Opinions wanted

[Skeets]

I am thinking of replacing my Jiffy Model 30.
Two units come to mind in my choice.
Jiffy Stealth 9" two horse
Strikemaster Lazer Ultra Mag 9" triple blade

Anyone use either/both of these?
Advantages/Disadvantages?
I know I want a 9" hole, more room for float ducer!

Thanks in advance!

[Fishn'Lady]

We have the Strikemaster Lazer 9" 3 blade. We love it. It's like cutting through cold butter with a hot knife. If you could I would try and find people that have these so you could actually compare them side by side. Maybe go to one of the FM.com outings. That way you will know for sure what you want. We have always been Strikemaster people and always will. To each his own though. Good luck!

As far as the float ducer... I would pitch that float in the trash personally, then you will have even more room in the hole.

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Fishn'Lady

[This message has been edited by Fishn'Lady (edited 01-17-2003).]

[BigRoy]

I would go with the strikemaster, they are located north of the cities and their service dept. is awesome!!!!

[nunzio]

Skeets;
I'm a Strikemaster customer.
I own the Lazer Mag Ultra and I'm very happy with my purchase. It bought mine for the hole size. I don't like stepping in the 10" holes. That 8" is too small with the ducer down the hole. the answer for me was the 9".
After the design change on the drill, this auger cuts!
The only drawbacks from my point of view is sharpening/replacing the blades.... a little spendy.

[Dusty]

You know, all you have to do is drill a hole right next to the hole your fishing out of and put your ducer in it. How big of a deal can that be? I do it all the time and have no problems with tangles. You can also put your transducer between your holes and read both your baits at the same time.

[Dano2]

I've dont own one, but have used several times the Strikemaster lazer mag ultra,
its lite and does the job dang good,
but if I had the money right now to go buy one I would get the Jiffy, sure its a 3h.p. and is a little hevier but i personally dont care about that, its actually a little cheaper than the strikemaster here, and their stealth cutting technology and the D-icer armor may sound t like a sales pitch but I think it makes sense , plus have heard from others nothing but good things.
If you buy the strikemaster, pay attention to the bolt that connects to the auger blade shaft, There was a post on this awhile back, and after I read it, sure enough, the one we borrow every once in awhile had a loose bolt,
carry the alen wrench along with you.

[Fish Toys]

This post was on another site, thought you would be interested:

We had two augers with us. One was a brand new, three blade, Strikemaster. That thing was a pain in the a$$. When it cut a hole it was great. It cut so fast it almost sucked you right down. But it iced up so bad that you could cut one hole and than you had to chip and pound the ice off it so you could cut more holes. The other was a 9" cut Strikemaster with the chipper blades. It cut pretty fast and didn't ice up.

We were up there at the same time as Al Lindner and Gary Roach. What a great time.

Just remember that this info came from another site and is not my opinion
"FISH"

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http://www.icesaws.com/

[This message has been edited by Fish Toys (edited 01-18-2003).]

[Tuna]

Skeets
Between Sportsmans Lodge and Arensons, more than likely they drill the most holes than anybody, and they use Jiffy. And you know through the years they try them all. You go buy a Jiffy, store it properly between point A to B and services before you put it away at the end of the year and you won't have to buy another auger. Make a box for your power
head and keep the cover over the teeth. My auger is 14yrs old, I fish alot on LOW, normally using all of my extion,doesn't freeze up and never replace my blade. I've ran a file over the blade two times.
No auger is to heavly unless you have to carry or drag it along ways. If thats the case the ice is thin or maybe always thin, then use a hand auger.

[Norco]

Im from Saskatchewan Canada and most everyone uses Jiffy Augers up here. It gets extremly cold up here and have never had a problem with my Jiffy. Only problems I ever hear of are carb setting which are simple to remedy with a screw driver. I have never owned a strikemaster but I stand behind Jiffy as a solid product, tested by the arctic winds

[fivebucks]

I've had a Jiffy for about 20 years. I think I've changed plugs 1 or 2 times and that's about all I've done. Not sure what model mine is but it just keeps on working.

[iffwalleyes]

I have a Jiffy Model 30 it is over 20 years old. I know that when I buy another it is going to be a stealth. Regular maintenance and it will last for ever. I am wishing my Jiffy would blow up so I could buy a new one but it keeps going and there is no point in getting a new one when the one I have runs just fine. I once out drilled a guy with a strikemaster 2000 I believe 5 holes to 1.5. I put a sharpened blade on it every year and run stabilized gas through it all year and at the end of the season I run it out of gas and it works great. You might have some carb problems intital because when the motors are put under a load they run a little differently. Plus the cold might affect it till you get it set. Both brands have this problem though. Back when I worked in a small engine shop I saw 2 to 3 times as many strikemaster as I did Jiffys. Also when you sharpen the blades it will cost 3 times as much to sharpen the strikemasters with the three blades. I know that you will have to sharpen the strikemaster more often as well. Good Luck with your decision I know what mine would be. I agree with Tuna all resorts at LOW that I go out of run Jiffys.

[This message has been edited by iffwalleyes (edited 01-22-2003).]

[Bushwacker]

I bought the Jiffy Stealth 9" 3hp a month ago. It is honestly one purchase that I have not regretted one single second since I made it. It cuts great through anykind of ice and reopens holes inside of fishhouses with ease. Highly recommended!! I do have the 3hp, but the way it rips through the ice, I would guess the 2 hp would still cut great. I personally like the 3hp. I have carried it across the lake cutting holes fairly easily, and I am not a giant by any means. Good luck and have fun.

[deadeye]

I have had my two horse lazer for three years now with no problems. I love it because it cuts faster than my friends 3 horse jiffy and weighs less. I have never had any problems starting it even with the temps down to -20. Just run the gas out at the end of the year and change the plug at the begining of each season. I also use a little sea-foam in the first and last tank of gas each year to clean everything out and she runs like a top.