Shark Z43 or Z51?

[tashit]

After drilling a bunch of holes yesterday through 13+ inches of ice with the trusty hand auger, I decided it's time for a power auger. I've been looking for awhile and I'm pretty much set on the Shark but I don't know if I want the Z43 or Z51. I've read a lot here on the sharks in general, but I can't seem to find much comparing the two. Is the 43 enough for an 8" or 9"? I was leaning towards the 9" so I thought the 51 might be better but now I'm starting to think an 8" would be fine. I would like it to cut fast but I think weight is more of an issue to me. Is the 20% increase in displacement/hp worth the increase in price and weight?

[Bearfish]

I bought the Z51 w/8" turbo blades. I am very happy with the weight/power/speed. Hit the primer twice and starts on 1st/2nd pull. Paid $299 at Gander Mnt Forest Lake.

[SteveWilson]

I have the Z43 and 8" blades - works like a champ, can't see why I would need more power.

[upnorth]

I got the z51 9" quantum $279, all I can say is awesome. Blew threw 16 inches ice like right now.

[tashit]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm going check out what they actually have in stock at stores and see the price and weight differences for myself and make a decision. I was a little worried about the lower power of the Z43 but it sounds like that won't be much of an issue. I think I'll be happy with whatever I decide to go with.

North...do you mind sharing where you got yours? That's a pretty good deal.

[LocalGuide]

North that is a pretty good deal!

I got mine at gander mtn in mankato. I got the Z51 8" turbo. I really like the auger part of the unit. The engine is great also. But I had one problem so far. I couldnt get the thing to start if my life depended on it. I wasted about 45 mins of pulling it over one day and only got one hole drilled in that time. So I just said screw it and I took it back. They are working on it now to see if they can fix it, if they cant I will just get another. I really like Eskimo, but if I get 2 augers that wont start for me I think it might be off to SM or Jiffy.

FYI, my auger only started on the 2nd pull once this year when it was cold. I probably started it over 20 times total. Hopefully they can get it fixed b/c I really liked the auger.

[anyfishwilldo]

Get a Strikemaster Lazer, and you will have no probs, and that will make up your mind for you

[upnorth]

Took mine out sunday and 2 pumps on the primer and hit the choke and 2 pulls later I am drilling holes. Any machine from any manufacuturer can be a lemon. But the bottom line is I think they are all good, just little differences between each, I don't any of the big brands sells dump.

[upnorth]

ta[PoorWordUsage], I got mine up here(Hibbing) at the L&M fleet supply. There is also an L&M in Cloquet MN and Bemidji MN and I am guessing they have the same prices, although I got mine on sale and not too sure when that sale ends.

[SteveWilson]

My first Z43 started the first time and then never started again (hours and hours of pulling). Anyhow, someone from Eskimo drove over to my house and droped off a new powerhead - starts on the first or second pull ever since. Great customer service. With things like this if they're going to fail they're going to fail early in their life.

[Buzzin']

I also got a shark z43 this year. It goes right through the ice with no problems. It started with one pull out of the box after three pumps of the primer. I love that it has a primer, never have to pull more then twice. I got mine at L&M fleet supply in cloquet for 249.99. I don't know how long that sale goes either. I am very happy with it and the price is hard to beat.

[LocalGuide]

Well I got a call back from Gander Mtn and they told me I had a defaulty carburator.

Im happy with their customer service too. They told me to come over the next day and pick up a new auger as they couldnt fix my old one. I get have my new (2nd) auger by this weekend!

[tashit]

Well I called L&M and the sale is no longer going on so it's the same price as GM. Looks like you guys got a nice deal there. That's great to hear about the customer service because I've heard such great things about Strikemaster's service so I was second guessing myself but I think I'm going to stick with the Eskimo.

Local Guide...did you take yours to GM for customer service or to Eskimo? I didn't think GM could do anything after it was run once?

I was looking through the Eskimo brochure again tonight and I started looking at the Mako. Is there really a difference between that and the Shark Z43 besides the handles and the cheaper price? I want to say the Mako was at FF for $239.99.

[upnorth]

Not too sure but I think the Mako is only a 1.2 horse power unit. I am not a speed freak when it comes to drilling holes, but I don't think you want something that may be underpowered.

I can appreciate what you are going through, I pondered getting a new auger for a year and then spent a month looking at the different models and the final decision was made when the z51 went on sale.

[tashit]

I think you're thinking of the Stingray, that is 33cc 1.2hp. The Eskimo brochure that I got at the ice fishing show says the Mako is a 43cc 1.75hp unit. Now looking at their HSOforum, it says it's 43cc, 2hp, 6000 rpm compared to 8000 rpm for the shark. I am just going to give Eskimo a call and ask what the difference is.

If I found the Shark on sale my decision would be made too. Thanks for the input.

[LocalGuide]

ta[PoorWordUsage], I took it right to the GM store here in Mankato.

All I said to them that my auger wont start and I ran it about 15 times. The lady at the desk had someone come over to take care of me and he said they should find a solution shorty. They had someone working on it before I left the store even! (I had to look around ) I got the call back the next day saying to come down and pick up a new unit, as they could not get it fixed and found a bad carburator. They said they would send back the old unit and just give me a new one.

To me thats good CS.

[tashit]

That is good CS. I was at the GM in Mtka yesterday and he said as soon as I run gas through it, they won't take it back. He said it then becomes a warranty problem. The guy really didn't want me to buy an Eskimo either. I kept telling him the great things I've heard about them but he told me that the new engines aren't proven yet and he doesn't like that the engine spins at 8000 rpm. Then he gave me some dump about not knowing if the blades are good or what else could be wrong with it. That had no influence on me though, hopefully I can find my new Eskimo tonight. Thanks for the info!

[LocalGuide]

Yeah The GM in mankato has no more sharks left in stock. I went down there tonight to see my auger and they didn't have a new one there for me. Luckily it was no problem because I'm heading toward St.Cloud this weekend so I can pick mine up there. All they did was give me store credit and call up there to put one on hold for me. Oh, and what they did was just took and looked at my auger in their ATV shop, if you were wondering and I had a 1/2 tank of gas gone.

But I didn't really need my auger until Saturday anyhow, so atleast it isn't a big issue.

[tashit]

Wow, what a fiasco last night trying to find the auger I want. I put on almost 100 miles driving around the northern/western metro to find an Eskimo. The main problem was everyone had the 8" turbo blades but I'm looking for the quantum. I did however find out last night that Cabela's has the Mako for only $229.99 compared to $249.99 (plus 5% off) at GM so I may end up making a trip to Owatonna. I'm not crazy about driving that far for just an auger but I haven't been there in awhile so I think it will be worth the trip. Plus maybe I'll find a good deal on an auger in the bargain cave. I will get my Eskimo one of these days.

Local guide...I'm glad it all worked out for you. I may call St. Cloud and see if they have any Sharks left.

[tashit]

So, my ice auger saga has finally come to an end...almost. I called Cabela's and they had a 9" Z51 so I drove down Saturday morning and got that. It was nice that they matched GM's 5% off even though GM didn't have any of those in stock. I just told them they had augers 5% off so they matched it.

So I started it up right away and it ran great. I got out this morning and drilled my first 5 or 6 holes. It cut great and ran great. I fished for a little while and we wanted to move so I start up the auger and I can't keep it running. I had to keep priming it to get it to start and it would only run with the choke on and just a little bit of gas from the throttle, or else I could turn the choke off but I had to give it almost full throttle to keep it running. I let it sit for awhile and tried again with the same results. Then we moved to a completely different spot so it had a good rest but it still did the same thing. It seems like it's not getting enough gas because it won't just idle. Anyone else have this problem? Does it just need to be broken in?

[anyfishwilldo]

Did you open the vent on the gas cap?

[upnorth]

I agree try loosening the cap. It should be self venting it sounds like it can't pull the gas through.

You are really have a time of it ain't ya Mine has run sterling.

[tashit]

I did try loosening the cap since it is self venting. I thought maybe it got plugged somehow so I loosened it enough that gas was even leaking out some. I just don't get how it can go from working flawlessly to this in a matter of 30 minutes. I will try loosening the cap again tonight though.

[upnorth]

Have you tried to contact Ardisam directly? They may have a quick and easy fix that you can do.

[tashit]

I planned on doing that sometime today. Thanks for the help!

[bigmouth]

You must have had some dump(maybe plastic shards) in the gas tank, and when you were running it sucked one up into the carb. Ardisam should take care of you and fast.