My Strikemaster just came in and I got it put together. They say in the manual that a bit of play is normal between the powerhead and bit. Is it a good idea to shim that out with some Teflon tape or something? I didn’t know if the slop is designed in for a reason or if performance could be increased a bit with a tighter fit.
“#1587751
My ol’ strike master is super fast and light weight. Love it. My only issue was what to do with the left over mixed gas in the spring. I don’t have any other 2 stoke engines that use mixed gas. Getting rid of fuel (appropriately) is not an easy task.”
I only mix a gallon at a time and it goes into the truck or chain saw at the end of the year.
I love my 4 year old Solo Strikemaster. Best auger I have ever had and I have had 5-6 augers. This thing is a running best 3-4 pulls to start and no more EVER….so far. Cuts like butter…..even through my new Otter hub LOL!
I went to Devils lake last weekend and we drilled 200+ holes and went through about 1 1/2 tanks of gas.
Reading this,I had to add my two cents.I have sold augers since the days of Jiffy’s one-armed bandit, back then you had few choices, now everyone makes one. A few of my thoughts on augers.1)all time bomb proof dependable auger, Jiffy mod 30, all steel shroud, points and condenser, two handle, of course!
2)Most dependable engine, Original Eskimo shark 9400 with emac engine
3)fastest cutting Strikemaster lazer,3-blade 9″ or 4 blade 8″
4)best all round blade Jiffy serrated, can be sharpened with a file, and won’t dull instantly when going through grit.
With this being said, all have their good points and bad.I am a one auger guy, if you have a good one should be no need for another!
If buying a new one I would personally buy a 2 stroke serratted blade auger, with metal drill.I would stay away from used propane and 4 stroke from the first few generations, as they were plauged with problems.I like the metal drill, I remember replacing a few strike light drills after getting stuck in the hole, finally to come out parts missing.
If I fished solely out of a permanent shack an Ion or lithium lazer would be the clear choice.
I must be one of the few that has nothing good to say about the tannaka/nils combo.After placing a very large hali order at a buyers show, I let the rep talk me into buying one.The tank leaked gas out around gromment fuel lines run through and auger had quite the vibration,engine always seemed to need adjustment, most expensive auger I ever bought and it was a lemmon!
As far as cordless setups, I think they are fine for thinner ice but when it gets thick I’m going to want a traditional auger, and Im a one auger guy, so I will keep the cordless in the toolbox.
Just my opinion, but it is what I would tell anyone looking to buy ONE auger.
I think it all comes down to your personal style of fishing and how you plan to use it. Not only for what power head, but also the blade type. Drilling a ton of holes outside hole hopping. IMO you’ll want to go with a 2 stroke with lazer blades to cut the quickest. Always in a shack, you’ll want to go with either a 4 stroke or an electric. I don’t have much experience with electric, so I would personally shy away from that. I say 4 stroke for inside a house because the 2 strokes will have the tendency to get some oil on the walls. Have windows open and the fumes will be out of there pretty darn quick and won’t stink up the house. If you reopen holes a lot, you’ll need a chipper blade for sure. If you want an auger that will last the rest of your life, but weigh a ton, get a Jiffy. For my style of fishing I got a Solo Lazer Pro and love it. Only time I wish I had something different is when I’m drilling in the ice castle and then I wish I’d have the Honda.
I have a solo, and I also tend to drill a lot of holes if necessary, but I go through the extra gas can besides the tank, so I always carry my 5gallon can with non oxy and a couple mixes worth of oil in the truck too.
You’re an animal. Doesn’t a gallon of gas fill up the solo’s tank like five times? You carry 25 tank’s worth of gas with you when you go out onto the lake?
Unless you are like drilling out a 100′ x 100′ section of the lake so you can cast…
I have the 3hp solo, it goes through the fuel pretty quick. If I am walking out probably just the can, but I always have the 5 gallons in the truck. I never want to run out 5 holes short of the best fishing of my life.
I have 2 Strikemaster 29cc power heads with 8″ lazer augers on them. The first I got when I worked as a buyer in the fihsing industry. It was a demo the strikemaster guys dropped off at my store the year the Lazer auger assembly hit the market. So maybe one of the first ever offered.
Age? That was in about 1992-993? 25-26 years later (god I am getting old) I have replaced one recoil and had it tuned up 2 x’s. Probably installed 2 sets of plugs in that time as well as one air filer. The thing is an absolute rocket through the ice and runs like a clock.
2 years ago I ran across a slightly newer version at a good price so I grabbed it for no good reason. So I have 2 strikemaster 29cc 8″ lazer augers that I would argue are hard to beat from a performance standpoint.
So as mentioned earlier I am getting older. This year I picked up a Milwaukee M18 with XC batteries for some house projects. This fall I got the 6″ kdrill. This to me is a dream ice cutting machine and one of the Top 3 innovations ever in the Ice fishing industry, I think second or third only to the flasher and fish trap. Everything about it from performance, weight, reliability, battery life, auger design, blade cutting, blade protection works as good as can be expected. Jaw dropping change to me from gas. The lightweight really sets it apart though. Oh and yes I can use it all year for more than just fishing. so really when I told my wife the price naturally I said $179!
If anyone is interested I will give them a screaming deal on an 8″ lazer.
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