Jiffy or Eskimo - Page 2

mosbos · #31 01-05-2013, 10:19 AM

Two years in with my Z71. No problems. The only time it didn't start right away I hadn't primed it properly with gas. So far it's been great.

Kim473 · #32 01-05-2013, 11:49 AM

Love my Eskimo mako ! Starts 1 to 2 pulls every time.

bessiedog · #33 01-05-2013, 11:51 AM

Now I'm paranoid.
Wife got me a brand new jiffy mod 40 4 stroke

Had it out 5 times... Works fine.

I am wondering if the plastic stuff will perform in -20 though.

What craps out on them??

Gunfighter · #34 01-05-2013, 11:57 AM

Had my jiffy 31 8" since 1995 , with exception of one carb overhaul and sharpening blades it still drilling like a champ

snubber · #35 01-05-2013, 03:27 PM

Yup I was leaning towards the jiffy before I started this post. But I think after hearing everyone words I'm thinking the Eskimo z71 will be my choice. Thanks everyone.

torquemonster · #36 01-05-2013, 05:06 PM

3YR old china Jiffy Stealth nothing but broken plastics, poor starting. after reading a post here decided to buy a new carb. Original problem approx 40 pulls to start, running lean had to have choke on 3/4 all the time to cut a hole. First time out, new carb it runs so rich it would not rev up enough to cut a hole. POS. read all posts, do not buy. Yes I made sure the choke was comming off. New Jiffys the carbs are preset and have no adjustments except idle speed.
Went to use my buddies older jiffy, pulled it once it fired and quit, went to pull start it again and I had pulled the rope completly out, to be fair it was older and he had fixed the pull start several times in the past.
Side note had to use other friends strikemaster to save the day and it started 2nd pull even though it was not started yet, it idled nice and I cut my hole. It was lighter than my Jiffy and cut faster than my Jiffy ever did.
I appreciate some folks may have had good experiences with Jiffy but I have not.

Ucthesizeoftheoneilost · #37 01-06-2013, 07:46 AM

The pull ropes are the same on all engines...if you continuously pull it and it doesn't start it will eventually brake...it happens on all small engines....even husqavarna and sthyl....we have had a model30 for 25yrs and just now we are starting to see its tired...changed pull cord only once....was watching all the fisherman on the lake yesterday when they were drilling and saw a variety of augers...the most impressive was the eskimo z51 which curt an 8" in 7secs...the ice is 21in....these guys beside us had 4 augers and were having races...the eskimo z71 started first pull everytime and so did the jjiffy's...all 10in...the difference was the z71 cut 21inches in 14secs and the jiffy's took over 30...could have been dull blades....looked at them..talked to the guys and they were all pleased with there machines....was impressed with the eskimoz71....we have taken great care of ours and it has treated us well...its owes us nothing....on the market for new one...still undecided...keep the info coming in...cheers

madatter · #38 01-06-2013, 08:06 AM

Only bad thing about Eskimos is their blades are a lot more fragile than Jiffys.
Go thru dirty ice and it's time to change em.
I've tried sharpening them and doesn't really do much.
I'm on at least my 3rd set in 2 years.
I carry two sets of spares,and a pilot point spare as well.
Never worried about that with my Jiffy Model 30...which still runs pretty good considering I haven't done a thing to it in 15 years of owning it.
I might see if the auger of the Jiffy will fit on Eskimo motor...

220 Swift · #39 01-06-2013, 08:11 AM

So here is what i can add with a different twist of multi purpose augers:

Jiffy
Bought a used Jiffy 2Hp about 4 years ago i think it was 3 years old when i bought it, Techeumseh motor, worked good, i had also bought a earth auger and worked good for about 30 earth holes. It became stolen

about 2 years ago with a bunch of other things in my shed so no more to say about it.

Southland (Earth motor and auger unit)
Peavy mart $275 for a 43 CC unit, bought it this year
drilled alot 50 or so of earth holes this year, and trust me the earth digging is harder on the equipment than ice.

Eskimo Z51, bought it the other day with the 8" Quantam.

I chose it over the Jiffy because of reviews and such but the main reason is i figured that this auger would flange right up to the Southland powerhead, and had the same twist of auger flighting, which bolted up nicely.
I live in a small rural area so sporting good stores are not there, otherwise i would have tried the augur itself. Since i didnt, i looked at the extra 200 spent on the spare powerhead and thought that it was cheap insurance, and also kept me and the wife from heading in to the city which 200 would have went somewhere else. LOL

I went out to the lake yesterday and with gas in it from this summer the Southland 43CC fired up nicely and hammered 10 holes in with out any issues.
I cant really comment on the Eskimo powerhead, its sitting in storage

So if the moral is that for 275 will get you the Southland and another 160 for an ice blade.
Or if you have the Eskimo, and want an earth auger, look at Peavy Mart next summer, and it will save you some cash.

220 Swift · #40 01-06-2013, 08:17 AM

madatter
The flighting spin/spiral direction is possibly backwards. i recall when ordering the Jiffy auger from Jiffy that they had both spins, but today Eskimo and Jiffy are different, unless special order, or possibly in a large sporting goods store.

bowhunter79 · #41 01-06-2013, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winch101

SJC is right , I have had 4 or so Jiffys over the last 30 yrs ....My last one

6 yrs ago , nothing but trouble ....bad carb...brutal to start....not happy .

Strikemaster 4 strk now sweet so far ....have to be gentler more plastic

way lighter and cuts better . my .02 cents

I picked up the strikemaster with honda engine and it's pretty nice. Lighter than electric and lots of power not issues starting what so ever I would reccommend it. Honda's notoriously last a long time

Z7shooter · #42 01-06-2013, 11:37 AM

Dont waste your time. Buy a strikemaster.

davebuck · #43 01-06-2013, 11:53 AM

Oh well got my jiffy back from it's tune up yes that was me kicking it around newel ran better before it went in the shop 85 bucks it's going back maybe a Eskimo next winter

Moby Dick · #44 01-06-2013, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snubber

Hey everyone was just wondering what's everyone's take of these augers. I'm can't deside on ether. The new jiffy 4 stroke(not propane) or Eskimo shark z71 or z51.

.

I own 2 Jiffy 10". Just got the new Jiffy 4 stroke this year. I also own an older Jiffy (the white one, mixed gas).

The new 4 strokes are hard to start as you need to hold the throttle wide open (prime and set choke first).......unlike starting the old mixed gas jiffy augers. I would flood my old one if I did that.

My new 4 stroke Jiffy is very good and easy to start.......usually goes on the first pull.

208prov · #45 01-06-2013, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebuck

Oh well got my jiffy back from it's tune up yes that was me kicking it around newel ran better before it went in the shop 85 bucks it's going back maybe a Eskimo next winter

I have 3 jiffy's in the garage, All wont run right, I wont spend the 85 bucks on fixing them, There only 3/4 years old, The old jiffy 10 plus years starts everytime, The eskimo z71 i have is 3 years old and is junk, Carb problems, Dads Z71 2 years old runs like a dream, My Keco kluge is a little hard starting in -20 but once (love my 12'' bit on it) its running your good for the day, Its a machine for drilling,

ice · #46 01-06-2013, 12:36 PM

Love my jiffy 5+ years, and I can usually get it running after 4-5 pulls after sitting all summer, never had any issues or repairs with it, runs like a dream

davebuck · #47 01-06-2013, 09:15 PM

Had my jiffy for 5yrs not to many issues got it tuned up at the lawn shop .last year didn't do to good of a job . Went to home hardware in the Rredcliff an it's going back tomorrow i hope i can get this year out of it . Nice to see some good info on different augers on here

Mike_W · #48 01-08-2013, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleJax

Hey Mike, you can put a 10" auger on your Husqvarna too.

I know I had the jiffy 10 inch first and got the 8 inch Husky used.

One thing that I also like with the jiffy's for is the ripper blades.....when fishing out of a permanent shack and re-opening holes they are much better picked up a new 8 inch leg for the jiffy and bring it out later in the year when we drive on and multiple 2ft+ holes are needed my fishing partner for the day can run one at the same time!!

tightlines · #49 01-08-2013, 08:43 PM

I myself have a z51 and love it. Always starts, plenty of power, and actually pretty quiet.

Ryebee · #50 01-09-2013, 02:49 PM

In the past couple of weeks I have picked up 3 augers. 2 jiffy that had to be returned and was deciding between the strikemaster or the eskimo. After reading all the positive info on the jiffy I was certain they would be good quality. After picking a couple up I'm guessing those recommendations were given by people who had the older ones. The new ones have so much fragile plastic I had the handle break on one (which was being a bitch to start) and on the 8th pull the handle cracked apart. The other one had the plastic piece on the shaft crack during assembly. Not impressed. One was gas one was the propane.

Went to buy a strike master and when I got to the till there were 2 being returned so I went and talked to the guys. Apparently the plastic handles and plastics around the engine gave way when drilling for them. Disappointing as I've heard such great things about the blades and the engine.

Finally settled on the eskimo today. Metal handles etc, overall pretty good reviews on the viper engine. Shaft is attached using a bolt that screws in and doesn't have plastic casing around it holding a pin in. Fired right up on the second pull and seems to run very well...

So far it's looking like the new eskimos are better made than the newer jiffy's so I'm looking forward to punching a few hundred holes with this one. Best of all it was on sale, and ended up being just over 200 dollars less than the others I was looking at! I'll provide another update once I use this one for a few weeks. Hopefully it holds up, but so far it's looking solid.

WayneChristie · #51 01-09-2013, 06:55 PM

I did hear back from Jiffy on my new 10 inch propane, all they said was the throttle handle is considered part of the engine and warrantied for 1 year, yay so I have to drive 100 miles to get another cheap piece of crap put on, they said absolutely nothing about the zero cold weather performance, or about the store giving me the brush off after I walked out the door with it. Last Jiffy I will ever buy and last expensive piece of equipment from Wholesale sports

B_Type13X2 · #52 01-09-2013, 07:04 PM

After reading this thread I went and bought an Eskimo Z51, kinda feeling like I dodged a bullet because I was seriously considering buying a Jiffy propane auger.

jeffrey929 · #53 01-09-2013, 07:21 PM

Still have no regrets with my Jiffy propane auger.. The throttle trigger did crack last week when it was cold, but rigged an easy quick fix and kept on drilling... Probably won't even bother replacing it as the warranty is over.. As far as I can tell, both the Jiffy and the Eskimo have way too much plastic

madatter · #54 01-09-2013, 08:12 PM

Dropped my Eskimo Z71 first winter I had it,fairly cold out and wrecked the carb.....lots of plasticky stuff there
They replaced it under warranty...
My old Jiffy Model 30 has been beaten to death for 15 years and still runs good.
So yes I'd say pretty much all the new augers are fragile...

jeffrey929 · #55 01-09-2013, 08:19 PM

By the sounds of things, there are lots of older Jiffy's kicking around that don't want to die... I have one as well.. Makes sense that the new stuff wouldn't last as long... No money in durable longevity

SCHOOCH · #56 01-09-2013, 08:40 PM

Just got my buddy to buy the Z71, brought it to my house today so i could show him how to use it (has never ice fished EVER). Put fuel/oil in primed and she started up with 1/2 a pull......VERY IMPRESSED! Pulled my Jiffy Legend out of the truck to show him the difference and for once in its life started with 1 pull......VERY SHOCKED!!!!!! The only thing i prefer on mine is that its all metal and i'm not very impressed with all the plastic on the new augers.......but i really do like that Z71!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WayneChristie · #57 01-09-2013, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCHOOCH

Just got my buddy to buy the Z71, brought it to my house today so i could show him how to use it (has never ice fished EVER). Put fuel/oil in primed and she started up with 1/2 a pull......VERY IMPRESSED! Pulled my Jiffy Legend out of the truck to show him the difference and for once in its life started with 1 pull......VERY SHOCKED!!!!!! The only thing i prefer on mine is that its all metal and i'm not very impressed with all the plastic on the new augers.......but i really do like that Z71!!!!!!!!!!!!!

one pull eh? thats because I wasnt in the area. I have the jiffy curse

SCHOOCH · #58 01-09-2013, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

one pull eh? thats because I wasnt in the area. I have the jiffy curse

Going to have to test you beside the Eskimo next.......of course after we have all the holes drilled and you cant cause a catastrophe with your curse

LonelyAngler · #59 01-09-2013, 09:58 PM

have now been out 6 times with my new model 41 jiffy. I have figured it out a little bit. First off I turned up the idle to 1300 rpms, I was finding at full choke I had to hold the throttle just a bit. Now the start up is prime three times full choke, and so far it will start on two or three pulls. So far the coldest I have used it was -18c . If the throttle handle makes it through the winter I am going to build a alumium version. Maybe a twist throttle, would be a lot easier with big gloves on.

snubber · #60 01-11-2013, 09:45 AM

Sounds like lots of good advice. I used to have a old jiffy white lightning. Always started with in the first few pulls and ripped thru the ice very quick. I could lean on it and would never bog down but if it ever got jammed up you would be going for a ride for sure. Best auger I ever had. But of course someone needed it more then me a stole it out of the back of truck. So went and bought a new jiffy about 5-6 years ago and it's been not to bad but not like me old one. This one I have to let it warm up for 15 mins first and let the auger do the work. If I lean on it at all Bogs right down. Not that impressed. So that's why I started this post. I sold my jiffy after many many years together and after a lot of thoughts. I'm going to be the owner of the Eskimo Z71.