Need to buy a Nils 6" power auger

[KrappieKilla]

After using a buddies Nils auger last weekend you have to be kidding with how awesome these augers cut. So light, and cuts through 2 feet of ice in 5-6 seconds. Then I read some reviews and I am totally sold.

So I have come to the realization that I just have to drop the coin on one. I want to buy one local to the twin cities area but I am not sure which stores carry a 6" auger with the long 48" shaft. I have found a few on the internet, but like I said I want to buy it from a store. If you know anywhere that carries them let me know, thanks a ton.

~Evan

[bee]

May be hard to find this time of year. Look for a Tanaka gas drill. check hsolist. You then can use most any bit you want.

[Northlander]

Give Marine General in Duluth a shot. They may just have 1 left.

[walleye44]

After using a buddies Nils auger last weekend you have to be kidding with how awesome these augers cut. So light, and cuts through 2 feet of ice in 5-6 seconds. Then I read some reviews and I am totally sold.

So I have come to the realization that I just have to drop the coin on one. I want to buy one local to the twin cities area but I am not sure which stores carry a 6" auger with the long 48" shaft. I have found a few on the internet, but like I said I want to buy it from a store. If you know anywhere that carries them let me know, thanks a ton.

~Evan

You will love it! Cannot believe how nice they cut! You might have to just order one. I had a buddy looking for one & they were out of stock this year at the places he checked.

[bee]

You can get the power head. Most likely you can get a Nils Hand. Combine them with a power adapter.

[Lawrence Luoma]

Look up Red Rock in Ely. They send free shipping I believe.

[icefisker]

Hi Evan- U know Nils are the best. I bought mine at the outfitter in Walker MN, maybe you could come this way and pick one up and we can shred together! 6" long shaft- Lenny from Park Rapids

[Bob Hicks]

Evan,

Don't do it. Don't buy the gas powered auger. What you REALLY need to buy is the 6" UR800C Convertible Cordless Hand Auger that converts into a cordless drill auger simply by removing the handle and attaching an 18V or larger cordless drill! Same cutting speed; no noise; no fumes; less weight; no gas mixing; and no fuel spills. Reported to cut through 770 inches of ice on one 4Ah battery charge. That would be 38 holes through 20" of ice. My 1.5Ah battery cuts 18 holes through a foot of ice.

There is no way that I'll be using a gas powered auger anytime soon. I'll be selling mine (gas auger) at the start of next season.

[aczr2k]

Keep in mind Bob you live in Utah, not sure how much ice you get out there but there is no way I'm drilling multiple holes through 3-4' of ice with a cordless drill here in MN.

[solbes]

I have the orange convertible 6" Nils. With my 1.5 Ah battery 18v drill, I get maybe 7-8 holes through 35" of ice. If you drill 10-15 holes per outing, get a higher capacity drill battery or bring two fully charged batteries. The benefits are maintenance, there is none with a drill. Fast, cuts through that 3' of ice in 30 seconds or less. Switching to the supplied manual handle, you can drill through the same 35" of ice in about 1-1.5 minutes with little effort.

But I can see if you are the type that likes to hole hop and cut 50 holes, the gas Tanaka auger will be a far better choice.

[Bob Hicks]

Keep in mind Bob you live in Utah, not sure how much ice you get out there but there is no way I'm drilling multiple holes through 3-4' of ice with a cordless drill here in MN.

Very good point. Typical ice here is MAYBE 20" tops and the Nils Cordless can go a full 36". There is no extension available that I'm aware of so for any ice over 36" thick, the Nils Cordless is out of the equation.

BUT, there isn't a gas auger out there (with the exception of the speed competition monsters - see one here:

) that will cut faster or easier with less trouble, maintenance, and weight than the Nils Cordless. Well, MAYBE the gas engine powered Nils would cut faster because they have a slightly more aggressive cutting head than the Cordless model.

Now this isn't a Nils video, but it does show a comparison between a gas & drill powered auger. The Nils auger would be even faster than the Mora bit attached to the drill.

Recalculating for drilling through 35" of ice would net you about 20 or 21 holes with a 4Ah battery. With two 4Ah batts, you should be good for at least 40 holes.

But as aczr2k pointed out earlier, if you typically drill through ice over 36" thick, then the Nils Cordless isn't what you want.

[walleye44]

I second this one for MN too! The gas Tanaka auger will be a far better choice.

[Surface Tension]

Bob, you can get a 14" and 28" extension for a 6" Nils.

[Bob Hicks]

Bob, you can get a 14" and 28" extension for a 6" Nils.

I did not know that! Thanks for the info Frank. That changes the equation then.

When I saw your post, I tried looking up the extension on the Nils USA HSOforum and could not find it; so I called them this morning. They directed me to the page that shows the extension: click here.

I wanted to find out if it will work with the cordless convertible auger because of the disk attached to the top of the auger shaft. It will! All you do is unbolt the cutting head, attach the extension to the bottom of the shaft, and then reattach the cutting head to the bottom of the extension. So 4 feet of ice IS doable with the cordless convertible auger.

However, I'm not going to need one here in Utah because 2 feet of ice is about all we ever see and most of the time it is less than that. The only draw back to cutting through 4 feet of ice with a drill driven auger is you will run out of juice faster. With a good industrial strength drill using 4Ah batteries, you would only be able to cut about 15/16 holes per battery. So if you're a big time hole hopper, you would need about 4 of the 4Ah batteries to get you through 60 holes.

But I would still argue that the drill auger will cut faster and easier than any gas auger with the possible exception of a gas powered Nils.

Oh, and the guy on the phone at Nils told me this morning that next year they will coming out with a 3-piece collapsible auger for compactness. Tight lines everybody.

[walleye44]

Bob, you can get a 14" and 28" extension for a 6" Nils.

I am 6'-7" & cannot imagine a 28" extension on a Nils. I would need a step ladder. I do love the fact that the standard Nils is taller then other auger. They do offer a 6" shorter model also too.

[hamms-scooter]

I bought mine through red rock store and they were great. Powerhead was through them my 6" Nils was through cabelas because I had gift cards. It flies through the ice.

[Bob Hicks]

I am 6'-7" & cannot imagine a 28" extension on a Nils. I would need a step ladder.

Not only that, but I dam sure don't want to live somewhere that gets cold enough to put 5 feet of ice on top of the water.

[Jim Almquist]

Not only that, but I dam sure don't want to live somewhere that gets cold enough to put 5 feet of ice on top of the water.

Bob, I hate to say it but I think that we already live there

If we did not have sooooo much snow on the ice we would be close to that deep this year, with all of the below zero weather we have had this winter. I should add that we will see 20 below AGAIN this week