Solo ice auger - I'm having trouble start.ing - Help

[Winona Ice]

My 2hp solo starts in 2-3 pulls every time, even in -20. You guys have my worried that I will start having issues in the future. I prime 1 or 2 times pull will full choke, if it fires take choke off and it starts next pull.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I don't have a Solo so I don't know their habits. I do know, however, that I'm way too old and impatient to pull any rope more than 5 times to start it. After 5 or so pulls if nothing happens I give it a quick shot of ether and that seems to solve the problem.

[Juan Grande]

Yeah, I agree that each auger is unique and you kind of have to figure out the tricks to get it to work right. I just never figured mine out

[harvey lee]

Solo auger started every time this am on less than 3 pulls. Don't worry Winona, my Solo is 5-6 years old and has been used a ton and works great every trip out even in sub zero temps.

[793bob]

Harvey are you priming yours in the start position or in the run.would you take the air filter out and give it a shot of ether straight into the carb.my shoulder is getting tired.anyone use opti oil no amsoil where I live.

[fishingstar]

If you are using ether on that little two stoke you might as well go buy a new one now because it isn't going to last very long.

[gonehunting]

793bob. I see you have owned a 3hp Solo and now a 2 and 2.5 hp Solo. You blew up the 3hp and now these two don't start. Hard to believe you have three Solos that would all have the same problem. We started fishing Lake Winnipeg three years ago. Our group has 5 Strikemaster Lazer Pros and we have never had any problems. I would try changing out plugs, pull air filter to dry over night, and go online to find the starting instructions from Strikemaster.

[793bob]

I mixed the 3hp power with opti oil at 100:1 my mistake and it blew up so I bought a new 2hp from reeds last February .i had a spare shaft so I just bought the 2.5 engine from d rock to have as a spare.i.ve changed plugs and followed the instructions .my 3hp used to start in 4 or 5 pulls.-24c today neither auger would fire.

[CaptainMusky]

First off make sure you either have fuel stabilizer that is mixed with the oil or put it in separately. I prefer to run a little bit of seafoam. It stabilizes fuel and it also keeps from icing up. For oil I am just running Stihl full synthetic mixed at one of those little bottles to 1 gallon of gas. I think its 40:1 but definitely not like the 80:1 some of these guys do with amsoil.

To me the starting sequence is the most important thing next. Switch to run, lever to start and then prime 3 or 4 times if its been sitting. Decompression button pushed in and pull. Repeat decompression button and pull two more times. If it fires (doesn't need to stay running) flip the leverfrom start to run and pull again. Should fire right up.

If you have pulled more than 3 times and it hasn't fired I prime a couple more times and pull again.

I usually never have a problem starting it but my buddy has tried and flooded it miserably. Its the technique. And turn from start to run when it fires.

[Lusid]

Not my brand of auger, but I've noticed that over flooding the engine with lots of mixed oil/gas will result in a terrible experience.

When I let the auger sit for 4+ months it turned into a bear to start, so i primed and primed by accident and overflooded the filter area..

So I've adjusted my starting technique.

This is for the auger in the sig on how I start the machine.

1. Put to Run mode, click on

2. Rip cord once

3. Prime bulb once, move to full choke

4. Rip cord 2-3 times

5. No fire? Move choke to run prime bulb.

6. Rip cord 2-3 times

7. no fire? move choke to run prime bulb

8. Rip cord OMG it's alive! Adjust choke

9. Idle then cut some holes!

Moral of the story is don't blindly prime the bulb and then try starting the motor. Introduce small amounts of fuel/oil mixture then pull in baby steps.

[DTro]

no matter what I do, after it fires on choke and I move it to the run position, and then pull again, it starts and then runs for about 3-5 seconds then it dies.

 

The only way I have found to make it work is to try and feather the choke after it starts and runs that first time.  Even then it still might die on me though, and at that point, I don’t know if I need to choke it or not and then it might flood after all the messing around. 

 

No doubt about it, they are finicky and each one seems to react a bit different.  I still love the thing though and it cuts like a beast

[NoWiser]

no matter what I do, after it fires on choke and I move it to the run position, and then pull again, it starts and then runs for about 3-5 seconds then it dies.

 

The only way I have found to make it work is to try and feather the choke after it starts and runs that first time.  Even then it still might die on me though, and at that point, I don’t know if I need to choke it or not and then it might flood after all the messing around. 

 

That's exactly how mine works when it's running "good." You can try to find that sweet spot on the choke after the second pull, but it very rarely works and usually takes a couple more after that. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I only fished a handful of spots in a day. It's not uncommon for me to fish 20+ spots in a day and that can be 60 extra pulls, which aren't that hard, but not exactly easy with the 3 hp Solo.

That's when it's running good. When it decides to quit like it did last year in the middle of my trip, no amount of pulling, warming it up, or anything will work.

Other than that the thing sure is an animal, though, the way it tears through the ice. I don't think there is anything out there that I would trade it for. I've just accepted that it will take more pulls and I need to carry a carb kit with me whenever I'm fishing.

[CaptainMusky]

Dtro I sometimes have to feather the choke too when first starting. I let it idle and when it seems like its gonna die I give it a blip of the choke and it smooths right out. I always let it warm up for a while before I hit the throttle. One thing to check guys is the vent line into the tank. Does your line come up above the gas level in the tank? I have mine coming almost out the filler cap. Since I replaced my lines I have had less of a hard time starting.

[gonehunting]

Dtro, I think you may be on to something. These have a ventless gas cap and the line in the tank is the breather. I had problems when I filled the gas too full. On the other hand, the first year I owned the auger I drained the gas as the manual stated for dry storage. The diaphragm dried out and it needed a carb kit. Strikemaster warranty did cover that. Mine has always started on three pulls. However once it requires feathering of the throttle I believe it is either the carb or breather. They should idle on their own.

[Hoey]

I got a Solo powerhead late last year and used it a couple of times at late ice and do not recall any issues. But this year I am having the problems as described in this message string and it has been cold out there. Thank you all for the tips and ideas on this as I have not figured it out yet other than it is cold blooded and needs a warm-up minute or so.

[DTro]

I will also add that once I do get it to start and I feather the choke back and forth to keep it running it will idle perfectly fine. Just a bit of fiddling around until it warms up.

You would think it could be like most 2 strokes. You full choke, prime if needed and pull till it starts, run for a few seconds until it starts bogging a bit and then flip choke over to run. That is how any other 2 stroke I've owned ran.

[CaptainMusky]

Dtro my Stihl chainsaw runs the same way as this solo does. Since it took some getting used to there I think that has helped me more and why some people have more problems than others.

I personally think primers are a bad idea overall. I would just rather have a choke.

[FISHINGURU]

5 pulls this morning in -15 weather or so, only 2nd time I have started it this season.

This time I just primed it 5 times, put it on full choke, pulled 4 times it popped off ran for a few seconds and died, I flipped it to run and gave it 1 more pull.