Wheel House Auger Discussion

Just got a new 8×16 Yetti shell that hopefully will be finished by the time hard water season starts. My current auger is an Eskimo z71. It cuts ice like butter but throws off an amazing amount of exhaust (understandable for 71cc’s). I can barely withstand cutting 8 holes in my old hub shack without my eyes watering and lungs burning. That being said, I’m looking for a new auger for my Yetti. I’m keeping the Eskimo so this auger will only have one job of staying inside the wheel house (warm and with a generator always running).

Here is my question, what do you guys use or recommend I should get? I want a 10″ for sure (not concerned about weight so much, bigger holes are nicer to fish out of, and less re-drilling if holes start freezing in). I’ve mostly been looking at the Ion but not a whole lot of reviews on the 10″ and having to purchase the 10″ auger as an accessory sucks and it worries me that Ion themselves aren’t confident the 10″ performs well (and is actually bad for the life of the motor/battery).

That being said, what do you think would be the best auger for strictly a wheel house or permanent shack? Any suggestions/input would be much appreciated!

Last year I used a buddy’s 10″ Ion to drill out a few holes in his house through the season. I was surprised how well it worked but for me the 10″ is a bit too much in the late season when the ice is thick, all the chips from the 10″ and thick was a big difference from drilling early season with only 12″ of ice. I will just re drill daily if I must with an 8″.

The kicker for me was the reverse, I did not even get one scoop of slush out of the hole after reversing the slush down the hole. It was AMAZING. And the slush did not come up other holes.

I will be buying an ION with reverse this season for my wheel house.

Jiffy Propane works great in my shack. Plenty of power with the 10 1/4″. No need to vent any fumes whatsoever. Its HEAVY, but your not concerned with weight. The jiffy will rip holes open very quickly. (also outperforms the battery operated when re-opening last weekends holes) I bought the ICE HOUSE handle accessory. So you can get right into the corners with no problems. No chargers no gas no problems

sktrwx2200 wrote:

No need to vent any fumes whatsoever.

That is SOOOOO WRONG!!!!!
Propane produces just as much Carbon monoxide as gasoline fuel. Carbon monoxide is ODERLESS so it is not obnoxious but will kill you just the same.

Gasoline engines can be a blessing because the obnoxious fumes may drive you outdoors in time before the Carbon monoxide can kill you. Propane will not drive you outside but kills you just as quick.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) is responsible for almost 25% of all propane related fatalities.

I don’t have a wheel house, but I have an ion. I like being able to throw it in the back seat of my truck and not have to worry about it leaking or stinking up the cab. Nice if you leave your shack on the lake

I had an Eskimo z51 when I bought my first wheelhouse. Lots of smoke and it leaked gas. I tried a Ion next. I thought it drilled slow, especially when the ice got thick late in the season. Also it didn’t have a centering bit so it would dance around when you started drilling. It was kind of a pain, in a wheel house you want the holes where you want them not where they end up. I sold the Eskimo and Ion and bought a propane Jiffy. It was the heavy one and it got heavy after drilling all the holes out. And it set the CO /  propane detector off.  My buddy bought a Honda 4 stroke. I tried it and was impressed. It drills quick, is lite weight, and doesn’t set the detector off. I sold the Jiffy and bought a Honda. I have the 8”. I really like the Honda. I drill the holes with the house up, set the house down in the slush piles, put the hole sleeves in, run the Slush Copter, and start fishing. The only thing about the Honda is it is a little cold blooded if it is below zero. I just turn the furnace on when I get to the lake and set the auger by it. Then it fires right up.

Enjoy your wheel house. Post some pictures when you get it done.

if you just want it for the wheel house and are keeping your eskimo you could look at the Strike Master Big Volt.

holmsvc – I would consider something like that since I’ll have at least one big battery inside the shack. Only problem is I believe SM discontinued the BigVolt and currently only have 8″ available on their website. Everywhere else is sold out.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>sktrwx2100 wrote:</div>
No need to vent any fumes whatsoever.

That is SOOOOO WRONG!!!!!
Propane produces just as much Carbon monoxide as gasoline fuel. Carbon monoxide is ODERLESS so it is not obnoxious but will kill you just the same.

Gasoline engines can be a blessing because the obnoxious fumes may drive you outdoors in time before the Carbon monoxide can kill you. Propane will not drive you outside but kills you just as quick.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) is responsible for almost 25% of all propane related fatalities.

By the time you bring your auger outside and get everything ready to go The Carbon monoxide detector rarely even reads non safe levels. The carbon monoxide is gone with one open of the door, Gas fumes from 2 stroke will be there hours and I found that it absorbed into the bedding and furniture.

Dave how many Carbon monoxide deaths are from the use of a propane auger??? I bet none, Its not like you are running it for hours with everything sealed up. Heater/Lanterns account for all of Cmonoxide ice fishing deaths. The uses are way different.

sktrwx2200 wrote:

No need to vent any fumes whatsoever.

The carbon monoxide is gone with one open of the door

First you say “No need to vent any fumes whatsoever.” Then several post later, you say “The carbon monoxide is gone with one open of the door”. Why would you make the first statement, if in fact you are indeed venting by opening the door? Propane produces carbon monoxide plain and simple, venting out the carbon monoxide is a safety requirement. Please do not mislead folks with statements which simply are not true.

Ok Dave,
definition of Fumes
FUMES
noun
plural noun: fumes
1.
gas, smoke, or vapor that smells strongly.
“clouds of exhaust fumes spewed by cars”

not sure on how an odorless gas fits under that definition.

After I am done drilling my holes……. I open the door to put the auger outside. Am I allowed to do that? No need to vent FUMES, because there is no odor.

From the Jiffy Manual:

ABOUT PROPANE-FUELED EQUIPMENT
1. Use propane fueled equipment only in well ventilated
areas. When propane burns, it creates carbon monoxide,
a colorless, odorless gas. Breathing carbon monoxide for
an extended period of time may be harmful or fatal.

Keep your door open, end of discussion.

I purchased a SM electric last year. It has an 8″ auger. I love it for what I do and for you I think it would work well. It comes with an adapter to hook up to a 12V battery if you need to. It can be connected to your truck battery if that would work better. It DOES cut slower than my old gas auger, but I sure like the fact I don’t mess with any gas/oil etc. I run it with the regular battery that I also use with my depth finder. I just rotate with 4 batteries to make sure I always have one charged up. With your situation with having a warm house, I think a truck 12V would work great.

Just for the Fish house? I would suggest the Jiffy Propane. Then you always have a back up for your gas auger. They work great!

Just something to ponder on the emissions from the propane auger. How many ice houses these days have stoves/ovens in them. They both burn propane so why would an auger burning propane be any different? Sure, both will produce carbon monoxide, but it shouldn’t be something of great concern (specially if you crack a window/door).

I did email Ion questioning their 10″ auger capabilities and got nothing but answers you would receive from a politician running for office (avoiding the real question, shady, and worthless). I questioned if they would sell just a powerhead unit and I could buy the 10″ as an accessory so I didn’t have to mess around with selling the 8″. For some reason this simple request seemed outrageous to their marketing/sales team. After that conversation I felt that if I did have any problems with the Ion that it would be a royal pain to get fixed.

After hearing your responses and doing some research of my own I think I’m going to get the Eskimo HC40 propane auger when it gets closer to the season. The reason I’m getting it over a Jiffy is because I already have an eskimo z71 10″ so if I get an HC40 8″ both the blades and extension will be interchangeable. Another thing I noticed is that while the Eskimo may be a tad slower drilling holes than the Jiffy, it doesn’t spray ice/water all over the place which would make a mess inside a wheel house. Id rather spend the extra 10 seconds per hole drilling instead of waiting for my heater to dry out the floor and having wet slippers haha.

Pretty early for auger wars to start. Maybe we can all just cut and paste this thread the rest of the year when things get heated? Just my 2 cents but I’m an ION guy, zero complaints. An extra couple seconds to drill a clean hole with no scooping or cleaning the ice off the carpet in a warm hose is priceless and no big deal.

Boss Hawg – I agree! I was just about to order up an Ion but their customer representative was a total pain to work with. I clearly explained I wasn’t interested in an 8″ auger and asked if they could just sell me the powerhead without the 8″ or if I could give them the difference in cost between the 8″ and the 10″ auger ($15) and they can keep the 8″. She would not work with me at all with the issue so I decided to take my money elsewhere (customer is always right ha). I’m not going to go drop $580 on an auger and then have to buy a $170 “accessory”. It would be a different story if I actually wanted the 8″ auger, but to me it is pointless and I don’t want to do business with a company that isn’t willing to work with their customers. The sad part is Eskimo and Ion are owned by the same company. I have found customer service is much better with Eskimo though for some reason.

I have to think the clean floor thing goes away with the 10 inch even with an Ion. That’s a lot of ice to bring up if it’s more than a foot or so thick, but the alternative is even worse, a 10 inch gas or propane auger will make you need a shovel to get it picked up. I’ve learned to live with the 8 inch Ion, would like a 9 if I could wave a magic wand but that won’t happen.

I always drill 10″holes in my house and never get a mess on the floor, you just have to be a little careful how you do it and drop the house down as you drill, really easy once you do it a bunch.

You must take your house home everyday or do you raise the house after a couple days of not being there each time? Mine usually sits in a spot for a while. Regardless, even the 8 inch Ion brings up a lot of ice when it’s 2-3 feet thick. Way better than the alternatives though.

I very rarely fish the same spot, even if I take 15 minutes to move the house 100yds, fresh fish, more action in my experience, I might go back to the same rock pile after a couple weeks, but very rarely back to back nights, second night always is a let down no matter how good the first.