Big Volt Auger

[Princeton]

Anyone have one and would you recomend it over a rechargable for a permanant house?

[AlligatorDundee]

I have a 10 inch BIGVOLT.

With a Slush bucket. Perfect tools.

No rechargeble 10 inch augers available yet.

[Iambjm]

That is what I am getting this winter. I looked at the Ion, but $150 for a replacement battery seems kind of steep. I will mainly be using it in the wheelhouse so having to hook it up to a battery is no hassle for me.

[AlligatorDundee]

With my BIGVOLT

My SLUSH BUCKET and

Red OTTER AUGER SHIELD I can cut

all my holes without a drop on the floor.

[Bulldoggr]

Bought one last year for use in the Ice Castle. It works awesome. With an extension on thick ice conditions I would lower the house half way down. Then drill the holes. I have a slush bucket. But I like to use some of slush for sealing up around the hole. Along with sleeves for the house I can get a nice seal.

Best part is no fumes in the house and super quick an ez to hook up to one of the batteries in the fish house.

[Princeton]

Thanks for the feedback looks like I will be picking one up!!

[BLACKJACK]

I have the Strikemaster Electra auger, with the internal battery AND an external plug that can be connected to an external battery, is there really any difference between the two once they're connected to an external battery?

[BartmanMN]

I have the Strikemaster Electra auger, with the internal battery AND an external plug that can be connected to an external battery, is there really any difference between the two once they're connected to an external battery?

Big Volt uses a chipper blade rather than Lazer blades. I'd assume it has a bigger motor, however I do not have the specs on it.

[pushbutton]

Don't quote me either, but think it is geared something like 4 times faster. Regardless....a lot faster and coupled with the chippers is able to slice through and reopen a heck of a lot faster and better.

[Hawg]

I have an Ion and am very happy with everything except the small hole. My friend bought a 10 in Big Volt and it's very impressive. I would have gotten one if I had seen that first. There is no comparison between the Big Volt and any other electric auger. BV is a beast!

[low277]

I also have a 8.25" Big Volt, it has been great so far, last winter was my 1st season with it.

[BLACKJACK]

Anybody want to buy an Electra?? Never have been happy with it, slow cutter, battery runs out, but my biggest complaint is that if you want to drill some holes outside, do some searching, I end up bring my gas auger too, so now I'm carrying two augers, which take up a lot of room in the truck. Was wondering how the propane 4 strokes are, how much fumes they'd put out in the house??

[Hawg]

The Ion would work well for you if you don't need more than about 30 holes. They are way better than the type you have. Big Volts are strictly house augers unless you want to carry a car battery around.

[Princeton]

Tried the big volt out this weekend on the open ice and it worked great!!! Looking forward to using in the house, much better then stinking up the house and setting off the fire alarm! Construction of the auger looks robust and I am sure that it will last many years.

[waskawood]

I love my Big Volt for the wheel house. No more stink!!!! It has plenty of power and is much lighter for use old guys than the battery contained units. On my third season and no problems.

[holmsvc]

How much do they draw off you batteries if you were to drill 6 to 8 holes and there is 2 ft of ice?

[aanderud]

How much do they draw off you batteries if you were to drill 6 to 8 holes and there is 2 ft of ice?

I think they're rated at something like 1.21 gigawatts. So, assuming 1 inch per second, and factoring in the speed of light in a vacuum, the refractive index of the ice, and the ducting from the ionosphere, you should see approximately zero noticeable difference after only drilling 6 to 8 holes.

In all seriousness, Ion rates their battery as capable of drilling 40 holes through 2 feet of ice. You're drilling 1/6 that many holes, and your battery in your house is probably 4x as large as the small portable battery in the Ion auger. That's where I came up with the approximately-zero above when you said 6-8 holes. (it had nothing to do with the ionosphere). It's probably going to drain it 5% or less.

[holmsvc]

I was just thinking if you are using a 10 inch chipper blade it would use a lot more juice than an ion does.

[aanderud]

I was just thinking if you are using a 10 inch chipper blade it would use a lot more juice than an ion does.

Good point. The total amount of ice removed with the 10 incher would be 25*pi*24 cubic inches. If you used the 8 incher, you'd have 16*pi*24 cubic inches. So, you're cutting/moving 25/16 more ice than the Ion. Round that up to 2x, and you'll still be using less than 10% of your battery I'd guess. Noticeable? Maybe but probably won't break the bank.

[grundy]

Sorry seen em all out on the ice. Get an Ice Gator with a 8" lazer drill and beat em all in drilling time. Just my 2¢.

[Gus]

Ice gators do look like they rip ice, but they use a laser hand auger or other hand augers. It doesn't say on their HSOforum if they have adapters for power auger bits or not.

I'd hate to run a gator and a hand bit trying to reopen holes! Probably ruin the bit pretty quick. They are not as stout as the power bits.

I think the whole idea behind the big volt is for wheel houses or skid houses where there is power to connect to and big drilling power needed to get the job done with no fumes.

Not saying ice gator or ions are bad augers. I'm saying I believe the big volt is purpose built for this exact task.

I've looked into all of them, debated pros and cons, and I have a big volt new this season. Once I get the big house on the ice I'll let ya'll know how it goes. My post here may be a bit premature since I haven't run it yet, but in all my researching I don't think I'll be sorry I bought it for it's intended purpose. Drilling or redrilling in the skid and wheel house.

[Hawg]

You won't be sorry. Houses are what they are made for. What about tips though? Will you cart a battery around or have a second auger? That's what made me go with the Ion.

[Iambjm]

Anybody want to buy an Electra?? Never have been happy with it, slow cutter, battery runs out, but my biggest complaint is that if you want to drill some holes outside, do some searching, I end up bring my gas auger too, so now I'm carrying two augers, which take up a lot of room in the truck. Was wondering how the propane 4 strokes are, how much fumes they'd put out in the house??

Propane Jiffy's give off no fumes, and they came out with a Jiffy propane lite this year, much lighter than the regular ones. The gals from Wisconsin Women Fish use them and last year we drilled around 100 holes on Chequamegon Bay and up by Bayfield with no problems at all. I would get on but they are a bit pricier than the Big Volt.

[Gus]

I'll have a gas auger when I know I'll be putting out tipups. I've got a Strike Lite and a laser mag. I'm kind of an auger lush.

Propane... sounds great, but my personal view after owning one for a month, POS. Never again.