any difference?? Seafoam is Coleman fuel at 7X the price.

Coleman fuel is $9 a gal and Seafoam is $8-9 a pint. Go figure=Snake oil.

[Kim]

Coleman  fuel should not be used, it is like a methonol fuel that indy cars use. Very dry and you would probly burn your engine out, hole in the piston. Too high grade.

[Nor Easter]

Coleman, naptha and K1 are closer related than relating either of them to automotive gasoline. Coleman stoves sometimes have generators available to use kerosene but are specific to that. The regular generator can utilize both Coleman fuel or naptha.

Seafoam MSDS:
http://www.montanajacks.com/msds/seafoam-msds.pdf

Pale Oil = A distillate lubricating oil, straw or pale yellow in color, either a finished oil or to be further refined.

Naphtha = A volatile, colorless product of petroleum distillation. Used primarily as paint solvent, cleaning fluid, and blendstock in gasoline production, to produce motor gasoline by blending with straight-run gasoline.

Isopropyl Alcohol = Rubbing Alcohol (does similar things as ethanol such as combining with water to make it combustible = bad for 2 strokes that rely on the oil dissolved in the gas for lubrication)

Pale oil MSDS:
http://www.autolaundrysystems.com/MSDS/drycleanpdf/Pale%20Oil.PDF

Naptha and Coleman fuel are very close, almost interchangeable. The Pale oil is almost noncombustible and seems to be why Seafoam tends to make a lot of 'smoke'. The smoke is the unburnt liquid in the exhaust fumes. It basically 'wets' or rinses the carbon out from your running motor. I have heard of and also used plain water spray with similar results.

See blog affirming this here:
http://www.dailydriventj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=856
_____________
I've never used Seafoam, I'm not knocking it but I've tinkered on motors for over 35 years and I see no need for it when common preventative maintenance and other practices can achieve the same results. I agree with Wildturk somewhat but not fully as it is not snake oil but I do agree that it is not needed.

The OP's problem will not be solved with Seafoam. If his carb jets are gummed up, remove tha carb and soak it in a quality carb cleaner, not the spray kind. But my thoughts are to 1: rich-en the mixture somehow, 2: clean the carb, 3: check compression and deal accordingly.

If you cannot adjust the carb richer externally you can make the lever at the needle allow more fuel into the diaphragm area and this should provide more fuel to the mix. It is extremely tricky to do it correctly so you will need spare parts before attempting this method. Another thing to look for in the carburetor is any screens that may have become gunked up with old gas/varnish and clean it or replace it. I removed my internal screen and it's been running for 15 years without one due to the same problem when I bought it used. The one in the tank that looks like a cigarette filter is all I use.

[Wild Turk]

Nor Easter- You have definitely done your homework searching the internet for the MSDS for the Seafoam and Coleman fuel/White gas. About 10 years ago i got some Seafoam to see what the hype was?? Opened the can and smelled it= smelled just like coleman fuel to me. Certainly you wouldn't want to run it straight in your engine or run Race fuel either-114 Octane. Like is said you will burn the piston up and extra.

My saying as snake oil was Seafoam smokes so much that it creates a fog and blurs your brain/ LOL. And it does work in some instance's. But like is said lack of maintaince and care will not help and engine or Carb out if it was used satisfactory. Some of these so called carb/Fuel injector cleaners they sell for $1.79 a bottle are mostly paint thinner=that will remove gas that has deposited residue. Almost another snake oil gimmic.

What i usually do every year at ice fishing time is mix up some 93 Octane pump gas with a couple Oz of Amsoil Saber 100/1 2 stroke oil along with 3-4 oz of Coleman fuel and a couple of Ozs. of Dry Gas in a gas can. I have let some of my augers set for 4 years and have no problems starting them up and keeping them running..

I believe on a Seafoam can it says not to be run straight in a 2 stroke engine? Yes it has oil in it/but not the right kind. Also has hotter fuel. That is why i myself only use a small amount of Coleman Fuel in my gallon mix i make up.

[dkfry]

I've got coleman fuel and some seafoam and neither smell like one another. I was never fond of any "Miracle in a can" and that basically what seafoam is. I've done my own testing with seafoam and as far as cleaning goes and wasn't impressed with it.