Jiffy Propane or Battery powered instead of Strikemaster gas???

[rjbreese]

Anybody own a Jiffy Propane or Battery powered auger??? Any comments on either.. I like to drill  alot of holes, pretty mobile on atv... I'm about sick of carbs...but don't want to get rid of one problem for another disappointment???

I have been a Strikemaster owner for the past 10 years....first 3hp laser mag lasted 8 years and still running strong when sold bought new solo laser mag 2.5 hp this is the 3rd year out....winter before last drained all gas and let machine run till all gas ran out of carb before storage then when ready to use wouldn't run, took to repair shop, needed new diaphragm put in carb...mechanic told me not to store dry that is what dried it out.....so this year I left gas in it over season and before I started it this year I drained the gas out and put new fresh gas in..popped right off... went out fishing drilled 20 holes and now wont run..after pulling 10-15 times it will idle but wont open up...I am beginning to think anti-carberator and buy me a Jiffy Propane or battery powered??

ANY THOUGHTS??   

[jkujawa81]

I own a pro 4 jiffy had it since they came out first year I love it.. they do still have a carb but I have had only minor problems w mine and reason being is I bought first year model... it still had sime kinks... I will recommend you buy the pro4 instead of the pro4lite... more cc's and built alittle beefier.. wonderful unit thought won't switch for gss or electric..

[Kevin23]

ANY THOUGHTS??

Just one. Run seafoam in every tank of gas you put through it. Now that you got it to idle, mix some seafoam in being real liberal with it and let it idle for a half hour or so. Then dump all the gas and run it until its dry. Mix brand new gas, oil, and more seafoam and see what you get.

[metalworkz]

I have an icegator electric with a six inch auger I put on it. It came with a eight inch nils auger. It is the only thing I use now. Can drill about 50 holes in 12 inches of ice with the nils on it. With the six inch I'd say 100. Mine is 24v and now they offer a 36v one.

[rjbreese]

Just one. Run seafoam in every tank of gas you put through it. Now that you got it to idle, mix some seafoam in being real liberal with it and let it idle for a half hour or so. Then dump all the gas and run it until its dry. Mix brand new gas, oil, and more seafoam and see what you get.

thanks, I did exactly what you described today and also changed plug first, I always use sea foam, loaded it up on foam and ran today let idle for 15-20 min. and it died. restarted and went to throttle up fell on its face??? now will idle but not anymore. thanks, taking it to shop in a.m.

[bulzeye121]

Sounds to me like your main jet was plugged in carb. Should of disassembled it and cleaned. 2 stroke engines are very temperamental and are a pain in the ass to maintain. If you ran straight seafoam thru it this weekend you more than likely blew it up. Pull plug off it then put your finger over hole and pull cord. Of it pulls easily and you hear a low pitch noise it more than likely needs a top end rebuild. (Rings and piston)

[Bates]

I've had a Lazer Mag for over 20 years and never had to many problems. I'm on my third year with the Solo. I leave gas in it all year start it a couple times a month. Near ice time mix up new gas and oil. Sometimes you need to adjust the mix the colder it gets. Don'tuse too much SeaFoam or too often. Make sure gas oil mix isn't too rich. My old one said 24-1 Strikemaster said run 50-1. Getting ready to use the Lazer in a bit at a pond with a buddy and his 4 yr old should be interesting.

[rjbreese]

Sounds to me like your main jet was plugged in carb. Should of disassembled it and cleaned. 2 stroke engines are very temperamental and are a pain in the ass to maintain. If you ran straight seafoam thru it this weekend you more than likely blew it up. Pull plug off it then put your finger over hole and pull cord. Of it pulls easily and you hear a low pitch noise it more than likely needs a top end rebuild. (Rings and piston)

Im not a complete idiot No of coarse i didnt run straight sea foam.....

[bulzeye121]

Did I say u were?  Just Trying to throw out ideas for ya. I was a small engine mechanic. Good luck figuring it out buddy...

[ryeud]

pro 4 no doubt

[Abigelow]

I ordered a Jiffy Pro 4- 9" about an hour ago from Amazon.  Got it for $479 + free shipping.  I'll let you know how it works.  Should have it early next week.

[LarryClutch]

I have the PRO4 8 inch.. hadit for 2 years... best ice fishing purchase I have ever made.  no gas cans. I drill 30 holes in a row Friday to try to figure out a rock quarry.  10 in ice.  drilled like a dream...

[ASATMillerbluegill]

Ion 6" will be my next auger. Sick of gas augers too

[ASATMillerbluegill]

8" ion 40 holes 2' deep
6" ion 72 holes 2' deep

[Kevin23]

Sounds like some gunk built up in your carb. Usually what I suggested loosens it up and flushes it through, seems yours got plugged in the process which means it was REALLY dirty. It did the first step, but didnt flush itself. But, the good news is you pretty much figured out the problem.. its your carb. You can order a carb kit for it and do it yourself, or have it done in the shop. Shouldn't cost more than $20-$25 to do it yourself.

[CrappieBuster]

Them jiffy propanes are heavy as heck.  Watched a guy drilling on spirit with a battery one either it wasn't fully charged or operator error but I could drill 5 holes to his one in the same time with my Lazer Pro.  Heard good things about the Nils think them weigh 23lbs?  My 3hp Lazer pro weighs 26 I think and just rips thru the ice.  My 12 yr old strikemaster runs better than it did outta the box.  100:1 Amsoil Saber 1oz Sea Foam or B12 Chemtool per gallon and 93 octane NON ETHANOL gas end of the year when summarizing it dump an extra oz of sea foam into tank run for a few mins and Fog it like any other 2 stroke engine...Throw that junk champion plug away and buy a NGK also.  You can open up the plug gap a little too when running the 93 octane.  Squeeze a lil more power outta her.  Another thing no one replaces is the air cleaner on my old one its basically a sponge the newer ones have a paper style filter I believe.

[whlfxr]

I bought an ION 6" a couple of weeks ago for the same reason, I was just tired of the gas and the noise.  I've had 50 hole days, my normal ice day is 20-30, and not one problem.  I love it, hands down a great investment.

[CrappieBuster]

What happens when the battery craps out?  If its anything like a cordless drill battery they usually cost almost as much as the drill itself.  Any battery ive ran into NICAD or LITHION doesn't do well in the cold.  Im a bit suspicious of these drilling videos they post. 1.Theyre wearing sweatshirts most times... 2. The ice is thin enough for a hand auger.......  Wonder how many holes you would get thru 25 inches of ice with a "8"in bit when it's -20 out?  What happens when you go up north and are drilling 30+ inches of ice?  Just seems kinda fishy...

[Kevin23]

I was just looking at them yesterday and I want to say it was around $175 for a replacement battery.

[ASATMillerbluegill]

Ion batteries are $150 to replace or to have as an extra

[hardwaternick]

I have run an ION  for three years now love it only time I run out of battery is when all my friends use it to.   can drill 60 to 75 holes in 2 feet of ice on one charge   I ordered the 8 inch and the ION turns the same as a hand auger and my 6 inch lazer  hooks right up and use that a lot

[whlfxr]

You are right, it's probably not the auger to have if you live or go up north alot and fish where it's -20 and 30" of ice.  But I live and fish within 1-2 hours of Des Moines and if it's -20 I'm not going.  I don't remember ever catching a fish while ice fishing that I couldn't get thru a 6" hole.  I feel that I would not have any problem getting 20+ holes in 24" which is not too often around here.

[Egts]

If you are looking into propane, I recommend getting the Jiffy Pro4 Lite.  I just set one up for my dad and it cuts ice every bit as good as my buddies Jiffy Propane Pro 4 and is 10 pounds lighter, which will make a huge difference if you drill 40-50 holes per day.  Just because the engine is smaller does not mean it doesn't drill as fast, the cutting point is different than original Pro4.  It is packaged a little smaller and just feels netter when operating.

Just note that the Jiffy's throw ice everywhere.  Strikemaster just makes a nice pile over the hole.  It's not a big deal, but when in glare ice and drilling 10-12 holes, walking in ice chips that are thrown 5 feet from the hole you just drilled can be touchy if you don't have cleats on. 

I know it's gas powered, but you may want to check out the Nils.  8"auger is in the neighbor hood of 20 pounds.  My buddy owns a bait shop and is demo-ing one this year and said it is unbelievably fast and four stroke quiet.  This will be my choice if my Tecumseh powered Lazer ever wears out.

[SDICE4ME]

Hope this video works...watch the head start too

[metalworkz]

Take the muffle off and try to run it. I have had the problem with a few weed eaters and one auger. Some mufflers can come apart and be cleaned out.

[rjbreese]

Thanks for all your 2 cents to everyone....Well took my auger in this a.m. to shop and what I found out is that the strikemaster lazer mag has a plastic intake manifold called a socket anyway this plastic intake is bolted on to the block with 6 screws and the carburetor is bolted into this PLASTIC intake with 2 screws....one of the screw holes in the manifold had a crack which allowed both screws to loosen stripped them out which caused the carb to start sucking air when plastic got hot and expanded so it would not run on top end sucking too much air anyway have to order the part $20 plus labor not so bad but now with the holiday not gonna be here for few days and just my luck I have the rest of the week off to go fishing and now I gotta drill by hand l.o.l....anyway who puts a plastic intake on a hot engine block anyway? before ya know it everything is going to be made out of plastic.

[Kinkyline]

Im not a complete idiot No of coarse i didnt run straight sea foam.....

Sounds to me your throttle valve is stuck.They need to move very freely and check to make sure your return spring is not stretched out or missing. May need carb adjust also.

[toofuss]

Thanks for all your 2 cents to everyone....Well took my auger in this a.m. to shop and what I found out is that the strikemaster lazer mag has a plastic intake manifold called a socket anyway this plastic intake is bolted on to the block with 6 screws and the carburetor is bolted into this PLASTIC intake with 2 screws....one of the screw holes in the manifold had a crack which allowed both screws to loosen stripped them out which caused the carb to start sucking air when plastic got hot and expanded so it would not run on top end sucking too much air anyway have to order the part $20 plus labor not so bad but now with the holiday not gonna be here for few days and just my luck I have the rest of the week off to go fishing and now I gotta drill by hand l.o.l....anyway who puts a plastic intake on a hot engine block anyway? before ya know it everything is going to be made out of plastic.

As far as a plastic intake goes walk outside and look at your truck. if its newer than about 1995 your in for a suprise

[ONFISH]

Hondalite.... 1 or 2 pulls EVERYTIME.