New Auger…What Happened?

Just got my very first power auger and couldn’t wait to hit the ice. Took a day of vacation and loaded up the truck. Decided to drill a series of holes in a area I knew held fish. The first hole my new 8 inch StrikeMaster Lazer drilled through 24 inches so fast I wasn’t prepared when it hit the water. Wow this is going to be great. The second hole drilled the same way but only for the first 12 inches then it more or less quit cutting and just kinda started to jump. The ice it did cut came up and looked like very fine snow. I checked to make sure everything was tight and it was. At no time did the auger hit any sand or the like. It will cut a hole but it is taking forever and the ice that comes to the top is the fine snow looking stuff. What happened?

After you cut the first hole did you wait a little bit?

If so you may possibly have iced up your blades.

It doesn’t take much my buddy picked his strikemaster up to cut another hole and it wouldn’t do anything. It was just a matter of ice on the blades. Once it was cleaned off it cut like through butter.

I would guess either ice on the blades or maybe a loose blade. At 20+ degrees below over the weekend we where having problems with ice forming on my auger.

Nope not ice on the blades. I brought it out fresh from the truck yesterday and it still cuts the same. I used a tank of gas to cut maybe 25 holes.

Call Strikemaster and explain the problem. They will more
than likely have you try a new set of blades to see if
that fixes the problem.
Also take the blades off and make sure there is no debris
between the auger and the blades. It happened to another
IDO’er where there was a pc. of tape under the blade that
was wreaking havoc with his.

Dan

Gave them a call and all they need are a couple Seral numbers and where I bought it and I’ll have a new set of blades coming my way. Must have happened before. Anyway I hope to be putting the hurt on some ice next weekend.

If it isn’t icing and it cut that first hole like a champ then I would guess there’s really only two things it could be.

1) the blade angle was knocked out of alignment somehow when you punched that first hole. This could be caused by a loose screw or screws on the blade (quick and easy check) OR the blade mount could have been tweaked somehow causing a permanent misalignment that will need servicing at the factory.

2) the blades hit something unseen in the ice at the end of your first hole. Seems unlikely… but a possibility nonetheless.

I would check to make sure the blades are properly fastened in place first. A loose fastener, even loose by a turn or three is all it will take. Be careful, those blades are sharp.

Next I would do a visual inspection of the blades to look for any significant “dulling” that can be seen with the eye. If you notice anything then a new set of blades or borrowing a known set of sharp blades from a buddy might not be a bad idea. Just to cross check the slow cutting blades against a set you know to be good.

If that doesn’t work then I’d take it back to the retailer and ask for a swap out. As you know you should be able to get more than one hole out of a set of blades. The good news here as that trouble shooting this one should be a quick process.

Please let us know how it turns out for you.

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Gave them a call and all they need are a couple Seral numbers and where I bought it and I’ll have a new set of blades coming my way. Must have happened before. Anyway I hope to be putting the hurt on some ice next weekend.

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Awesome news. SM always does a great job of taking care of their customers.

Just a reminder: Never bang your auger on the ice to break lose frozen snow/ice & never cut a partial hole so that your auger has a place to stand. Not only do the forementioned practices reduce the life of your auger, but they can also create hazardous conditions.

Not saying either of these are something you did. Just trying to educate the unknowing masses.

Chris

After you get your new blades here are a few tips to keep clean blades when the temps are dropping below zero as they have been lately.
After drilling a hole give the throttle a short burst to throw water off the auger/blades, do not set it in any snow. Always clean off a spot on the ice making it snow free before setting the auger down.
If the auger does freeze up do not knock the ice of the blades with anything. If the auger cannot be thawed in a shack, hold the auger in an open hole for a while, most times this will get you going again.

Thanks for the tips guys they all sound like good ones. Yeah I did a little research before starting my auger for the first time. I remember not drilling a hole for it to rest in and the very next day I’m driving pass the lake and see one standing in a hole. Then just the other day a see a guy banging his against the ice trying to get the ice off of it. It’s been in the single digits here for sometime and the blades do ice up as soon as they come out. I’ve been fishing by myself lately so I’ve been taking the auger in the shack with me. The factory stated that some blades may not get the right amount of hardness and the cutting edge may roll over and not allow the blades to cut right. That must have happened with mine.

I live just 12 miles West of you smackem. Have the same auger as you and on the 3rd year with these blades and still very sharp with almost daily ice time use. I’d of bet on the iced up blades as I’ve been having that problem lately but it sounds like you’ve checked out. All are good answers and I think the only thing not mentioned is the power point that sets below the blades. Hopefully the new blades will do the trick as its a nice auger.

Got my new blades the very next day. Now I need free time to see if that solves the problem. May sneak out at noon and find out.