Lithium Lazer recall

So I’ve been hearing about these being pulled from stores. I called Strikemasters 877 number and left a message. Then I called D Rock (great shop) They said from what they heard it’s a rocker switch issue and they were told not to install any of the ones they have.

Hope to hear back from Strikemaster soon. Glad it’s not a battery/engine problem. Changing out a switch shouldn’t be that bad.

Can any of the Ice Force guys shed any light on this?
Seems like this would be a good place to share some info.

I would try to get a hold of Koonce. I think he is running one.

FDR

My buddies Lithum Lazer started on fire. Strikemaster swiftly refunded him every penny for purchase.

belletaine wrote:

So I’ve been hearing about these being pulled from stores. I called Strikemasters 877 number and left a message. Then I called D Rock (great shop) They said from what they heard it’s a rocker switch issue and they were told not to install any of the ones they have.

Hope to hear back from Strikemaster soon. Glad it’s not a battery/engine problem. Changing out a switch shouldn’t be that bad.

Can any of the Ice Force guys shed any light on this?
Seems like this would be a good place to share some info.

I’ve been told some of the rocker switches were over-heating and staying in the “on” position. Obviously that’s not a safe situation so Strikemaster is recalling all of them to make sure nobody gets hurt. I’ve not had it happen on my auger and haven’t run into anyone else that has either but given the seriousness of the issue I think Strikemaster’s “better safe than sorry” approach is justified.

James Holst wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>belletaine wrote:</div>
So I’ve been hearing about these being pulled from stores. I called Strikemasters 877 number and left a message. Then I called D Rock (great shop) They said from what they heard it’s a rocker switch issue and they were told not to install any of the ones they have.

Hope to hear back from Strikemaster soon. Glad it’s not a battery/engine problem. Changing out a switch shouldn’t be that bad.

Can any of the Ice Force guys shed any light on this?
Seems like this would be a good place to share some info.

I’ve been told some of the rocker switches were over-heating and staying in the “on” position. Obviously that’s not a safe situation so Strikemaster is recalling all of them to make sure nobody gets hurt. I’ve not had it happen on my auger and haven’t run into anyone else that has either but given the seriousness of the issue I think Strikemaster’s “better safe than sorry” approach is justified.

Thanks James, I appreciate your time. Mine has worked fine, I’ll wait to hear from SM and hopefully once they get it straightened out it’s just a matter of a new switch install.

In the meantime I’ll be using it this evening!

just curious, say you have a battery at full charge and the switch won’t turn the unit off, how long will the thing run till the battery is drained?

Not impressed, just ruined my season??? I thought highly of this auger. Guess i’ll have to go to the green model.

Castle-Rock-Clown,
To infinity and beyond.

I have not had any issues at all !!
As a matter of fact this is the first I have heard of this it !!

My BIL had his lithium lazer switch melt on him, he was able to stop it by switching the main power button on the motor cover. At the time, I believe his was the 2nd reported failure.

From what ive been told from normark canada its a government mandatory recall??

rayc wrote:

From what ive been told from normark canada its a government mandatory recall??

well for something that can start on fire and burn a truck/garage/house down, I’d say that’s reason enough for a mandatory recall…

rayc wrote:

Not impressed, just ruined my season??? I thought highly of this auger. Guess i’ll have to go to the green model.

I went with the ION this year and its great! Matter of fact is amazing! drilled 44 holes throught 16″ and could have drilled more. My father-in-law likes it too and is thinking of switching next season.

I just hung up with Strikemaster. There doing a full recall on these. The retailers are aware and was told to return it for a full refund.

He was great to deal with.

With the season getting older and the ice getting thicker and blades starting to wear the draw on the motor and switches is probably increasing especially on 8″ models. Replacing the switch after redesign should be simple. I hope people here with the Lithiums have other options till the end of the season. It sounds like Strikemaster will do the right thing, it’s just a matter of logistics.

belletaine wrote:

I just hung up with Strikemaster. There doing a full recall on these. The retailers are aware and was told to return it for a full refund.

Still inside your 30 day window?

Zach Peterson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>belletaine wrote:</div>
I just hung up with Strikemaster. There doing a full recall on these. The retailers are aware and was told to return it for a full refund.

Still inside your 30 day window?

Haha! It’s funny you mention that! I sold the Eskimo to my very good friend and won’t call that in. I just ordered another Shark Z51 8″. Should have it tomorrow or monday. That Z51 never let me down! This whole fiasco will cost me about $40.

What should I do? Call me them and ask for a switch? How does this work, I’m not giving up the auger. I just want a new switch if possible. Any ideas?

I’m in the same boat Jaxson. I haven’t had any issues with the rocker switch sticking. Plus if the battery is disconnected when stored would it still short out? Doesn’t seem to be any info about this anywhere other than here

are they going to refund our money?

Like I stated above, they are recalling the augers. They’re not replacing the switches yet as they don’t have new ones to install.
Strkemaster informed me that ALL retailers that sold them have been notified and will take them back. If for logistical reasons you can’t get them back to the original store let strikemaster know and they will send you a UPS shipping label and absorb all shipping costs.

Strkemaster: 953-933-7060. I spoke with Chris and he was great to deal with.

Yes, it’s a full refund.

I didn’t have any problems with mine either but I’m not going to wait for it to happen. I’m just returning it and moving on. It’s just an auger and not worth getting injured over. That’s just me.

Also remember if you didn’t submit your warranty paperwork they don’t know you own one.

This is really frustrating to hear. I think quality control with Marcum and Strikemaster has been garbage this year!

I own several Marcum flashers and have owned strikemaster augers for years, but since they have been bought out things are getting ridiculous.

The scheels store in Fargo will only order Marcum products for you do to the amount of stuff they have had to send back this year. My buddy bought a Marcum camera this year took it out fishing and the lens on the camera was cracked in the box. He returned that one and got about 10 days of fishing out of the next one before the lens cracked again. He took it back to scheels and they gave him his money back and told him they didn’t even want to order him another one do to all the issues they have had.

I want to clarify my statement about the whole “fiasco” costing me $40.
Dealing with SM wasn’t a fiasco, they were great. I sold my Eskimo to a friend, ordered the Lithium, found out about the recall and ordered another Eskimo. The FW just kinda rolled her eyes…

My only regret was breaking my rule of not buying a first year product.
They’ll figure it out.

It must not be happening too much, I haven’t heard of it till now and I have been constantly looking over reviews. I own two, 1 hasn’t been used yet, and the other about 100 holes, no problem with that one yet. I’ll be happy if they credit and then you can buy new ones with new good switches for the same price when they have it worked out.

I went with the Ion last winter and it’s a really solid auger. If you compare very closely, I think you’ll find it’s made more robust than the electric strikemaster. It might not be quite as fast, or have all the fan fare, but it’s built like a brick sh*thouse. That’s what I needed after broken plastic handles, etc on my one and only strikmaster auger I owned previously.

to_setter wrote:

I went with the Ion last winter and it’s a really solid auger. If you compare very closely, I think you’ll find it’s made more robust than the electric strikemaster. It might not be quite as fast, or have all the fan fare, but it’s built like a brick sh*thouse. That’s what I needed after broken plastic handles, etc on my one and only strikmaster auger I owned previously.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Ion Todd, I love the idea of a lithium powered auger and plan on buying the Ion to go with the gas unit. When I first got the SM I posted my only concern was sacrificing durability to create a lighter unit.

to_setter wrote:

I went with the Ion last winter and it’s a really solid auger. If you compare very closely, I think you’ll find it’s made more robust than the electric strikemaster. It might not be quite as fast, or have all the fan fare, but it’s built like a brick sh*thouse. That’s what I needed after broken plastic handles, etc on my one and only strikmaster auger I owned previously.

I agree, I didn’t like the feel of the Strikemaster, i’m sure it cuts holes just fine, but it felt cheap to me, flimsy plastic everywhere…just my opinion, happy with my Ion…

holmsvc wrote:

This is really frustrating to hear. I think quality control with Marcum and Strikemaster has been garbage this year!

I own several Marcum flashers and have owned strikemaster augers for years, but since they have been bought out things are getting ridiculous.

The scheels store in Fargo will only order Marcum products for you do to the amount of stuff they have had to send back this year. My buddy bought a Marcum camera this year took it out fishing and the lens on the camera was cracked in the box. He returned that one and got about 10 days of fishing out of the next one before the lens cracked again. He took it back to scheels and they gave him his money back and told him they didn’t even want to order him another one do to all the issues they have had.

I posed this same quality argument earlier this year with the Pancam debacle and got lots of replies against it….I’ve been a long time Marcum supporter and own many of their products, but with all the posts this season about problems it’s obvious things have gone down hill from a quality standpoint…and the only thing that’s changed since last year was the Rapala partnership/ownership/whatever you want to call it…for some reason quality corner’s are being cut either from a lack of focus or told to be cut from a budget standpoint…if it’s the latter, that’s a quick way to go out of business…

The Lithium Lazer has the same feel of the gas models. Maybe not the lightest electric, but very solid. I have several buddies (4 or 5) That own the Lithium Lazer and a couple are considering skipping the recall as they have had no issues and love the darn thing. I don’t condone that, but I have yet to come across an owner that has complaints.

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