Electric Augers

[snagger]

Considering of dumping my gas auger and getting an electric. I'm tired of mixing gas, fumes, and roughing running gas. I've been researching the Ion and the Strikemaster Electra Lazer. Any advice or input from anyone? I'm not the type of fisherman that drills 50 holes through 24" of ice. I get out about 10X per year and drill about 10 holes each time out.

[jb426]

Love mine. Mine dosen't have a battery but i just use my truck battery. Works great. Use mine on upper red so it drills through the thickest of ice with no problem or fumes. The cord is long enough that I can pull truck up to door and drill 6 holes in my 8x12 house.

[38bill]

I'm using a Strikemaster Electra Lazer this year and it seems to work well. Only been dealing with 15" or so of ice and it cuts right through it without a problem. Haven't cut more than 6 holes at a time but its seems to have plenty of power left in the onboard battery. Sure is nice to just pick it up, push the button and drill.

[elusivecrappiecatcher]

I was in the auger search this last week as well. I was told about the ION and every swinging ding dong kept pushing it on me. If I was going electric I WOULD buy the ION over any other electric auger out there.

I ended up going propane and got the Jiffy Pro4Lite, and couldn't be happier.

[Northlander]

I would go with the Strikemsater because you can not only use it with the battery but with the cables as well if needed.

[tengy]

Im loving my clam conversion auger.

[BigDogRob]

My father-in-law purchased the Propane also this year and I noticed the sound is way different than I am used to! I am almost thinking about a 4 stroke with the honda, but am not sure about the exhaust from it! The propane cut through Red lake like Butter!

[B-man715]

I would stay away from the Electra.

Better much options out there like the Ion, Ice Gator, and Big Volt (just for the wheelhouse).

For me the Ion was the winner. You can still can take it outside (unlike the big volt).

It doesn't have the same performance as the Ice Gator, but it was cheaper ($425) and it also doesn't spin 100 MPH and throw ice all over the fish house like a Gator can.

I think the only thing that could improve with the Ion is if it had reverse..... that would save a lot of time over the course of the winter. I love the lightweight and overall compactness of the Ion. It takes up little room and stays in the shack all of the time, even on a 3 day trip with all of the other krap that comes along.

[JSK76]

I am almost thinking about a 4 stroke with the honda, but am not sure about the exhaust from it!

I drilled 5 holes with mine honda the other day in the wheel house and never even opened a window because they were froze shut. Didn't notice any exhaust.

As far as an electric, I love my ion!

[BigDogRob]

Thanks JSK, I was thinking it may be like a car or similar exhaust wise.

[38bill]

Just wondering what didn't you like when you were using the Electra?

I would stay away from the Electra.

Better much options out there like the Ion, Ice Gator, and Big Volt (just for the wheelhouse).

For me the Ion was the winner. You can still can take it outside (unlike the big volt).

It doesn't have the same performance as the Ice Gator, but it was cheaper ($425) and it also doesn't spin 100 MPH and throw ice all over the fish house like a Gator can.

I think the only thing that could improve with the Ion is if it had reverse..... that would save a lot of time over the course of the winter. I love the lightweight and overall compactness of the Ion. It takes up little room and stays in the shack all of the time, even on a 3 day trip with all of the other krap that comes along.

[B-man715]

Bill,

Compared to the others, they are painfully slow, drill a very limited amount of holes, and catch on the bottom of every dam hole.......

It will get the job done, but there are better augers out there.

[cableguy2]

Mine may be slow but don't have a problem catching. Serves it's purpose in my wheelhouse.

[sportfish]

I just tried my electra and it sucks ! It took 30 min to drill 6 holes in 15 inch of ice ! It drilled 3 holes fine and then it must have over heated and lost power . It's going up for sale I think . I will try it with a single blade chipper bit to see if it is any better

[Bureaucrat]

I just got back from 3 days on ice with my new Ion. I love that auger. It does have it's limitations, but it also has it's superior qualities.

Downside:

*You can't drill unlimited holes.

*You do need to mind the battery in cold temps. Keep it warm, and it will keep you fishing.

Upside:

*Quick! We used it to drill test holes while we were searching for the right depths. My brother rode on the tailgate and punched a hole. We were done drilling each hole before would could have gotten the heavier gas auger out and started and so on...

*No fumes. When it's cold and windy, being able to retain your house heat, or start the heater before you drill is darn nice.

*Just the right speed. It punches a hole quickly, but also doesn't go so fast that you're flinging ice chips all over the place inside your house.

*No jarring. I drilled in all sorts of ice and heaves and so forth. No jarring at all.

*Light. At 22lbs for the 8", it was very easy to run around and punch tip-up holes with it and not be exhausted when you were done. No dreaded "lug" back to the house with a heavy auger.

*Easy on the old man. We used the Ion when we were searching for fish. Once we found them, we used the gas 10" strikemaster to make our swiss cheese. It took a ton more energy and muscle to drill with that strikemaster than it did my Ion.

*I was very happy with the number of holes I could drill on one charge. I didn't count, but I was satisfied.

*Fast recharge. I went from dead to full in under three hours off our generator. We usually run our generator for about 4 hours a day for that express purpose, as well as charging fish finders, fish camera, and to allow some time for video games.

I imagine I will get a spare battery into the wish list. I think if I had a second battery, I alone could fish as much as I could stand in one day, even if hole hopping.

[V-12 Merlin]

I have the StrikeMaster and am quite happy with it. I don't generally drill a lot of holes per trip. Not being able to drill a ton of holes is the biggest limitation with using an electric, and it wasn't a factor for me.

There were two things that helped me make a decision:

1 - The StrikeMaster uses the same battery that my camera and flasher use. It can also use a car battery and can take a charge from a car's power outlet if I get desperate.

2 - It was cheaper than the Ion.

From a stricly performance-oriented perspective, the Ion blows it away. But, the purchase price and cost of replacement batteries was a sacrifice I wasn't willing to make.

They are a little on the slow side. I also noticed that if I put too much pressure in it, that it will catch - that's probably more due to blade design than being electric, but maybe the slow rpm's accentuate it.