Which of these two augers? Tanaka or Jiffy?

[CJW]

I'm looking at two used, older augers.  One is a 20 year old Jiffy, the other is an old Tanaka 302.  Both start and run well, and are priced the same. 


Which would you pick?


Thanks

[esox_magnum]

Tanaka

[ice dawg]

Jiffy

[crazy man]

Tanaka

[Mainedog]

Both.

[Sven936]

How are the auger bits?  Is it just the power heads?    Alot of difference in power and what augers they run.   Would make a difference in a recommendation.

[4runner]

If you haven't bought yet, get the Tanaka. I have the 302 and it's a horse.

[crazy man]

How are the auger bits?  Is it just the power heads?    Alot of difference in power and what augers they run.   Would make a difference in a recommendation.

The main difference is the auger  itself.  The nils auger is totally unlike the others.  The other augers are what I would describe as a chipper design which seems to be a design suited for mass production and maximum profits. The nils auger is truly a spiral auger very similar to an auger bit which might be used with a power drill.  The entire cutting edge is a spiral and razor sharp.  It looks be be at least partly handmade since you can see the hammer marks on the tool.  

The chipper style auger requires a certain amount of downward pressure to force the blade(s) into the cut.  With the nils, the auger actually pulls the tool through the cut as a proper auger should.  You cannot put even a small amount of downward pressure on the nils,  it is so sharp that it will just cause the blade to stick in the cut and often just stop the auger completely.  With the nils, you actually have to hold back on the tool to keep it from cutting too much.  

Because of this,  the nils requires a smaller powerhead.  This makes it more lightweight and easier to start.  The tanaka can be a hard starter but it is so easy to pull over that you can yank it many times in rapid fire to get it going.

One interesting thing to note is that the Icegator battery powered powerhead have adaptors which allow it to be used with all the common brands of augers, including the nils.  I like the idea of no starting, no fueling, no noise, and no smoke and they don't try to sell you the auger at all, why reinvent the wheel?  

sIf I were buying again, i would take a serious look at the IceGator and hook it up with the nils auger.  It's my understanding that the IceGator has sufficient power to take you fishing all day and some models allow you to hook the auger up to any 12v source, giving you extra capacity if you think yu want to drill more holes.  Of course, if you drill a lot of holes, more than say twenty or so,  then you need a gas powered auger.  IceGator claims that their top of the line 24 volt model will drill 40 holes in 28inches of ice.  

[Drift Dodger]

... The chipper style auger requires a certain amount of downward pressure to force the blade(s) into the cut.  With the nils, the auger actually pulls the tool through the cut as a proper auger should.  You cannot put even a small amount of downward pressure on the nils,  it is so sharp that it will just cause the blade to stick in the cut and often just stop the auger completely.  With the nils, you actually have to hold back on the tool to keep it from cutting too much.  ...

I have two Jiffy augers with the newer style ripper blades, 8" and 10". When the blades are in 'perfect' shape (not always the case) they pull the auger into the ice, and I have to hold back as well. I'm not saying the Nils or any other auger is the same, better or worse, just that properly designed and maintained equipment can provide excellent results.

That said, my 22-year old Jiffy model 30 starts, runs and cuts perfectly fine for me. I certainly have nothing to complain about, especially since it was handed down to me from my father.

[esox_magnum]

My Tanaka is a 1.5 hp and eats 2-3 hp motors with 8" bits. Tanakas are an indusrial motor built to much higher and tighter specs than the other brands.

[lingslayer]

I had a few issues with my jiffy when i first got it , but I found that their customer service department was very good to waork with.

[CJW]

I bought a new Nils with the Tanaka.

[Mainedog]

Having much experience with two Jiffys, an Ice Gator, and a Tanaka, I can say they all have their advantages and they all have their drawbacks.  All are good, some better than others, but all are good if you get it tuned up correctly, take care of on and off season, and keep your blades sharp.

MD

[madmichael365]

Tanaka