strikemaster,honda 4-stroke

[alski]

anybody try one out yet? Would like some feed-back on them.Debating on what auger to buy.

[bigblue]

Just bought one haven"t tried it yet but I have the same engine on my garden tiller it is sweet . The weight on my old auger was killing me .

[Boker001]

Just bought one and used it Sunday. I hope it requires a break in period because it was a semi hard starter even after the initial first go. It bogged down and died at least 3 times cutting 6 holes through 4" of ice. I even let it idle a few mins before starting. Nice quiet idle though.

[GatorBait]

Any updates to the use of this auger. I'm getting one this week and boker's experience wasn't what i wanted to read. Let me know, thanks.

[gonehunting]

I can't speak from experience but there have been some other posts regarding the Honda and problems with the throttle cable. I am a diehard strikemaster fan but am holding off on this one. I am very happy with my Strikemaster Lazer Pro with the Solo motor. Had one idling issue the other day but must have gotten some moisture in the air filter. Put it in the house over night and was fine the next day. That things screams through the ice.

[Brad B]

I don't personally have one but was looking at one at fleet farm. I had heard about the throttle cable issue so I was working the throttle on the display model and you could tell it was binding and then it did finally pop off the connection where it hooks to the carb. Until they redesign how they run the cable I would stay away from this auger. if that problem is fixed then yes I would consider spending the money and get one but until then I won't.

[JuanArellano]

Just bought one and used it Sunday. I hope it requires a break in period because it was a semi hard starter even after the initial first go. It bogged down and died at least 3 times cutting 6 holes through 4" of ice. I even let it idle a few mins before starting. Nice quiet idle though.

you might have put to much oil in it. I would check that out, when I was testing them 2 season ago that what happened. they fix it and it ran well.

[vexilareye]

Thought I would give an update on my experience with this auger. I purchased the auger a few weeks ago. Initial startup was great. Fired in just 3 pulls. Love the quiet idle. Took it out to the lake to drill a few holes and experienced the same issues Boker had above. Would get about halfway through 10" or ice and it would start to die. Went home a little disappointed. Finally got the auger back out on Sunday night to set the permy. Auger sat in the cold for over a week and started in 5-6 pulls. Let the motor idle and after a min or so I started to drill. The auger cut all 7 holes through 14" of ice without an issue. Was very impressed and love the fact there were no fumes in the house. Overall I am loving this auger. Light weight and no mixing fuel.

A few others have commented on issues with the throttle cable but I haven't had any troubles with this.

[HardwaterHero]

Purchased this unit the 21st of December to go on a fishing trip in northern MN. Filled with high octane fuel and the recommended oil. Filled it to recommended levels. Started it in 5 pulls. Love how quiet it idles and the low/no exhaust. Headed north where we had below zero mornings and single digit days. I was not impressed with how tough it starts. It became the running joke on how many pulls it would take to start. 20-25 was the average. once it took 33. I wasn't very happy with a brand new unit. On top of this, it would kill if you would let off the throttle when it was wide open. I would let it warm up and it would get better but this should have been something looked into before product launch. I am returning mine for a 2 stroke strikemaster. Unless someone can inform me why it starts this hard in cold temps.

[Scott K]

Do they recommend high octane fuel for it? If not, I would bet that is your problem.

[Timberfaller]

Used our Honda Lite on LOW last week. Started and idled great even at -15. We did have the issue of killing mid cut at full throttle. It would cut with out killing at half throttle though. Seemed to make no difference whether we let it warm up 5 minutes or 1 minute. My quess is moisture in the air filter or carb as it would run fine after we kept it in the ice house to warm up and dry out.

[northerndave]

Octane and compression ratio go hand and hand, high compression needs high octane to prevent compression detonation.

Not necessary for these little engines. Now if you can find a pump that sells non oxygenated (no ethanol) that's a nice thing to do for your small engines.

But high octane... doesn't necessarily mean you are doing a good thing for your engine.

[HardwaterHero]

True. And I used 91 instead of 87/89. would this cause it to not start in the cold?

[northerndave]

I'm not certain about that, but it does sound like a cold weather/lean issue.

With ethanol, the more corn juice %, the more fuel volume you need to kick that piston around. And a non efi engine can't adjust for that.

Maybe try some non oxygenated stuff next time around. It's way better for storing in the off season too.

In MN the gov has decided for us that we need a certain % of ethanol in our pump gas (lucky us).

But look for pumps that are marked "small engines and antique or collector cars only"

That's the good stuff.

[Scott K]

With low compression engines, high octane fuel burns slower, and when it is really cold out, may actually not ignite fast enough, and leave a residue in the combustion chamber, and causing the fuel not to atomize as easy. I would recommend running a couple tanks of regular fuel through it to break it in, and then see how it works. In fact, I would fill the tank with regular fuel, then go cut a couple hundred holes, then refill again, and see how it works then.

[BartmanMN]

If it is like the strikelite you should have a wire throttle cable that has a screw that tightens down on it. Loosen that screw and pull a tiny bit more wire down and tighten the screw back down. This will give it a little more throttle at starting and idling. If you how to much, the auger bit will turn and you don't want that. This should help your starting and idle issues.

[20lbSloughShark]

doesn't it scare anyone that a 4 stroke is the "light" choice over the 2 strokes. I wont even try one for fear of blowing it up.

[bowtie]

I have gone through 3 of the plastic bits on my strile lite in 6 years but that 4 stroke never has faltered even a little. Literally thousands of holes and never once having to mix gas. Sign me up for a honda when this one dies in 10 or 20 years.

[Poutmaster]

I've had mine out a few times. No issues. Let it warm up for 2 minutes each time. I made sure the oil level was correct. I filled it with non-ox gas. Took 5-6 easy pulls to start. Super quite and smooth idle. Cut about a dozen holes through 10 inches of iceeach time. No issues. Haven't tried it below zero yet. I'm impressed with it.

[Boker001]

Used mine for the 2nd time up at URL. Works like a dream now. Must have needed a few hole break in period. Its definitely a cold starter sometimes but I used to have to air out my perm for 20 mins with my old auger and after 6 holes with the honda through 16" of ice I could barely tell I even drilled. Also drills 16" of ice in about 5 secs. My old one with newer blades I almost had to lay on it to get enough downward force to cut.

[northerndave]

I tried a brand new one last weekend, cut the first hole with it. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th...

It was flawless. A very nice unit.

[guyonacouch]

I bought this auger last week. It was $60 off at Male Goose Mountain and I was in the market for a new auger, so I pulled the trigger. I've drilled 30-40 holes through 30" of ice on two separate trips now and not being sore from hauling this light auger around through 15" of snow has made me really happy with it over my old Jiffy. It cuts really smooth and it's as fast as any I've ever seen. However, both days I did experience the problems mentioned above where it would bog down and want to die. It eventually worked its way out of the funk and ran fine both times, but it was annoying when it happened. I called Strikemaster today and talked to a technician; he said they've heard that happen a few times and 90% of the time it's because the gas cap is not venting correctly. He told me to check and see if the cap sounded like a soda bottle opening, and sure enough, it was obviously not venting properly. I asked if there was fix or if I needed a new cap, but he said that I might just need to crack the cap if I run into the problem again. If this doesn't fix the problem, a trip to a service center would be free of charge, but I do know that if this motor doesn't work out, I'll be getting another Strikemaster.

[bigblue]

Happy with my Honda Regular gas prime the bulb ,choke, it starts let it run a min. Cuts like butter 19" hard ice . Light no smoke no noise .The only thing I like better is my 18volt ion cold run Bosch with a 6 " Nils drill .

[Transporter]

"doesn't it scare anyone that a 4 stroke is the "light" choice over the 2 strokes. I wont even try one for fear of blowing it up."

I have no fear of it, I'm on my second Strikelite, both Subaru (Robin) engines. Didn't wear the first out, just got a good price on a new one so I sold the first one. However, I do have something that will ease your concerns about blowing an engine that is too light. I have an extra 671 Detroit Diesel 2 stroke diesel that you could adapt to an auger shaft, it would accomodate even a 48" diameter if you want. It is good and heavy, which equals long life, right? You could get a can or two of ether to help with the cold starts, be careful in a house with it, 2 stroke Detroits tend to smoke the place up.

[20lbSloughShark]

With 2-3 times as many moving parts, a 4 stroke should be heavier than a 2 stroke. I'm sure they are fine for some who only expect 10 years out of a motor. I expect my auger to run for at least another 20 years, and its already 30 years old! I would bet money we will not be seeing many 20 year old strikelite's.