Check All Your Ice Gear & Equip B4 Hitting the ICE

[icebucketjohn]

Yeah, the ICE TACKLE has been ready for a few weeks. Yesterday & today I spent the day checking, cleaning & firing up the COLEMAN LANTERNS, MR BUDDY HEATER, Auger Blade check/sharpening/replacemement and my Vex STE. Mods & improvements have been done to the shanty.

I looked at The Mr. Buddy Heater MAINTENANCE VIDEO and decided to give it a good cleaning. Per the vid, I soaked a Q-Tip in alcohol and swabbed the fuel tube. Unfortunately, the cotton tip came off in the tube while swabbing., subsequently plugging up the fuel feed tube. I tried to "burn it out" with a propane torch. Nada., No Luck. Finally I took the unit apart in order to retrieve the small, cotton tip that was plugging up the works. Put it back together and it fired up immediately. (NEXT TIME I'LL USE A PIPE CLEANER INSTEAD OF A Q-TIP).

READY FOR ICE.

Don't wait till the last minute to do your gear maintenance.

[slabslayer]

Good idea!!  I did all that and started the auger last week!!

[icebucketjohn]

As much as I hate to say it: I'd even hit Old State Park (Portage Lakes) if it's the first ice. 

Keeping my fingers crossed to have ice between xmas & new years.

[HardWater Junkie]

Been going through all my gear for the last 20 months. lol. Had the gas auger running over the weekend. Finished taking the bench seat out of my otter flip over shanty to lighten it up and installed a nice light weight high back swivel boat seat so my bad back wont end any days out early. Just need to mount my battery brackets in the sled for my LED lighting and minnow bucket aerator. I do need to get a new battery for my Marcum but other then that I think im ready. Im still working on a few projects to make my sled more organized but they dont need to be done to get on the ice. I have already installed the hyfax runners on the sled but would like to come up with a good way mount skis on my otter flipover shanty to pick the whole sled up off the ice about 12 inchs for the long drags across deep snow. I want them to either slide thru a bracket or on a hinge as I want it attached to the sled but want to be able to put them up and out of the way when im at my spot our not moving to far. Any good ideas out there that you guys have done?

[slabslayer]

I'm trying to come up with a similar idea.  I'm thinking some kind of aluminum frame on skis that I can either slide my shanty into or lift it up and in.  The aluminum won't add that much extra weight while dragging.

[HardWater Junkie]

I was thinking of using metal electrical conduit. It would be light weight yet study enough to hold all the weight of the sled and gear

[slabslayer]

That would be good too, and I have some of that.

[icebucketjohn]

Here's a fold-down Smitty I saw on the web: It might give ya an idea or two in designing yours.

[HardWater Junkie]

Thanks for the pic. I like the storage tubes underneath for storage and and top rack for the rest. I would like to build one like that for when I take my clam hub out.

[snowcone]

hey guys try using an old walker. there alum and this is the hybrid of such..i can store all my equip inside the plastic container that fits inside the frame and the pop up rests on top with my auger and stuff....here are some pics ....i will spin up some pics of the newest upgrade when i can ....

[slabslayer]

Cool idea!

[futurestrader]

Any sled you build make sure the skis are six inches or more between the sled and snow.  That way the snow can go under without dragging a snowplow out there.

[slabslayer]

Right!!

[skunkedagain]

Good Ideas

[zoeconner]

This wild be my ice ride for next season. The best thing is it already has a sled built in lol.