Electric auger

[Big Buck Buster]

I guess that there isn't anybody that owns the "new style" Ice Gator, or they just don't want to comment on how poor it performs here in Minnesota with thicker ice, than in Ohio.

I have had the chance to try out the "new style" Ice Gator. Let's just say that they have some very BIG "bugs" to work out in the new style.

I have also heard that as many as 20 "new style" Gators have been sent back for warranty. The numbers may have grown since then too.

Again, I have the "old style" Ice Gator, and am very pleased with the performance of it.

Even though I am pleased with the performance, I am not very pleased that my 1 year old Ice Gator is now obsolete. They said they will only carry the parts for the old style Ice Gator until parts are gone.

[thatoneguy]

I can get 16-20 holes through 2' of ice every time out. No mess, no gas or oil to buy, no smoke in the house, drills em quick and clean. The SM Electra also comes with a cable to hook it up to your car battery (or any other battery like that) so you can really drill unlimited holes that way.

Now if you need to drill 100 holes, and you don't want to lug the extra battery with you, gas would probably be the way to go. I've never needed to drill nearly that many, but I understand that some people who like chasing moving schools need to.

You can't go wrong either way, but for ease of use and environmental impact, I'm 100% electric.

[Big Buck Buster]

I can get 16-20 holes through 2' of ice every time out. No mess, no gas or oil to buy, no smoke in the house, drills em quick and clean. The SM Electra also comes with a cable to hook it up to your car battery (or any other battery like that) so you can really drill unlimited holes that way.

Now if you need to drill 100 holes, and you don't want to lug the extra battery with you, gas would probably be the way to go. I've never needed to drill nearly that many, but I understand that some people who like chasing moving schools need to.

You can't go wrong either way, but for ease of use and environmental impact, I'm 100% electric.

Do you have the "new style" Ice Gator, or the strikemaster electric?

[Herky2002]

I guess that there isn't anybody that owns the "new style" Ice Gator, or they just don't want to comment on how poor it performs here in Minnesota with thicker ice, than in Ohio.

I have had the chance to try out the "new style" Ice Gator. Let's just say that they have some very BIG "bugs" to work out in the new style.

I have also heard that as many as 20 "new style" Gators have been sent back for warranty. The numbers may have grown since then too.

Again, I have the "old style" Ice Gator, and am very pleased with the performance of it.

Even though I am pleased with the performance, I am not very pleased that my 1 year old Ice Gator is now obsolete. They said they will only carry the parts for the old style Ice Gator until parts are gone.

Well, make that 21 sent in for warranty repairs. I bought the new IceGator "Attacker" at the start of the season. Had no problems with it until yesterday (although in ice that is two feet thick like we have in the metro now, I cannot get more than about 20-25 holes from a charge).

Yesterday we went out on Big Marine. We had cut 4 holes checking depth in a couple of spots and found where we wanted to be. It worked fine on hole #4, but when I went to cut the next hole, the thing was completely dead. I had charged it the night before so I have no idea how it could go from working perfectly to not showing any signs of life at all.

When we got home, I charged it all night and just got up to check it, because my young son really wants to go out today. The darned thing is still completely dead. The battery is charged, the connections look fine, I checked the switches after reading this thread, and they are fine too.

It is going to be a sad day for my boy when he wakes up. After reading all this and my experience, I am really not sure about quality control at IceGator.

[Fly2day]

what about the price? 390 bucks plus all the other goodies to buy with it? I saw you could swap out to the LI-ION for a mere 620 dollars extra, sounds reasonable... I was starting to like the sound of the IG but sounds like gas is the way to go...

[Big Buck Buster]

IMHO, they should have stuck with the "earlier model" Ice Gator until all "the bugs" had been worked out of the "new style" Ice Gator before putting it on the market. This way the customer satisfaction would be right up top. This is going to hurt Ice Gator's reputation, if you ask me.

[Steve Foss]

Boy, that's a bummer to hear about. I've had no issues at all with mine (last year's model) after having drilled several hundred holes. No doubt IG will get the bugs worked out. New designs/products always take time to get right, but it always smarts when a guy shells out the bucks for something that doesn't perform well.

It's hard to say what percentage of new style augers are having the problem, or whether it's a design, manufacturing or assembly flaw. Hopefully they'll iron it out and provide excellent customer service along the way.

[Big Buck Buster]

Ice Gator actually came up to the Mankato area to test the "new style" Gator after people in Minnesota were having problems with it to see what was going on. Down in Ohio, they haven't had any issues(that I am aware of) with them. They also don't have the thickness of ice, like we do here in Minnesota. I was told by neighbor, who has had issues with his new Ice Gator, that when the company tried it in Minnesota, they had the same thing happen to it. Basically failed after drilling a few holes in the thicker ice.

I would really like to upgrade to the "new style" Ice Gator in the future, but not until they work out the problems with it.

After looking at my neighbors switch that burnt on his new one, it looks like too high of an amp draw for the switch. The contacts were getting so hot, that it would melt the plastic push button right to the contact bar causing it to stay down and run wide open.

[Scott K]

That should be an easy fix, they just need to wire some sort of relay in the circuit to take the draw off of the switches. Mine is the old style, and I have had 0 issues with mine. I am sure IceGator will take care of anyone with problems. They seem like a top notch company.

[Big Buck Buster]

That should be an easy fix, they just need to wire some sort of relay in the circuit to take the draw off of the switches. Mine is the old style, and I have had 0 issues with mine. I am sure IceGator will take care of anyone with problems. They seem like a top notch company.

I don't think so. These contacts that are in the new ones are very large. I should have taken a pic of the switch contacts. These contacts are thick, and shouldn't have any trouble carrying the load. The contacts looked like some arc welding was going on.

According to Ice Gator, they are the same switches/contacts as the earlier models. The motor and gearing has been changed in the new ones.

I will have to get a hold of the other Ice Gator that he purchased for his friend and take some pics of his switch. I will post them when I get them. You will see how large the contacts are in them.

[Steve Foss]

I am sure IceGator will take care of anyone with problems. They seem like a top notch company.

I've had good dealings with them, too. It'll be interesting to see how they rework the new Gators to compensate for the problem. While I know a bit about wiring, I'm no electrician, and don't really have much interest in the nuts and bolts of why some of the new units are failing. All I really care about is that they iron out any bugs before it comes time for me to upgrade (hopefully years from now). And that they make it right, of course, for the people who have had the product fail.

[Big Buck Buster]

I agree 100% that Greg at Ice Gator will work out the problems with the new one. I also agree that the customer support is top notch. I had no problems warrantying my last years model with them, and had no issues since.

These are the pics of a friend's switch on the new one. In the first pic you can see how much the button melted down.

In this second pic, you can see where the contact bar formed into the plastic. It is a little bleary, but you can see what it is suppose to look like comparing to the bottom one.

In this last pic, you can see how heavy the contact bars are.

[Scott K]

I agree them are large contacts, but not as large as in a starter relay/solenoid, which it looks like what will be needed to correct the issue.

[Big Buck Buster]

I agree them are large contacts, but not as large as in a starter relay/solenoid, which it looks like what will be needed to correct the issue.

That sounds like a good idea. Bolt two ford starter solenoids on(one for forward, and another for reverse).

[Herky2002]

My experience with my new IceGator got even worse today. After charging it all night, it would not turn on at all when I checked it this morning.

At about 10 this morning, I was taking it to the basement and hit the forward button. It worked perfectly! I checked it several more times over the next couple of hours, and it worked fine every time. So decided that yesterday was some fluke with the battery that charging it had fixed. I packed up and headed to the lake.

Well, you guessed it. When I got ready to drill my first hole, it kicked in, turned about half a rotation and then died. After that it was just like before -- completely dead.

I was so mad I wanted to throw the thing in the lake. I would've too, but I didn't have a hole to throw it down!

Just my luck to get an IceGator that's possessed. We'll see what IceGator says tomorrow.

[svonasek]

Originally Posted By: 4wanderingeyes

I agree them are large contacts, but not as large as in a starter relay/solenoid, which it looks like what will be needed to correct the issue.

That sounds like a good idea. Bolt two ford starter solenoids on(one for forward, and another for reverse).

You'd have to use 4 ford starter relays. You have to switch polarity to get the motor to reverse which would require 4 poles total

[Andy Loos1432404924]

with my icegator i can drill 75 holes in a day with it through 2 feet of ice, it probably can do more, but that is the most i have drilled in a day. Just tried out there new lithium ice gator and the batter pack only weights 4 pounds!!

[Big Buck Buster]

You'd have to use 4 ford starter relays. You have to switch polarity to get the motor to reverse which would require 4 poles total

I was only stating that jokingly. I would never alter the "new style" ice gator switch design. It still has warranty on it, and if anything was done to it, warranty would be void.

Now on my obsolete/last years model, I would be willing to have modifications done to it by a local electrical shop, putting parts on it that are readily available to replace if ever go out.

BBB

[hovermn]

I have a new style Ice gator (green battery pack) I'm on my second one. The first one would cut around 40 holes through 10" of ice. Spoke with Greg at length about this on the phone and he agreed to ship me a new unit saying it probably had a bad battery. Got the new one around a month later when there was about 25" of ice. So far, It's been an animal! I cut through 27+ inches on Sunday without any issues. I haven't done an endurance test with this one yet, but have drilled around 20 holes through nearly 30" of ice without sigh of dying.

I'm curious to hear about the switch issue. The first one seemed to cut out every once in a while, needing more pressure on the switch. I recommended to Greg that they switch to a momentary toggle switch. Wouldn't that be nice?! Anyway, now that I have the new unit I'm very satisfied. Working with Ice gator has been a pleasure, but I'm also very understanding of their issues being a new style and all. They're also a small company, and I tend to be more patient with mom and pop shops than larger companies.

I've been recommending this auger to everyone I talk to. My favorit line is, "hold on, I have to warm up the auger!" then start drilling! HA! I have a SM lazer auger attached and I swear it's as fast as the gas head. I'm almost ready to summerize the gas head already. A month or so ago I was cutting around 50' away from my buddy and he said he didn't even know I was drilling until the bit broke through. Love it!

[Steve Foss]

I was so mad I wanted to throw the thing in the lake. I would've too, but I didn't have a hole to throw it down!

Now that's funny right there!

Not making light of your frustration, herky. I know it sucks when that happens, but it's good you got a sense of humor about it.

[hovermn]

Had the new style 'Gator out Thursday on the St. Croix cutting through around 28" of ice. Cut 10 holes for our shacks and a couple for another fisherman that needed help. The 'Gator performed without flaws, and wowed everyone that saw it with how fast it cut. Later on when the fish lock jawed, I decided to do an endurance test. 10 holes later, my thumb wore out, but the auger was still going. All told, I cut through about 46.5 ft of ice, and the auger was still going strong.

My opinion is that they had issues with the first series of new augers, but it looks like they may have been ironed out. I rememeber talking to Greg at Icegator and he mentioned some issues with switches, but that they've been resolved.

I'm loving my electric auger, and would recommend it to anyone! With the self contained battery pack, it allows me to bring in just the batteries to charge and not the whole auger. It's very handy!

[fishguyd]

Cant imagine telling clients that they cant ice fish because my battery on my auger just decided to quit without warning--car or boat battery ever do that? Enough said, they are not for me. Good Luck, Capt. Josh