Propane auger vs ION

[Hazzard]

X2

I had a 2 stroke, sold and bought an Ion, sold that and bought a propane, sold that and bought a Strikemaster with a 4 stroke Honda and couldn't be happier with it. I use it in the wheel house all the time. Sometimes it sets off the smoke alarm but it doesn't set off the CO2 detector.

X3

I have had electric and 2 stroke went to the Robyn Subaru Strikelite and love it. I have the 224 bit on one and lazer on the other. It will start in -30 weather cuts fast and not much fumes. My built in CO2 dector will go off after drilling 5 or 6 holes in 20"+ of ice. Just open the door for a little bit and its fine.

[ClownColor]

COMPLETELY off topic but please keep a window or door open when using a 4 stroke inside your house. It DOES and WILL emit CO...I hate having to go to work at all hours of the night. And please keep the door open for more then a little bit as the half life of CO is around 5.5 hours.

Okay, carry on!

Edited December 4, 2015 by ClownColor

[DLD24]

Can I ask what the hassle is with a gas auger? I keep hearing guys say you don't have to deal with the hassle of gas...I fill up and a one gallon can and add when needed haha.. If you drill a lot of hole don't get the propane them bad boys are heavy...

[brian6715]

There is no way you will get 20 years out of a Lithium Ion battery, you won't even get 10. Lithium Ion's are not designed to be fully discharged, it's incredibly hard on them. If you have two batteries, you must be fully discharging one each trip, or I don't know why you have two. They don't have memory, so recharging them from a partial discharge is a good thing, bringing them to 0% is horrible for them.

You cannot judge a lithium ion battery by it's charging cycles, maybe a probably maintained battery over a short life span will give you 600 charging cycles, but lithium ion batteries do not age well at all, in fact it is a major flaw of the technology.

I'm not trying to argue against the ION, but please do not buy one thinking you will get 5 years out of each battery

[westguy]

maybe the cost of the battery 150$ is offset from gas augers by no carb kits needing replaced and other mechanical breakdowns/ maintenance?

[NoWiser]

I agree that you will not get the 600-800 charge cycles out of the lithium battery.  But, the good thing is that at least you should be able to see it coming when your battery is wearing down and you should have time to buy a new one.  I would prefer that over my Strikemaster Solo where you are 90% sure it will break down on a given trip, but you just don't know if it will be the carb, handle, recoil, clutch, kill switch, or who knows what else.

[ClownColor]

I agree that you will not get the 600-800 charge cycles out of the lithium battery.  But, the good thing is that at least you should be able to see it coming when your battery is wearing down and you should have time to buy a new one.  I would prefer that over my Strikemaster Solo where you are 90% sure it will break down on a given trip, but you just don't know if it will be the carb, handle, recoil, clutch, kill switch, or who knows what else.

LOL...I'm a gas guy and this is too funny AND true...regarding SM of course and especially the handle part, ha ha. I've witnessed quite a few broken handles and about died laughing one day when my buddy snapped his pull cord right off! But until a battery auger can pop 100+ holes and battery prices come down remarkably, I'll stay with my (NON-SM) gas auger. I love my Nils and that if anything should happen to the Tanka power head, I can take the auger off and connect it to the hand crank for emergency use...something ALL gas auger companies should do.

Edited December 4, 2015 by ClownColor

[Hawg]

To get 100 holes out of my Strikemaster I would have to change blades 2, maybe 3 times. Laser blades are just not dependable. Horrible at reopening holes too, that really took out blades fast on mine. Good auger once I bought the chipper blade but it never has made it to the ice since I bought my Ion.

[bobbymalone]

98.4% of pull cord snapping issues and busted recoils are operator error.  

I can't speak for the handle issue that apparently plagues SM, but I can say my 7 year old mag 200 with the tecumseh on top has given me very little troubles.  I give it some PM TLC and try not to bash it around.

Edited December 4, 2015 by bobbymalone

[bobbymalone]

Obviously I just made that up.  But how many times have you seen a busted recoil or a snapped string that wasn't yanked all the way to the stop?  

Yank any pull cord to the stop on any piece of equipment by any manufacturer and you'll eventually break it or the recoil.

Edited December 4, 2015 by bobbymalone

[NoWiser]

98.4% of pull cord snapping issues and busted recoils are operator error.  

I can't speak for the handle issue that apparently plagues SM, but I can say my 7 year old mag 200 with the tecumseh on top has given me very little troubles.  I give it some PM TLC and try not to bash it around.

Not in my case.  The cord on my Solo has never been pulled to the stop.  It blew up on me and, just knowing it would happen again, I ordered a brand new one, plus the parts to fix the old one.  The brand new one lasted about two starts.  Luckily I had the spare that I rebuilt.  It's hard to make a recoil stand up when 97.3% of the time it takes 236 pulls to get the auger started.

I used to be a die-hard Strikemaster guy.  I have a Mag III that's older than I am and works great.  It's one of the more dependable pieces of equipment I have, but can not turn the 10" auger I use for lake trout.  So, I got the big Solo to do the job 4 years ago.  It is, without a doubt, the worst piece of equipment I have ever owned.  On 3 fishing trips in a row last year it left me in the middle of the lake without a working auger.  I've gotten it tuned up by the pros, I've rebuilt the carbs myself, and have done everything in between.  My dad and uncle each have one and have had as much, or more trouble than I have.

Hopefully all of that is in the past.  I bought the bigger Tanaka powerhead last year towards the end of the season and put my Lazer auger on it.  It pulls and starts much easier, is WAY quieter, and is every bit as fast as the Solo pro.  An electric auger would not work for my fishing style (though it would work better than my SM) so hopefully this is the solution to my problem. 

[bobbymalone]

Yah, i've heard those solos are junk along with the handle complaints.  

I'm glad mine has a tecumseh.

[NoWiser]

The Tecumsehs were good engines!  I hope my Tanaka is as reliable as they were.

I do think electric augers are the future, they are just not quite there yet for the way a lot of us fish.  I can't wait until they are, though.

[westguy]

pulled the trigger on the ION at the show got a good deal plus some freebies included. Cant wait to use it now. Might have to head to RED to try it out tomorrow instead of Christmas shopping with the wife.

[Rikkus_WI]

I don't know about the Ion.  I do know that my electric drill for anchoring my portable doesn't like the cold. Last year I used a Jiffy Pro 4.  One tank lasted the season.  I am thinking more than 120 holes drilled ranging from 6" early ice to 24" for the last trip. 

When going out, my two friends would be still playing with their gas augers while I had a dozen holes opened. They liked my auger so much, they both bought one for this season. For the cold, I have been out at -24 one weekend.  It always started the 1st pulled. 

The propane auger is one of the best tools for ice fishing. 

[DRH1175]

I have a strikemaster strike light with the steel auger and love it to death. If I had to buy a new auger tomorrow I would probably buy the Honda Lite. However a close second would be the Eskimo HC40. I fish out of portables. If I was buying an auger for a wheel house it would be for sure the ION. Good luck on your purchase. They are all great augers!! There are a lot of good choices out there and they all drill holes it really is a personal choice, and how you fish.

[westguy]

auger, 24" extension and replacement blades and hooded sweatshirt for 479