NilsMaster Power Auger

[penna25]

Sorry , I know this was talked about before, but I cant find what was said. Got a new 8" power auger last year and due to lack of ice, probably only poked about 40 or 50 holes. First time out this year was a couple days ago and it would bog down and stop about halfway. Thought it might be tired gas, so I made a fresh batch and used it yesterday with the same results. Seems to be running good. And i'm using the Amsoil. Now do those blades just up and go just like that? I might have bumped them a little I suppose. Are they resharpenable? And lastly...do you guys recomend the center point head? Thanks fellas.

[iffwalleyes]

How many tanks of fuel have you ran throught the auger? I ran 2 tanks though mine before it hit the ice. I have now when through another tank and it continues to get better. They have a longer break in period that an standard motor has. Mine has the center point and I like granted I have not had one without it either. However it could have some gummed up fuel in the carb since it has sat a while.

[penna25]

I did the break in thing with it last year and it worked fine. After the season i ran it completely out of gas and then put it up. Do I need to run a tankfull through it again you think?

[iffwalleyes]

Well I might do it just to see if you can't shake something loose. There is a possiblity to that there was some gunk that got into one of the ports. It might work it's way out running a tank of fuel add a little sea foam should help. Otherwise you might have to get the carb cleaned up.

[trapperdirk]

Well Penna when your talking breakin was that your breakin 40 or 50 holes or did you run it and I mean run it . I just let mine run and run till the first tank was gone then hit the ice later . The engine should get good and warm to break her in and mine with centre point literally blasts through ice . I argued with plenty of lads about the Nils hype over the years and from the over 700 holes I have drilled this year the Nils hype is true and those lads like Bob D etc. weren't kidding when they said it just gets better and faster with use because I'm seeing it myself by using one . It's unreal the amount of holes and almost scary how fast I can blow 50 or 60 holes in one shot without even stopping to rest . I hope you figure out what's up with yours because for me the Nils has been a pleasure to run so far and very dependable .

TD

[Bob_D]

I'd say the motor is not broken in yet. If you are cutting thicker ice this year, it might be more noticable. It also could be that you are applying down pressure to the auger.

If you are not already, run Amsoil Sabre Professional oil at 100:1 in it and make sure you let it warm up before using it. It's going to take a few tanks of gas before it is close to full power.

[trapperdirk]

heehe BOB D. Down pressure you say not to do . Man I don't know how anybody gets even a chance to put any down pressure on because its more like anchoring yourself real good and hang on so you don't get sucked down the hole .

Was funny yesterday I had a bud with me and he was in his hut rigging up and came out to see 43 holes drilled . LOL I told him to get slushing as I already did the drilling . LMAO . Looking out across a lake seeing all them little hills is quite a sight and very intimidating to the one with slushing duties . LOL

TD

[Bob_D]

Quote:

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Was funny yesterday I had a bud with me and he was in his hut rigging up and came out to see 43 holes drilled . LOL I told him to get slushing as I already did the drilling . LMAO . Looking out across a lake seeing all them little hills is quite a sight and very intimidating to the one with slushing duties . LOL TD

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I had a similar experience a few years ago. I invited a bunch of guys to come up and fish with me in late Feb. A couple guys from NY showed up and had a Strikemaster 8" chipper. I'm not sure if the blades were dull or what, but they had a heck of a time cutting holes and even keeping it running. They had their tip-ups out where they wanted to have holes and I started drilling holes for them, while 2 of the 3 guys continued to fight with the auger. A few minutes later the other guy came over to "help me". He was a bit surprised when I shut the auger off and said that I was done.

As far as cleaning holes.....I cut the hole, remove the auger, kick all the chips away from the hole, then run the auger in the hole to flush out the slush. That makes final cleanup a lot quicker.

[penna25]

Yeah I ran a couple tanks through it just idleing. And yes i'm running the Amsoil too.

[Bob_D]

Sounds like it's just not broken in yet. Now that the ice is thicker it's easier to notice. If your blades were dull, the auger would "hop" and you would need to apply a fair amount of down pressure to make it cut. Keep running it and it will start to get stronger. Drill some extra holes everytime you go out. It will breakin the auger quicker, and give you a few extra holes to jig in.

Also, run it wide open when you are drilling. Don't let off the throttle until you are through the ice.

[penna25]

hope your right. ran most of a tankfull through her tonight. will try it out asap. it didn't hop though till it stalled and then i tryed to finish the hole...then it would try and hop some. will see...

[Northlander]

Yes I strongly recomend the center point heads over the standard for the power auger. The standards seem to work a bit better for the hand auger. I dont know why but thats the way it seems to me anyways.

Im thinking if you have run that much gas through your Nils and it still doesnt cut right and skips at all you have a out of alignment or nick edge on your blade assembly. They arent that fragil but when they go they go. One hole will cut great then the next is harder and the next is terrible. Sand is very hard on shaver blades as Im finding out on the St.Louis River this year.

If you have to put any pressure at all on your Nils the blades are dull or the alignment is off. If it just cuts for a bit then stops its probably a gas or breakin related issue. Although I did have 1 standard blade that did this and the alignment was bad from the get go.

I had some bad gas in mine 1 time and my auger would bog down. I changed out the gas and plug and she ran better than ever.

If you have any more questions e-mail me. Im on year 3 with my NIls and its still the best auger I have ever seen.

[Bob_D]

The center point bit is more agressive, requires more torque and will only compound the lack of power duing break in. That is why the break in period is more of an issue now.

If his auger had a bad blade it would not be bogging down in the middle of cutting a hole. When they are out of alignment they they don't bite the ice and it does anything but bog down. Stopping mid hole is a lack of torque issue, most likely due to lack of compression because the motor is still new.

I've had mine since 2003 and the motor has never skipped a beat. Sure beats the heck out of my old cipper.

[CraigM]

When I first got my Nils, it would cut down about 6 inches and bog /get stuck in the hole. I did the break in but it still did it. Finally realized the blade was cut at too aggressive of an angle. I now have a center point blade and it works fantastic. You could send the blade back to Nils and have them check it. I actually ended up with two blades with the same problem. Worth a look.

[Ybone]

My Nils cut great until recently, now I have to put pressure on it to get it to cut. It just spins in place unless I press down on it. I checked the blades and they look perfect to me but something must have changed. Is there somewhere you can get them resharpened?

[Bob_D]

I don't think there is a sharpening service that is functional right now.

Most edges don't really get dull right away. The edge usually just gets rolled over. You can get a little more life out of the blade if you take a fine stone and roll the edge back over. Don't touch the bottom edge of the blade, because you don't want to change the angle. You are just trying to roll the edge back, not sharpen the blade. If you try and sharpen it, you will ruin the edge.

Be careful.....The blades are still SCARY SHARP.