Propane vs Gas maintenance, cleaning, fuel efficiency and longevity.

[Angler15]

Hi, I'm looking at buying either an Eskimo 40cc Popane or Eskimo Mako 43cc gas auger. I am just wondering which would be the better buy. Which one of these would last longer? I've heard there's less maintenance and cleaning with the propane, is this true? Fuel efficiency is also something I'd like to consider but longevity and easy maintenance/cleaning are more on the top of the list. I also have a 1lb propane bottle converter so I could easily refill them from a large tank whenever I'd like so I would hardly ever have to buy new 1lb bottles. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[ErnieLearns]

The propane is a 4-stroke while the Mako is a 2-stroke.  With today's gas and ethonal go with the propane.  The weight is the same.  The propane you can drill inside a hub shelter and in minutes any fumes are gone.  The Mako is 2-stroke so you get fumes and more fumes.  2-stokes also foul sparkplugs sooner and varnish in the carb from the gas going stale.  Propane just change the oil in the summer.  If I need more propane out on the ice I can just take the bottle from my heater.  Also I keep  a full one in the car.  The Mako you got to add 2-stroke gas out on the ice and you don't want that on your hands.

All this being said (and I own a Eskimo 40 HC) and have never had an issue with it, I would seriously consider: an Ion (which is 10 pounds lighter) or a Clam plate when they get the gear box fixed to cut down on weight.

[Chris338378]

When it comes to longevity a good portion of it is how well you take care of your stuff meaning if you beat the crap out of it or you just use it.  When it comes to maintenance on the Mako all you have to do it change the spark plug every year, add some Seafoam and Startron to your gas mix, and wipe it down.  To deal with the issue of having to add gas out on the ice that's simple to prevent, fill it up before you leave to go fishing.  Before I was married and we had out kids I fish almost every day and drill a lot of holes and the most gas I've gone through in a year was two gallons.  I can't comment on the propane auger because I've never used one but I have seen them and they look really nice.    I've read lots of good reports on them and if I was going to get a new auger I'd probably get the Mako because it's a good machine and cheaper.

[motocross269]

I have both the HC40 and a Mako 43 that I bought when I had issues with the HC40.. I had an early HC40 the first year they came out.....Eskimo gave me a list of about 7 supposed Service centers that would work on the HC40 and when I went to the first 2 they wouldn't touch it..I called the other places and they didn't even work on augers..So that didn't impress me at all...I would definetly take the time to research service centers in your area before you buy the propane...I ended up ordering the parts and fixing the HC40 myself...
As far as maintenance between the 2 I don't see much difference....I run canned premix gas in all my small 2 stroke motors so I don't have any issue with ethanol..I would say the cost is about the same as propane...With the Propane you have to be careful on the way you orient the power head in storage so you don't have oil seep into the top end..Also you should do Oil changes on the engine every year...
They are both fine augers as long as you verify that a service center in your area will do warranty work on the Propane it has it's advantages...One of the biggest is I can throw it in the back seat of my truck for security and not have to worry about gas leaking out...