Auger Blades Icing UP

[BucksNDucks]

I have a Strikemaster auger with the chipper blade. When its really cold out (around 0 degrees or so) i have problems with my blades freezing up after i drill a hole. i then have to lay the auger on its side and chip the ice of before drilling a hole again. somwtimes i have to repeat this process a few times. Just wondering if this is common or is there something a guy can do to prevent/help the issue??? thanks

[Fisherman 1]

Water and 0F = ice.  Keep a small rubber hammer handy.

[3300]

mine work frozen. are yours the blades with slots between them?
maybe spray them with a water repellant, dip them in wax, change them to solid blades, lay it down so the water runs off, drill a hole and leave it in part way and drill the hole at an angle so it doesn't fall in. keep it in your heated shack.
leaving it in a hole works for me the best. it also works for an ice anchor.

[hardwater diehard]

I just raise it up and rev it up to displace the water off the blade ...not fool proof though.

[Nodakjohns]

Like mentioned above. I just rev it up and displace the water.  It will ice up but I just drill until it comes off on the next hole.  When it's iced up and not drilling quick don't do what I did years ago and put your back into it. That bent my auger shaft and I ended up having to get a new one. I ran that bent up auger almost a year before replacing it. Of course that had an adverse affect on the powerhead too. So ended up new auger then a year later a new powerhead.

[Alex Delarge]

Silicone spray. 

[crappieslayer37]

it also works for an ice anchor.

I seriously wouldnt recommend using your auger for an ice anchor lol. You may have yourself another issue far worse than ice buildup if the angle of your blade gets tweaked even a little.

[Gills-only]

Maybe it get colder where you are, but I've been  in some really cold conditions and haven't had any problems with ice up.   Most ice ups are caused when you lay a wet auger blade on ice in snow, or blowing snow and freezes up .

[3300]

i'm okay and have been doing it for years on the same auger. thanks tho. if it ever gets tweaked i have 2 more ( 2 smaller ones) and in the market for a 3rd 1" larger and i know how to shim things. i know i wouldn't do that to a nils tho, but i use lazers. it still only takes 5 seconds to cut 2 feet of ice on a 6" lazer. there is no pressure other than normal on the blade end of the auger and having it at an angle isn't hurting a thing and keeps it from slipping down and offers more anchor properties. after making the hole just leave it in the hole and toss the rope from a sled over it and onto the ice.  the blades are down in the water with only water touching them.

most days all of us drill a partial hole and leave it standing in those. that's when i see it could get tweaked as it's always touching ice. the windy days is when i use it as an anchor, but it will keep blades from freezing too and doesn't hurt a thing.

how do you think they will get tweaked?

another idea on op's problem might be to wax the paint a few times so it beads up the water and falls off easier.

[Oldbear]

Whatever works for Ya.  I rev it up and spin it off and lay it down up off the ice and in the sun.  Have sprayed it with Pam but had mixed results.

[DaveSS1]

I have the Strikemaster mag 2000 w/ chipper and have the same problem.  On sunny days no issues but on cold overcast days it can be a problem.  It seams like you have to keep any slush and snow off of it and rev it up out of the water knock off any residual water.  I also have an auger case (cabelas) that does help.  I find its not necessary the build-up on the blade but the void between the blade and post...poor design maybe. I used to have a micro hammer that work perfect to knock out the ice build-up but you have to be careful not to hit the blade.  Never smash them on the ice.

[crappieslayer37]

I misunderstood you saying you have the blades under the ice. My apologies.

[bbrown601]

I've got a jiffy with the chipper blade and it seems to want to ice up in the sub zero temps.

[icebucketjohn]

WD 40 or any Silicone Spray should fix the problem

[hardwater diehard]

I wish my auger blades were icing up ....colder temps have arrived ...skim ice on my local lakes 

[slipperybob]

Silicone spray works pretty good.  Spray it on the flighting as well.

A little tap with the rubber mallet and the ice peels off nicely.

[Homewrecker]

Rev it up to get most of the water off.
Drill again in ice ,but don't break threw.
Then pull out  and rest on side.  Never leave auger in hole. 

[jeffro9023]

Just imagine how many guys are spraying their auger blades with WD-40, silicone spray, and any other kind of oily substrate and then drilling holes and essentially those chemicals end up in our water  ...I keep my auger in the hut with me on those cold days and let the heater melt the ice. Put the cover back on when you are done to keep snow off the blades and prevents other potential disasters too.