Electric ice auger blade icing up

Daslogster · #1 02-13-2021, 04:27 PM

Just bought my first electric ice auger (8" Jiffy) Fished last weekend and had some icing issues with the blade. This is my first jiffy auger (coming from a Strikemaster) so very different style of blades. Is this common when its -32 out with this style of blade?

old dog · #2 02-13-2021, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daslogster

Just bought my first electric ice auger (8" Jiffy) Fished last weekend and had some icing issues with the blade. This is my first jiffy auger (coming from a Strikemaster) so very different style of blades. Is this common when its -32 out with this style of blade?

Common with any auger when it’s cold. Get the ice and water off it as soon as you r done drilling. My strikemaster electric and gas and the jiffy do the same

Glenn D · #3 02-13-2021, 06:57 PM

What i do is when im done drilling i will run my auger for a few seconds to get all excess water of the blades. This seems to work for me.

Hunter4ever12 · #4 02-13-2021, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn D

What i do is when im done drilling i will run my auger for a few seconds to get all excess water of the blades. This seems to work for me.

Been a few years since I’ve had this issue but I really like this tip,I’ll be sure to give it a try.

honker_clonker · #5 02-13-2021, 08:28 PM

$5 rubber mallet from Canadian tire solves all your ice up problems

Daslogster · #6 02-13-2021, 09:23 PM

I didn't run it after drilling, will try that next. Thanks

OL_JR · #7 02-13-2021, 11:40 PM

Earlier season when the ice is still a foot or less I'll run the auger for a few extra seconds and give the flight a quick boot. When the ice starts to thicken up I'll just drill the fight down and keep it in the ice until I need it next. Probably on every single manufacturers "do not do" list but I've never had an issue with bending. Just have to have enough ice to keep a good portion of the flight buried.

AlbertanGP · #8 02-14-2021, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OL_JR

When the ice starts to thicken up I'll just drill the fight down and keep it in the ice until I need it next.

Remind me not to fish near you. I've seen some people get injured stepping in those holes.

To the OP, your issue has nothing to do with the auger being electric and everything to do with the temperatures last weekend. Any auger is going to ice up at -30*C. Knock it with your boot to get most of the water off after you punch a hole. If it's iced up and not cutting when you go to punch another hole, push down on it with more weight then you would typically use. That will often get it going again.

Honestly, I just bring mine in the shelter and eliminate the problem entirely. Electric auger batteries don't like the cold anyways.

OL_JR · #9 02-15-2021, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

Remind me not to fish near you. I've seen some people get injured stepping in those holes.

What hole? Not me or anyone fishing near me has ever stepped in a hole, wanna take a stab at why?

jeffrey929 · #10 02-15-2021, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OL_JR

What hole? Not me or anyone fishing near me has ever stepped in a hole, wanna take a stab at why?

He is referring to your auger stand hole... Do you drill it all the way through at the end of the day so it can re freeze? Or do you just let it fill up with snow? The open hole that can not freeze up again, can be very dangerous to the next person that comes along unaware of it's existence..

OL_JR · #11 02-15-2021, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffrey929

He is referring to your auger stand hole... Do you drill it all the way through at the end of the day so it can re freeze? Or do you just let it fill up with snow? The open hole that can not freeze up again, can be very dangerous to the next person that comes along unaware of it's existence..

I know what he was referring to, hole gets packed in or drilled. Point being there is no hole when I'm done so never an issue...

AlbertanGP · #12 02-15-2021, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OL_JR

I know what he was referring to, hole gets packed in or drilled. Point being there is no hole when I'm done so never an issue...

Then you should point that out to others, in case someone takes your advice in your first post.

Wendigo · #13 02-15-2021, 09:30 AM

You know what they say about men with small feet????

They wear small shoe's. Lol

But seriously stepping in a hole.... Don't walk in cow pastures...you might step in something .... And you people that shovel down to the ice...you better sand that spot so nobody slips....get a life

Bulletproof · #14 02-15-2021, 09:44 AM

My jiffy blades seem to ice up to the point that it won’t drill if I’m not careful. A couple tips that work for me is first leaving it in the truck to warm up if possible.

If I’m drilling multiple holes for a shack or something I will drill them all without breaking through first. Then shovel the snow and finish them all right at the end. Of course this doesn’t work well when you are constantly moving but when it’s that cold I usually don’t want to move much anyways!

I also find if I give it to much gas without enough bite and it spins too fast it can ice up way quicker then a nice slow drilling speed. Might not be an issue with the electric augers though usually they don’t seem to spin too wild.

CNP · #15 02-15-2021, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OL_JR

I know what he was referring to, hole gets packed in or drilled. Point being there is no hole when I'm done so never an issue...

For that reason and another reason I don't put my auger in a dry hole. The other reason is I've come across a couple auger flytes stuck in the ice and abandoned because the augers froze into the hole. Guys just took the power head off and left the flyte in the ice. Composite auger flytes could crack/break under the effort to get it out of the hole if it was frozen in, steel ones can bend...

OL_JR · #16 02-15-2021, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CNP

For that reason and another reason I don't put my auger in a dry hole. The other reason is I've come across a couple auger flytes stuck in the ice and abandoned because the augers froze into the hole. Guys just took the power head off and left the flyte in the ice. Composite auger flytes could crack/break under the effort to get it out of the hole if it was frozen in, steel ones can bend...

Over 20 years of doing this with no issues whatsoever. Now it should go without mentioning to not leave empty holes in the ice, don't leave over night, don't do this where there is floodwater etc. but I guess it needs to be.

Use some common sense and it's a very convenient way to keep the blades ready to cut.

Daslogster · #17 02-15-2021, 02:56 PM

My point wasn't that it is an electric, it was with the jiffy blade style vs the strikemaster 3 blade style I was used to that i really didn't have icing issues with. I am sure the temp had a lot to do with it. Thanks for all the advice

58thecat · #18 02-15-2021, 03:00 PM

my strikemaster would do the same so I reverse it to push slush etc out and walk over to truck put on tail gate ice/slush free and put the protective cap on...no issues when it is needed later....pick it out of the hole and put the blades on the snow well ya got a snowball happening.

ghostguy6 · #19 02-15-2021, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OL_JR

Earlier season when the ice is still a foot or less I'll run the auger for a few extra seconds and give the flight a quick boot. When the ice starts to thicken up I'll just drill the fight down and keep it in the ice until I need it next. Probably on every single manufacturers "do not do" list but I've never had an issue with bending. Just have to have enough ice to keep a good portion of the flight buried.

Please dont leave your auger standing in a partially drilled hole. They flight can freeze and it gets stuck as others have said. I ran over a frozen flight someone tried to remove but they broke it off. Cost me relatively new tire.

Geezle left one standing and it did not go well for him either. Pic shamelessly stolen from Geezle.

TIP: if you keep your flight waxed with turtle wax it makes the water bead off so you get much less ice build up.

OL_JR · #20 02-15-2021, 07:44 PM

As mentioned in my last post, been doing it for a log time with no issues. I don't know what guys are doing to get their flights stuck so bad but I guess I'll just keep living dangerously. I'm a bad *** like that lol..

SamSteele · #21 02-15-2021, 10:15 PM

If your blades are iced up I have found rocking the auger a bit while spinning when first starting to drill breaks the ice off the blades. Less chance of bending something than giving it a kick.

SS

stubblejumper01 · #22 02-16-2021, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OL_JR

As mentioned in my last post, been doing it for a log time with no issues. I don't know what guys are doing to get their flights stuck so bad but I guess I'll just keep living dangerously. I'm a bad *** like that lol..

Sometimes they can hit a crack that lets water into the hole and freezes or just by drilling almost through and water seeps in.

AlbertanGP · #23 02-16-2021, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stubblejumper01

Sometimes they can hit a crack that lets water into the hole and freezes or just by drilling almost through and water seeps in.

I think it's usually people doing it in areas with overflow actually. But there are a number of ways to get a flight stuck in the ice.

I used to do the same thing for years. It seemed convenient (it was for me) and I never got a flight stuck. But as time went by and I saw people stepping in these holes (some mine, some not) I decided it probably wasn't the best idea. YMMV.

JDK71 · #24 02-16-2021, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wendigo

You know what they say about men with small feet????

They wear small shoe's. Lol

But seriously stepping in a hole.... Don't walk in cow pastures...you might step in something .... And you people that shovel down to the ice...you better sand that spot so nobody slips....get a life

nice work i was thinking the same