Ice Gator Owners??????

[Neighbor_guy]

Since I only know two of them, and both do very different types of fishing, I figured this would be a good place to ask the question.....

For those of you who own an Ice Gator, would you buy it again?

They say 30+ holes in 20" of ice. Sound about right?

Have you ever run out of charge while out and about.

So lets hear it, good and bad. I am getting tired of constantly rebuilding my old Jiffy. The new auger market is all spendy, and I am thinking hard about walking away from the mixing and spilled fuel in the fish house.

[hovermn]

I have an Icegator, and have used both the second generation and third generation power heads. To give you an idea of my confidence in this unit, my goal this year is to use the Gator 100% of the time!

I bought the 2nd generation ice gator with the green removable battery pack and gray rubber covered push buttons last December, and used it most of the time last season. The first test I did, there was around 10" of ice, and it cut around 40 holes. Expecting many more, I called Icegator and had a great conversation with Greg. He agreed that something wasn't right, and sent a new battery pack. While I don't remember running another test for a while after getting the pack, it did make a difference. The next test I did was on the Croix with 28" of ice. We'll just say my thumb wore out before the battery pack did at 27 holes.

The buttons on the 2nd generation Gator are pretty tough to push down, especially through thicker ice and/or after cutting several holes. This October, I checked out their HSOforum and noticed they had changed the buttons to a lever style, and immediately called them. Long story short, I ended up getting the 3rd generation power head, and couldn't be happier! The levers are very easy to press, and I can imagine using the Gator until the battery pack dies, not my thumb.

So short story long, to answer your questions:

1. Yes, I would buy the gator again. In fact, I plan on buying their new lithium ion battery back when they become available in the next few weeks. I also find myself talking to other anglers about the Gator, recommending it to everyone.

2. 30 holes through 20" of ice is low. I'd expect closer to 40-45+

3. I've never run out of charge. With the 2nd gen. it was my thumb that wore, which was only after test drilling 18 holes in a row, which was after cutting 9 holes earlier that day. If spread out, I would have been fine.

Here's a short list of problems I've had with the Gator:

1. Battery pack didn't hold a charge long. Gator replaced, fixed problem.

2. Knobs on the bottom of the battery pack angled in towards center of pack, preventing them from fitting into the recesses in the power head. See problem three for fix.

3. Buttons on 2nd generation power head were difficult to press for long periods of time. After talking to Greg about the 3rd generation power head, and my battery pack knobs, he agreed to take a look at the St. Paul Ice Show. There, he explained that my 2nd generation power head was one of the first production models, and the recesses for the pack were machined with very tight tolerance. 3rd gen. heads have more play. He ended up swapping out my power head for a new 3rd gen head with lever buttons! My battery pack now fits great, and the levers are a breeze to use.

So far, the service that Gator has provided has been top notch. The problems that I had are all ironed out with the 3rd generation head. I say buy with confidence! It's by far the finest electric auger on the market right now, and with the lithium pack, it's getting close to the same weight as a Strike Master auger.

Hope this helps!

[Big A]

hovermn,

AWESOME write up!

Neighbor_guy,

if they hadnt been sold out for the past two months, I had every intention in the world of buying you the lithium ion icegator for christmas. Sadly the situation worked differently for both of us this year. But I have said it before and i will say it again...

ICEGATOR's are friggin awesome!

[DTro]

Great review Hover.

Looks like they could have used you in their R&D dept.

[Scott K]

I also agree you should easily get 40+ holes with 20 inches of ice. The IceGator isnt for everyone though, if you like to make swiss cheese out of the ice and move around alot, you will easily wear down the batteries, and unless you are near something to charge it with, you are stuck fishing one of the first 40-50 holes you drilled. Now if you like to fish a perm, and bore a few extra holes outside, then this auger cant be beat. I have the IceGator, with a Nils bit, I can punch holes much faster then a SM Laser can. So far I have had mine for a couple years, with zero issues. Same batteries as well. I love mine, and would buy one all over again!

[CJH]

The new Lion battery packs sound awesome, that may be the way I go with my next auger.

[Steve Foss]

Excellent review, hovermn!

I'm on my second season with my Gator (probably I'm one of those N.G. mentioned), and I won't be going back to a gas auger. I'm running a 2nd genny Gator and have reviewed it in threads on HSO many times. Many days I put in 40 holes through 18+ inches of ice and still have power left. Two thumbs up! Haven't had any probs with the buttons yet, either.

I'd be a shoo in for the lithium Ion pack if it wasn't so spendy.

[harvey lee]

Mobile fishing--StrikeMaster Solo hnads down.

Drilling a couple holes-Ice gator.

The Ice gator does a fine job but for me it is a bit on the heavy side to lug around for sure.

[hovermn]

Thanks for your comments, guys! I'm pretty passionate about the Gator, and hope that Greg and his company go far. I think that they have a great thing going, and I'm more than happy to support a small business.

Harvey, I'll agree if you're doing a lot of running and gunning. Electric will not replace a gas auger, both for weight and run time. However, with the new lithium battery pack, it cuts the weight of the power head from 27 lbs to 19. That's pretty sweet if you ask me, and a lot more reasonable to lug around. Also, they're claiming 25-30% longer run time with the lith. My experience with Lithium cordless tools makes me believe that they're pretty close on that number.

This time of year, I don't worry about running out of juice, and that's 2-3 people using it to cut their holes. 10-14" of ice, it'll run as long as we need, including moving a few times. Once the ice gets up in the 20-30" thickness, I'm the only one that'll use it and it powers through what I need it to.

But you're right. If you're actively searching for fish, a light gas auger is the way to go, hands down! Of course, this is just MHO

[harvey lee]

19#'s is pretty light. That could also work for cutting many holes.

[CaptSpike]

My experience has been different from others here. I bought my first gator two years ago. I had some issues with the fwd, rev and brake intermittently cutting out and not working. Greg explained the switch system and suggested I send the unit in. After receiving the unit back I had problems with the unit staying in fwd and not shutting off. Sometimes it would rip the auger from my hands when breaking thru and she would be spinning away. Took two of us to stop it. Greg suggested hitting the bottom below the switches to keep it from running. This worked but was a PITA. My unit was one without sealed battery packs or sealed switches. I asked if I could either upgrade the switches or trade the unit towards a new design as they had revamped the switches again over this summer. At that time I realized the unit wasn't going to be offered with reverse anymore (which I loved that feature) so I was planning on going with the rework of my switches. A week before I was going to send it in I saw they were once again offering the reverse with the new switch design. At that point I was made an offer from icegator to buy a new unit at a reduced price or get my switches upgraded. I went with the new unit at a reduced price. I got the LI battery pack. I love how much lighter this is than the original. I have only got out four times so far this season and haven't drilled many holes, but so far so good. Even with all the problems I had with the other model I loved it when it was working properly. I ended up selling the one I had problems with to my friend who modified the switches to try to fix the sticking issue. So far so good there as well. My nephew also owns one of the original models and has no issues with his, so far.

Hopefully I can build up confidence with this new unit so I wont always be thinking about dragging an extra auger along just in case. I also haven't heard any issues with the new design yet either, though it is early in the season.

Here's to a good working gator for 2011.

Spike

PS there is another ice fishing site with plenty so say good and bad about gators.

[springermnguy26]

which model do you guys have the attacker 2 or the annihilator?

[hovermn]

Attacker 24 volt

[Big A]

Attacker here also

[Steve Foss]

Attacker.

[Steve Foss]

My Attacker developed a crack/break in the battery cover. Just discovered it a week ago and e-mailed Ice Gator to see if JB Weld would be a good fix. Greg said it probably wouldn't work as a fix, and even though the Attacker is out of production and way out of warranty, they shipped a new cover today at no charge. All I had to do was pay shipping.

Standup folks!

[hovermn]

I just wanted to give a little update on the 'Gator's performance so far this year. As I had hoped, I'm yet to fire up the gas auger! Recently some friends and I spent the weekend on Mille Lacs, cutting through nearly 36" of ice! With the extention on (cuttin side a wheeled house), the Gator gobbled up everything I threw at it!

I tell you what's really been great: Preheating the fish house! How nice is it to leave the windows and door closes while drilling holes! No more freezing while airing out the gas fumes

So far, everyone that's been out with me has been hugely impressed by the Icegator's performace. The last comment I got was from a friend that was standing outside the house while I was drilling. He said, "I didn't even know you had cut the holes before you dropped the house! It's so quiet!" The other day, I opened 7 of the 9 holes before another angler cut his first. I realize that his blades were insanely dull, but still. It sounded like he was using a hot saw, and no one even heard me

Okay, enough with the bragging. Seriously, the season's nearly over and I'm still impressed with the Icegator everytime I go out. My hat's off to you, Greg for putting together such a fine cutting instrument!

[buzbunni]

I'd be a shoo in for the lithium Ion pack if it wasn't so spendy.

My experience with Lithium Ion batteries in cold weather is not good.

Perhaps it is not a problem with larger batteries, but on battery powered tools like cordless drills, etc., L-ion is completely worthless in cold weather conditions.