Tecumseh 3HP on Jiffy Getting Worse!

[Colorado-Ice-Man]

I have a two year old Jiffy Legend Stealth 3HP that hasn't been used all that much. The blades are still nice and sharp!

But, every time I go out on the ice it seems to take more and more pulls to start.

Aside from the obvious changing the spark plug, any other tips or tricks?

Also, has anyone used those Low/High Speed Adjustment Screws to any effect?

Thanks in advance!

[steel24]

I have the same unit..two things I have learned on my unit...I put Sea-foam in the gas/oil mix..I also prime it more than it says to...usually I start with 5-6 times. This has worked for me.. All units are different as my friend has the same one and he primes his 1-2 times..

[rodbuilder]

I have an older Jiffy model 35. I have found that if I don't hit the primer bulb 6-8 times it won't start as quickly as it should. BUT, I have also found that it'll flood quickly too (within 6 pulls on the rope after 6 primer bulb pushes). So, after depressing the primer bulb 6 times, give the rope a couple/three pulls. If she doesn't pop off, you may need to hold the throttle wide open and give it a pull to allow more air to enter the cylinder.

Just my $.02

[JIGLFIN]

Colorado-ice-man

Your carb. may be starting to gum-up from old fuel.

Using Sta-Bil in your fuel/oil mix helps prevent this,especially during the off season.

When starting a 3 hp engine, I leave the choke open, prime till fuel starts dripping by the carb., than start.

( may need an additional prime or 2 during warm-up).

Good luck

JIGLFIN;

[Ed Carlson]

Yes the newer 3 HP's are touchy to get set right. I sold my 3-year-old unit and just bought a newer Jiffy 3 HP 9" Stealth and it was a pain to get set properly.

The common blame for this problem falls on the new carbs dictated by the government to meet emission control standards. ya..go figure Eh.

It took a bit of adjustment to set up the idle and the high end to keep it running well. It works well under load yet it still idles poorly between holes. Kinda touchy to adjust.

My advice is find a handy small engine guy and have him re-tune it on the ice. You have to know how it runs under load when warm. In the shop tune-ups will only tell you half of the story unless he has a swimming pool full of ice to drill and test it. Make sure he drills with it and gets it set to idle well at rest when warm.

Starting is about the same though, prime it well and skip the choke. Only choke it at 1/2 if at all, then shut it (the choke) off as soon as it you can.

[Colorado-Ice-Man]

Thanks for the info gang!

Do the 2HP models suffer from the same cold bloodedness? I was thinking of maybe selling mine and going down to the 2HP model, but if I do, I don't want performance to suffer too much!

[Ed Carlson]

The 2 HP's are not nearly as cold blooded. The 2 HP Stealth is a good package up to the 9". The 8" is a better fit for the extra load produced by the Stealth cutting system.

I have been told that the new 2 HP's are more like 2.5 HP's this year due to some changes, a bit more snort to them.

If I have it to do over again soon I would look hard at the 2 HP or the electric Stealth system.

[upnorth]

I'll 2nd the motion for stabil. When I first started using a gas auger, a gallon of gas lasts for a long time and by the later part of ice fishing it would hard as hell to the the auger going. Last year started using stabil and that problem ceased. Gas was going bad on me before I could use it up.

Stabil

[JIGLFIN]

Calorado-Ice-Man

I would suggest talking to people who own the 2HP models.

Particularly the Stealth version.

A lot of technology went into the cutting point, but the engines can be hard starting and cold blooded.

My opinion, the power to run that auger is not there, with the 2HP engine!

Good luck

JIGLFIN;

[Colorado-Ice-Man]

All GREAT info!

This is why this is my favorite forum.

Thanks guys!

[Walterwontfalter]

I was having problems with mine and my buddy's augers starting and running smoothly and when I called a couple small engine guys they both told me not to bother bringing it in until I filled it with premium (91 octane) gas and try it out. It cleared up right away. They are not meant to run on low octane Regular unleaded gas.