Ice Auger Help!

**armstrt8** · 03-07-2016, 06:56 PM

Well! My truck has been sitting still for a few weeks now and I haven't gotten much time to start poking around at it and now my darn Ice Auger doesn't want to act right. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Its a Strikemaster Solo only a few years old. Used about 20 times.
I THINK I must have gunked up the fuel lines, but before I start breaking this thing apart and attempt to clean the carburetor I want to make sure I am not missing the anything obvious.
Prior to the past couple runs I ran UNLEADED fuel through it for about 5 tanks worth of gas before I learned I am supposed to run premium fuel. Before this it was brand new. Used it early this year and it now sat for about 2 months without use.

Filter is pristine and spark plug is new. Air line within the fuel reservoir is clear and still looks brand new (not deteriorating).
I prime it a few times, then start it and it usually starts up just fine. If I switch it to Run from Start within the first 10 seconds it will kill. If I let it go for a bit until it just barely chugs and I switch it to Run it will go VROOOOOOM and will idle for quite some time. Sometimes I had to switch it back to Start then Run when it would start chugging out a bit. Its like the airflow is messed up. MOST of the time if I have it idling and I then push the lever down to give it some gas it will kill immediately. SOMETIMES it will go VROOOOOM and run like a champ until I let go of the gas .. then it will usually kill. If you try to pump the gas it will die within the 1st or 2nd time pushing down.

Any easy things I should check?

**Scrappah** · 03-07-2016, 09:38 PM

The first thing i would look at is the gas. ( Assume that it's only got a reliable shelf life of 30 days. )

Dump the tank out & refill with fresh premium that you just got from the gas station.

Look and see if there's a drain on the float bowl. Might be some water trapped in there.

If that doesn't work remove the bowl and check to make sure that the float isn't sticking.

Next, find out what the basic settings are for the high.low,and idle mixture screws. They're probably somewhere in the owners manual.

It's probably got more to do with the fuel & carb so rule those things out first. If it's still a no-go it could be that the piston/cylinder walls were damaged by the lower octane fuel. Try pulling the spark plug and dumping a teaspoon full of motor oil into the combustion chamber then crank it a few times to coat everything in oil. Re-install the plug. Fire it up. If it runs well for awhile and then goes back to bad that's probably where your problem is.

The only other thing i can think of is that there might be an air diverter somewhere around the air cleaner. Set one way ... would be for cold weather operation. Set the other way .... would be for warm weather. You might check to see that your choke is working okay too.

~ Just different stuff to check ~

**pjost** · 03-08-2016, 01:17 AM

Before you go crazy tearing into the carburetor, I would try dumping the old gas then put in your new gas with a cap full of Sea Foam.

**JnJunk** · 03-08-2016, 07:53 AM

From what hes describing sounds like it needs a carb cleaning. I hate doing those little carbs.

And Scrappah, Odds are that thing does not have a bowl. It is going to have one of those block carbs with the diaphragms in them.

**Scrappah** · 03-08-2016, 10:46 AM

< sigh> It's all worth trying. Change the fuel,empty the bowl if it's got one,check the needle valve adjustments,dump in a little SeaFoam. Sometimes you get lucky and that fixes the problem.

The main problem i'm seeing is that we're working with blended fuel. It seems to be okay for fuel injected engines that have a closed loop vapor recovery system but this new gas is really bad for small engines that have a carburetor. There are four basic problems:

1: It's a blended fuel. It's a low octane gasoline blended with a high octane ethanol. It's only got a reliable shelf life of 30 days. Anytime after that .... it can start to undergo something called phase separation. That's just a fancy way of saying that the gasoline breaks down into it's two parts.

First you get a charge of low octane gasoline where the engine barely runs. The ethanol is intended as the anti-knock additive and without that the engine knocks like crazy. That destroys the piston rings & cylinder walls.

Next you get a charge of high octane alcohol that makes the engine rev way up & overheat.

2: The second problem with the new fuel is that it's pretty corrosive. It destroys the rubber plenums in the carb and eats at the metal parts that aren't corrosion resistant. After a couple of years of exposure to the new fuel the carbs are ruined. The fuel lines and primer bulbs can also be destroyed unless they're specially made to handle ethanol.

3: Most of the small engines have a fuel tank that's vented to the open air. The alcohol in the fuel bonds with the water vapor in the air and that adds to the process of phase separation.

4: We've exported most of our small engine manufacturing to China. The quality coming back really isn't that good. They're just low cost consumer goods that are only intended to last 3- 5 years. The cost to repair usually is greater than the cost to replace so you just throw em away and buy new. They could be made better so that they can handle a blended fuel but most folks will buy the lower cost thing on the store shelf.

Anyway .... might just be bad gas. Might be that the carb is pooched. Might be the piston & cylinder. I'm really careful about using fresh fuel. For the last ten years or so i've been figuring on having to replace the carb every so often. It's just a part of life now that the fuel has changed.

Edited to add:

2LCSTORE.com is about the best source for replacement carbs that i've found so far. Oregon manufacturing has branched out into aftermarket carbs and their products aren't bad. A replacement carb for my Honda powered wood splitter was only like 22.00$ w/ shipping last fall.

**NHscrapman** · 03-08-2016, 05:37 PM

All very true scrappah
We run a lot of older small engine equipment and took notice pretty quick when the switch happened, it tears everything up.. seen an o ring turn to goop.
of course there are plenty of additives to remove the effects of ethanol.. a few work... Guess I should say haven't had to rebuild the outboard motor since I started adding it.
Those old parts are not easy to come by all gas used in the old stuff gets the additive any new equipment isn't going to last anyways so not worth the extra cost.
start checking off what it is not.. could be the return spring mine was loose on the lawnmower causing similar issues

**dave** · 03-08-2016, 06:58 PM

There is a newer product becoming available called "canned gas" you can get it at small engine shops and it comes already blended with 2 stroke oil in various ratios. It comes in a one quart metal can, is totally ethanol free and stabilized. for occasional use in small engines like this it is the cats meow! Keep the corn liquor for mix drinks, don't put it in any vented fuel tank and BURN IT!!!!

**cummins** · 03-15-2016, 09:23 PM

I have the same auger. Crack the gas gap and pull a few time. And check the vent ball for the tank. They get gum up and tank doesn't vent. They do need to be primed every time you start it not always choked