XL 3000 auger issues

[Loos15]

I recently acquired a Strikemaster lazer xl 3000 in a trade. It is my first power auger. I was pretty excited at first, but after taking it out 3 times...i am frustrated and a bit worried. The auger, according to the previous owner, was about 4 years old. When he started it for me, it ran and stayed running. When i brough it home, i dumped out the old fuel and gave it new fuel mixed with Echo at a 50:1 ratio. I took it out to a lake to give a try, but the blades were bad so i coudln't make a hole. It was running ok, had a few times it went out on me. Then i read on the SM online manual it required a 24:1 mix, so i thicken the oil and replaced the blades.

Second time out, the auger could not stay on. And when it did, it cut rather slow... wasn't as fast as my friends 2hp jiffy. My buddy told me it was probably the fuel mix, so i dumped all that fuel again and replaced it with new fuel with SM smokeless at 40:1. Started up the engine at home and it seemed fine.

Third time out was today, the auger was hard to start up and died many times. When i finally got it stable enough to cut, it felt like it was taking forever to cut. I thought these lazers were suppose to be fast? Also I had to apply a lot of force for it to cut...i thought these lazers "pulls" through the ice?

So my questions are, anyone else who owns one of these thinks their auger is slow? And if anyone can offer me some advice, tricks, or insight on how to resolve these issues or what I'm doing wrong, that would be great!

PS, I know about amsoil, but i can't find anyone in my area that sells them per small bottle. They all come in quarts. I'll get them next season...this season I just want to use the current mix i have...unless it's absolutely bad for my auger.

Thanks!

[18 inch Crappie]

Sounds like that guy dumped a junk auger on you. Strikemaster Lazer rock and mine cuts like butter and starts 2nd pull and runs great.

You could take it to strikemaster in big lake and let them look at it for you. Other wise sounds like a carb rebuild and a bent auger shaft.

[iFishStu]

If you order Amsoil (in any size that you want) on line here from Don the Oilman and have it shipped directly to your house via UPS. I ordered a pint bottle of Saber Pro that way. Unfortunately, the shipping cost was more that I had to pay for the merchandise.

[hoggs222]

Whatever you do, don't force the auger powerhead down. It'll bend the shaft and it'll be very tough to cut holes.

[sheepheadslayer]

My buddy owned the same auger. Bought new 4 yrs ago. Owned it for a year and took it back to cabelas and bought the smaller ( i think 2hp or 2 1/2hp) strikemaster. They pretty much new that they had issues with the 3hp and no questions were asked. Just my experience sorry not a good one.

[Pout Taco]

Sounds like the blades are out of pitch. Take the auger bit in to Strikemaster in Big Lake and have them check the pitch.

I have the same auger and over the years it has gotten tougher to drill holes. Last weekend I visited SM in Big Lake and had them check on the pitch. The adjusted it in 10 minutes and I was out the door (Thanks Strikemaster!). When I fired it up on the lake it cut like a dream. The lazer blades will pull the auger down the hole when aligned properly. You shouldn't have to lean on it to make it cut.

A tune-up /carb adjustment might be in order to get the powerhead running properly.

[SSSTaxidermy]

I've also have one of these beasts. When I first got it, it ran pretty rough. I validated oil ratios and even tried tweaking the carb myself. But mine didn't want to run on high idle very good. I'd be drilling a hole and at about 3/4 of the way down, it would hesitate or miss. Every time...Very odd. It would idle all day if I let it. So I brought it to Jason at SM, he adjusted the carb, put it on their load tester and I was out their door in no time flat. Charged me nothing.

Hadn't had any issues for 4 years until just last weekend. I was drilling a hole and it felt like something was slipping. It didn't "spin" as fast as normal, all the while I'm having zero issues with engine RPM's. Once I get ice shavings (resistance) on the auger, it would slip. I managed to drill my holes for the day. I drive my SM in Big Lake every day, so I stopped in there before work...Mentioned it Jason at SM, he said go get it he will look at it. My clutch was shot, which he showed me...Replaced it and I was out the door in 15-20 min tops. Also included with that he de-iced my whole auger, put it on their load tester, validated pitch and ensured my auger shaft was in line. Everything checked out. Charged me $25. Reason for the clutch problem. Biggest culprits for this is dull blades combined with forcing the auger to drill. I don't remember forcing it, put I'm sure it happens. But mine pulls itself down the hole no problems. It's plenty fast once it runs perfectly.

If you have the chance, I'd suggest taking it right to Stikemaster. You've prob read on here that their customer service top notch. I can attest to that.