Strikemaster Strike Lite 2 Major Issues

[Gixxer]

Hey guys, I just bought a Strikemaster Strike Lite 2 about 2 weeks ago and after cutting my 8th hole on Saturday it just shut off mid hole.  It would restart after major pulls, but would only idle.  Any attempt to get the auger to spin would cause the auger to instantly die, making a noticeable chug of air out of the carb.  I turned the auger by hand to make sure nothing in the gear case was broke.

Being a mechanic, any time you have air/fuel forced out the carb upon pressing the throttle and having the engine die, you can be sure it's not good.

Once I got it home, I removed the plastic covers and removed the air filter elements and started it up.  It would idle all day but the second I touched the throttle it stall out instantly and clearly fuel blew out the intake of the carb.  It was very hard to start after this.

Upon further inspection, but not wanting to dig too deep which might void my warranty, it's become fairly obvious that something in the valve train is broken, and due to the fact that the air/fuel mix is forced back out the carb, obviously the intake valve is stuck open.  The motor has MUCH less compression, it's hard to believe it even starts.  It almost seems like a cam gear broke, leaving the intake valve stuck which would still allow the engine to idle.

A call to Strikemaster headquarter's, I spoke with their service manager Mike, which didn't sort anything out.  He said I am the 1st one to have this issue and he doesn't have any spare engines, which means I have to send mine back 1st.  I am stuck with shipping unless I want to wait 3 days for a UPS credit which I don't.

I'm not really mad, just more disapointed that crap like this happens when you spend 550 bucks on an Auger.  I'm more concerned this is going to drag out over weeks. I told them I want this done reasonably fast or I am done with any further Strikemaster products. 

This is not meant to bad-mouth any Strikemaster products, just letting people know that there are issues with this product, although clearly every review I have found has been nothing but positive.

I'll let you know in a few days what Strikemaster says.

[PerchAssault]

StrikeMaster is known for some of the best CS in the business.  But, if they dont have a spare to send you, then they cant just replace it...They will turn it around quickly and they will make it right for you.  But you are right, sucks to have to be without your auger due to this.

If it was a new auger, cant they arrange something with the store you bought it from and get you into a replacement?  Or another local retailer that they could get you a replacement?  They will normally bend over backwards to make it right, so be confidant, they will!

[Gixxer]

I bought it at Reed's and after explaining the issue they just gave me the direct line to service at Strikemaster.  It arrives there tommorow, hopefully they have a solution quick.

[Gixxer]

Strikemaster got the powerhead late last Friday and they had a new one delivered today Thursday.  I never did find out what was wrong, they were too busy to really dig into mine so they just sent me a brand new unit.  Thumbs up to Mike the service manager at Strikemaster, excellent experience overall.

[Nor Easter]

Being a mechanic,,,    something in the valve train,,,  obviously the intake valve is stuck ,,,   like a cam gear broke,,,   

Study up on 2 strokes. W-A-Y simpler. They don't have cams and valves in the sense you are thinking. Reed plates, reed valves are entirely different and one petal of the reed valves may have broken or become lodged by a foreign shard of metal floating around possibly from poorly casted block or similar. Some (and probably yours) 2-strokes don't even have reeds.  Other reasons too but now we'll never know since you already got the new one.

[ds]

Strikelite 2 is a 4 stroke.  I bought one this fall and so far I'm happy with it. It would be nice to know what happened to this one but it sounds like a valve problem to me too.The main thing is that it was taken care of and hopefully doesnt have any more troubles.

[Nor Easter]

Oops, my bad.

Should have looked up the model online. 4 strokes are still so uncommon in my area, I just assumed it wasn't.

[Gixxer]

New auger is cutting good, 50 plus holes, starts 1st/2nd pull everytime, hopefully she holds together.  Still haven't heard what happened to my 1st one.