Strikemaster 40V - Binds and sticks in every hole!

[StringTheory]

So I picked up a new 10" Strikemaster 40V on boxing day and on every hole I've drilled the auger binds at the bottom and gets stuck just as its about the break through the ice. It happens on every hole and on different lakes so its not just the ice conditions. At first I thought the blades were loose or mis-aligned, so I checked them and they seem good. Its a new auger and the blades are still factory sharp, no burs, dents or rollover of the edge.

The motor is designed to cut out when the flight gets stuck and that's not a bad safety feature, but when its stuck like that I have to restart it 2 or 3 times in order to break through. It has a lot of torque and its actually really hard on the wrists when trying to finish the cut. I've been bracing it on my body when restarting the cut because it comes on with so much torque.

Thinking its something I'm doing wrong I've let a few people try it out, all with the same comments. Obviously this is an isolated case, there are a lot of reviews out there and most people are really happy. I think that if their auger was determined to break their wrists every time you used it people would be talking about that.

I should also mention that I'm not leaning on it at all. If anything I am lifting slightly to take some weight off, otherwise it really jams up at the bottom.

I emailed Strikemaster but they seem unwilling to do anything at the consumer level. I have to send it to a service center (Lawnmower Hospital) in order for them to evaluate it.

I'm really turned off by this thing - to the point where I got the old jiffy propane out of the shed.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[mlee]

I also bought a 10" 40v strikemaster on boxing day lol....I've drilled probably 200 holes with mine and this has happened to me twice. Both times after my hole was drilled and snow cleared away I could clearly see I was drilling at a slight angle which is very easy to do with the dual blades and point. So now I'm just a bit more careful starting my hole.
That all said....I wouldnt go back to a gas auger if someone gave me a brand new one.

[Egymcara]

I use this auger and I have had it since the first day it was released. My best advice to you is lift the snow/ice out of your hole constantly while you drill down. If the ice is 12" thick for example, clear the hole around 11" and you won't bind up. I have seen this same dilemma with gas augers as well but they deal with the issue better because they have more power. If your problem isn't fixed by doing this, then you definitely have a faulty product.

[SamSteele]

Where are you located? I’d be happy to meet you and let you try mine to see if it’s the flighting or the head unit. I’m in the Edmonton area.

[StringTheory]

I'm in south Edmonton. That would be awesome, I'd like a second opinion from someone that owns one too!

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by StringTheory

I'm in south Edmonton. That would be awesome, I'd like a second opinion from someone that owns one too!

Sent you a PM.

[SNAPFisher]

Hopefully Sam will see something. It happens to me like 1% of the time and usually I notice I'm tilted. I drilled 25 holes in a row on Saturday through 20 inches of ice and fast! Not one issue with the 40V. Smooth as smooth can be.

[Jawjacker]

Mine did the exact same thing. I exchanged it for another one at Cabelas . The new auger works perfectly. Take it back they will exchange it.

[Bigwoodsman]

I bought this auger with the 8" flighting on Boxing day. I have drilled several holes with it since, and have not experienced any issues. I love this auger!

BW

[StringTheory]

Originally Posted by Jawjacker

Mine did the exact same thing. I exchanged it for another one at Cabelas . The new auger works perfectly. Take it back they will exchange it.

I called the south side Cabelas and spoke with their fishing department and was told they would not exchange it because it was a used product. Plus I got rid of the box. Which Cabelas did you go to?

[D.A.C]

Bought my 40v strike master 8 inch on Boxing Day. Took it out for the first time last weekend. It would not cut... and burning smell coming off of her.
Had to drive back to town and use my friends ion..
took it back to Cabelas (north)on Monday (in box with the receipt) they exchanged it for another one. No questions asked. But the lady said this is the first time she see anyone bring one back. Going to try it out again this weekend and if it mucks up I’m just going to get a ion. Good thing I seen this post. Thanks for sharing

[SamSteele]

StringTheory and I met up today, he with his 10” and me with my 8”. The 8” is definitely easier to use than the 10”, due to less ice being moved. The 10” seems to grab right before it punches through more than the 8” does.

[OL_JR]

Originally Posted by SamSteele

StringTheory and I met up today, he with his 10” and me with my 8”. The 8” is definitely easier to use than the 10”, due to less ice being moved. The 10” seems to grab right before it punches through more than the 8” does.

Did you use your power head on the 10" flighting just to see if there is some malfunctioning with the cut out function?

I had a gas lazer mag do this and ended up being a bad set of blades from the factory. I ended up emailing strikemaster and got a new set sent out for free as apparently they knew they had a bad run of blades. Just a suggestion.

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by OL_JR

Did you use your power head on the 10" flighting just to see if there is some malfunctioning with the cut out function?



I had a gas lazer mag do this and ended up being a bad set of blades from the factory. I ended up emailing strikemaster and got a new set sent out for free as apparently they knew they had a bad run of blades. Just a suggestion.

We did swap them. My power head did the same thing with his flighting.

[StringTheory]

Thanks again for meeting up with me SamSteele. Nice to meet a fellow AO member!

I was really surprised at just how smooth your 8" cut. No torquing, no jarring, didn't even flinch when it broke through the ice. Not to mention fast. I hope my replacement auger flighting cuts like that.

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by StringTheory

Thanks again for meeting up with me SamSteele. Nice to meet a fellow AO member!



I was really surprised at just how smooth your 8" cut. No torquing, no jarring, didn't even flinch when it broke through the ice. Not to mention fast. I hope my replacement auger flighting cuts like that.

It was great meeting you as well!

It bears mentioning that those are the original auger blades and they haven’t been sharpened in the year I have had the auger. I use it quite a bit and average 35-40 holes per day on the ice.

[HuyFishin]

wow you and the auger luck you have lol

first the jiffy now the strikemaster.

should just hatchet your way through everywhere lol

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by StringTheory

Thanks again for meeting up with me SamSteele. Nice to meet a fellow AO member!

I was really surprised at just how smooth your 8" cut. No torquing, no jarring, didn't even flinch when it broke through the ice. Not to mention fast. I hope my replacement auger flighting cuts like that.

I'm glad you guys figured it out. It sounds like my 10" cuts like Sam's 8. I hope your the replacement cuts just as good.

[StringTheory]

Originally Posted by HuyFishin

wow you and the auger luck you have lol

first the jiffy now the strikemaster.

should just hatchet your way through everywhere lol

With my luck the hatchet would break too! Oh well, just like the Jiffy I will figure this out.

PS The Jiffy runs fantastic now thanks to a little backyard ingenuity.

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

I'm glad you guys figured it out. It sounds like my 10" cuts like Sam's 8. I hope your the replacement cuts just as good.

I hope so too. Thanks Snap!

[StringTheory]

It was an adventure but I managed to get a new Strikemaster 10” flight and I’m happy to say this auger cuts very well indeed! No sticking, no binding, just buttery smooth performance. The 10” cuts just as smoothly as SamSteele’s 8”.

Thanks everyone for the advice, especially Sam Steele for doing a comparison and getting me in touch with the right people, Ben at the lawnmower hospital for going above and beyond to make sure I got a fix and the staff at Northside Cabela’s for being so accommodating. That’s a lot of people in our court going to work for a guy. It’s great to be a part of the outdoors community!

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by StringTheory

It was an adventure but I managed to get a new Strikemaster 10” flight and I’m happy to say this auger cuts very well indeed! No sticking, no binding, just buttery smooth performance. The 10” cuts just as smoothly as SamSteele’s 8”.



Thanks everyone for the advice, especially Sam Steele for doing a comparison and getting me in touch with the right people, Ben at the lawnmower hospital for going above and beyond to make sure I got a fix and the staff at Northside Cabela’s for being so accommodating. That’s a lot of people in our court going to work for a guy. It’s great to be a part of the outdoors community!

Glad to hear it man!

[OL_JR]

Originally Posted by StringTheory

It was an adventure but I managed to get a new Strikemaster 10” flight and I’m happy to say this auger cuts very well indeed! No sticking, no binding, just buttery smooth performance. The 10” cuts just as smoothly as SamSteele’s 8”.

Thanks everyone for the advice, especially Sam Steele for doing a comparison and getting me in touch with the right people, Ben at the lawnmower hospital for going above and beyond to make sure I got a fix and the staff at Northside Cabela’s for being so accommodating. That’s a lot of people in our court going to work for a guy. It’s great to be a part of the outdoors community!

Good to hear you got it figured out. I just may have to join the electric revolution soon as I see on the rapala(strikemaster) site that they aren't even offering the gas augers anymore. Kind of torn about that as I bought a Solo 154 with a 10" auger a couple years ago and it puts a smile on my face everytime I cut with it. Strikemaster has the best cutting system around and can't see going to another brand to stay in a gas auger.

[Brandonkop]

Ok mine was really bad till one of my blades fell off. Then it cut awesome with only one blade on the rest of the day. No stopping or jamming. Then I got home and realized that single blade was lose too. So put a new blade on and tightened them both up really good and guess what? It cuts like a dream. Try it out, tighten your blades up if they're lose and see if it makes any difference.

[Bigwoodsman]

Originally Posted by Brandonkop

Ok mine was really bad till one of my blades fell off. Then it cut awesome with only one blade on the rest of the day. No stopping or jamming. Then I got home and realized that single blade was lose too. So put a new blade on and tightened them both up really good and guess what? It cuts like a dream. Try it out, tighten your blades up if they're lose and see if it makes any difference.

Good practice to check them after every trip. I do it before putting mine away.

BW

[spoons]

Used my new 40v yesterday. Wow. I love that unit and no issues binding. The auger does all the work and you do not need any pushing downwards. Impressive

[old dog]

I had issues with blades loosening until I used blue lock tight. No more issue. Just don’t use the red lock tight of course

[StringTheory]

Well after a month of ownership and a couple of issues I finally finished my written review of the Strikemaster 40V ice auger. Check it out at the link below. I like to think its more in-depth than anything else out there but I will let you guys be the judge of that:

https://www.stringtheoryangling.ca/s...ms-and-review/

[58thecat]

Ok looking at getting an electric....folks which one is the bestest out there....


Got the hand auger as a back up just don't want a gas, propane etc at the noise I can do without so electric it is.....which one though?

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Ok looking at getting an electric....folks which one is the bestest out there....





Got the hand auger as a back up just don't want a gas, propane etc at the noise I can do without so electric it is.....which one though?

Ford, Chevy, Dodge debate there. I’ve heard more issues with the ion than any other, but the Jiffy is still relatively new on the market. I like my SM 40v.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by SamSteele

Ford, Chevy, Dodge debate there. I’ve heard more issues with the ion than any other, but the Jiffy is still relatively new on the market. I like my SM 40v.

I would put my money here as well. The cutting speed is great on the SM 40v. Auger wars on YouTube swayed me to the SM 40 10 inch and I'm glad that it did