Auger Pro 4- Propane

[Ryan_V]

anyone know if you'll be able to get them with ice house handles??? my next auger needs to have those!

[IcePro]

As of know the Pro 4 only comes with the standard handle. I have talked with Jiffy and they are looking into the comfort grip handle (i.e. Ice House Handle).

[headcheese]

saw these at gander mountain today... they had the regular handles. interesting, but probably not for me. I bet its probably better than an electric though if people are worried about drilling in wheelhouses.

[MuskieJunkie]

according to a retailers HSOforum, the unit weighs in at only 25#'s. Not sure what a "regular" auger weighs....

Where did you find that? I'm seriously considering getting one but cabelas site says it's 38lbs (in which case I would just stick with my current auger).

Most augers are in the low 30s. The lazer Pro and strike lite are high 20s.

[cold one sd]

From what I read, they are supposed to weigh 30% less than the 2 strokes. I don't know the actual weight.

[Northlander]

Im a NIls guy but after running one for a bit I was impressed with everything about this auger except for the weight of course.

[Lve2fsh]

Our ice fishing season here is maybe 3 months long if I only want to drive 500 mile round trips. Longer if I drive a 1200 mile round trip. The wilcraft should make getting out on thinner ice possible and extend the season some. We can get by with hand augers most of the time but powered ones are a nice option. Between the gas in the atv, generator in the trailer, lawn mowers, tillers and such having one more item that I have to worry about gumming up carbs on isn't a nice thing. So this propane one might be a good idea for someone who doesn't always keep up on maintenance. Of course finding $500 laying around for another toy that doesn't get used year round won't be easy.

[Bottle Fish]

[Turkeynate1]

I had a chance to get my hands on one of the propane units up at Scheels yesterday. First impressions: The thing is noticeably heavy and that was without the propane tank attached. I compared back and forth with the comparable 4-stroke unit from strikemaster the strikelite 2. It was not even a close comparison.

For $50 more you could have the strikelite 2 and not have to mix gas plus it’s at least 2 lbs lighter maybe even more. I’d like to get them both on a scale to see the true weight difference once loaded with gas and a propane tank on the jiffy.

I couldn’t imaging trudging through the snow carrying the jiffy pro 4. Needless to say I was a little disappointed with the weight of the unit. Maybe if Jiffy changed their handles up and went to a lighter handle this would help.

The other thing I do not like is the amount of 1lb canisters that will be polluting our land and landfills. We have a ton of that already with the heaters today, this just adds more. I know this unit is trying to push no smell/less noise and environmentally friendly emissions however it ends up causing more garbage that we do not need.

Cost comparison between the 1lb cylinders vs. 1lb of gas is almost a wash. The 1lb cyl run anywhere from $2.65 - $3 and gas is around $2.60. So really I don’t see an advantage either way there other than the amount of holes you can drill but without any experience with that I cannot say.

I guess I was left a little disappointed in the Pro 4. Great idea in theory, but just not in practicality. I see this being a good auger for permanent houses but not a run and gun guy. Go check out the unit for yourself and make your own decisions.

This was just my .02 for whatever it’s worth.

[MuskieJunkie]

I’d like to get them both on a scale to see the true weight difference once loaded with gas and a propane tank on the jiffy.

According to The world's foremost outfitters HSOforum

SM Striklite II - 23 lbs (I'm guessing that's the lightest auger out there)

Jiffy Pro 4 - 38 lbs.

[tsande00]

38 pounds is pretty darn heavy for an auger. Wow. I have never used a Jiffy. Are they all that heavy?

[JuanArellano]

I have played around a little with this thing and i have to say that this thing is still a tank over 30lbs thats just not worth the back hurting after a long day on the ice.

[MuskieJunkie]

My jiffy STX is 36 lbs and yea that's a lot. If you drill a lot of holes and walk to each one it takes it's toll. If you fish out of your truck or an ATV maybe it's not an issue.

It's not a deal killer as it's not THAT hard to handle the extra 10-15 lbs but it is something to consider when purchasing a $500 auger IMO.

[Esox_Magnum]

My Nils is 20 pounds, cant imagine having to carry 2 around. I know Jiffy claims good to -20 but I think stumper did his own little test in a freezer and results were not great. Maybe he will post his findings.

[ryan p]

The other guestion is, do they have the power when you have 30 inches of ice. The new Strikemaster Pro Lazers have a ton of power and only weigh 26lbs with a 3 horsepower motor.

[IcePro]

The Jiffy Pro 4 is a 4 stroke OHV. 4 Stoke OHV engines have more power and torque than 2-cycle engines, 30+ inches of ice...no problem.

[dorskh]

Well i was stoked to buy a pro 4...brought it up to big winnie this weekend and thats where my happiness ended. First off the thing sounded like it was going to blow up. then it started spinning fast without me even touching the throttle!! this was all the night before hitting the ice.. The next morning i brought it out on the ice to have the thing not start. When i finally got it started after 15 minutes it died as soon as i started drilling my first hole...granted it was -10 outside but this thing was rated to -20 i was told.. I was so excited to get this auger as i thought it would be the end to gas smell in my car...needless to say it is back at gander and i am looking at a strikelite 2...Great idea with the jiffy, bad luck....

[AndRo]

I am enjoying mine so far. I have punched about 40 holes on 1 1 lb. cyl so far and still going. I haven't had any issues with it in the cold, it does spend most of its time in my heated garage and in the tub behind me while I'm fishing. All my friends are very envious, and seem to be ready to sell theirs and purchase one. The weight hasn't been an issue for me.

[traveler]

I am enjoying mine so far. I have punched about 40 holes on 1 1 lb. cyl so far and still going. I haven't had any issues with it in the cold, it does spend most of its time in my heated garage and in the tub behind me while I'm fishing. All my friends are very envious, and seem to be ready to sell theirs and purchase one. The weight hasn't been an issue for me.

+ 1

[magicstix]

I know someone that got one an loves it. He just killed his first tank and has drilled a lot of holes. He hasn't had it in real cold weather so no info there. I have to say I wasn't so sure myself when I first heard about the Pro4 but after seeing it and thinking about it more I think its going to be a great product and I wouldn't be surprised if SM follows.

lets face it propane vehicles has been around a long time. Just think no more carb/fuel related problems. Its fairly quiet, it does have a different smell, I wouldn't say its oderless. For the person that doesn't fish all the time or isn't hole hopping, I believe it'll will be a great improvement to the ice world.

I have seen 1 other one that had a bad reg./valve out of the box, but everything made has some problem units. I'm sure Jiffy stepped right up and took care the problem. I bet we'll see more of these next year. I'd almost buy one but its not quite right for my style of fishing. If it weighed 20lbs or less I'd be all over it.

I defineitly agree on the waste part. The litter of tanks[Arrgghh] but not sure how you can stop that.