Thick ice, go to auger gas or cordless

[skipparoo]

My two cents summed up by many of missions with both electric and gas.....Gas auger wins hands down outside in the elements and I have been stranded with the electric battery too many times. The only use I can even see for the electric is in warm and controlled environments like Ice Castle fishing.....oh and don't forget to plug in the battery right after you use it or you'll be stranded.....Don't really care for the battery version until they come farther in design.

[rl_sd]

1 hour ago, skipparoo said:

My two cents summed up by many of missions with both electric and gas.....Gas auger wins hands down outside in the elements and I have been stranded with the electric battery too many times. The only use I can even see for the electric is in warm and controlled environments like Ice Castle fishing.....oh and don't forget to plug in the battery right after you use it or you'll be stranded.....Don't really care for the battery version until they come farther in design.

Out of curiosity, what electric setups have you used?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

2704 Milwaukee 1200in/lb. with an 8in nils. Sold my model 30this year. Been fine on 24-30in of ice. Use the 9ah battery. Won’t go back.

[Hawg]

Rl_sd, yes I did put my new drill on my old head. My head was the reverse equipped one but not x. 

[rl_sd]

2 hours ago, Hawg said:

Rl_sd, yes I did put my new drill on my old head. My head was the reverse equipped one but not x. 

I was really thinking about doing the same thing... but couldn’t pass the deal up on the used legacy bit. What did you do with your old bit?

[bigwalleye30]

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 9:42 PM, skipparoo said:

My two cents summed up by many of missions with both electric and gas.....Gas auger wins hands down outside in the elements and I have been stranded with the electric battery too many times. The only use I can even see for the electric is in warm and controlled environments like Ice Castle fishing.....oh and don't forget to plug in the battery right after you use it or you'll be stranded.....Don't really care for the battery version until they come farther in design.

You must not have tried any of the newer electric models.  I can have my Lithium 40v battery sitting in the box of the truck for hours and it still rips through the ice.  I've seen or tried some of the other versions but the new Strikemasters and Ion's are huge advancements over the ones that came out even just a few years ago.  I was skeptical as well, but used a buddy's when we were out fishing and I was sold.  Even the 10" flight works amazingly well.

[nofishfisherman]

24" of ice with my 6" kdrill and Milwaukee M18 Fuel with 5amp battery I got 30 holes.  The drill came with 2 batteries so I could do 60 holes in a day without recharging. If I recharged on the ice the first battery would charge before the 2nd was dead so I could conceivably drill forever by rotating batteries. 

 

The reason I went with the Kdrill and M18 is because I needed a new drill anyways and I'd been wanting to replace my old Model 30 so financially it made sense to get the combo.  Paid $245 for the M18 on sale and $160 for the Kdrill so I'm at $405 for the combo.  

[Hawg]

Rl_sd, I gave it to a friend that actually pulled his house forward while his partner was drilling a hole! Bent the auger about 20-30 degrees! You can’t make that sh-t up. 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Hawg

[rl_sd]

3 hours ago, Hawg said:

Rl_sd, I gave it to a friend that actually pulled his house forward while his partner was drilling a hole! Bent the auger about 20-30 degrees! You can’t make that sh-t up. 

 

Darn right you can’t....

 

 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

On February 20, 2018 at 10:03 AM, rl_sd said:

Just my 2 cents....

 For kicks, I decided to try the drill and adapater on my Strikemaster Mora..... YIKES! It wouldn't take you long to burn up ANY brand drill with that Mora.

 

 

This really suprises me....were the blades dull? Was it a flat blade shaver (mora) or the curved blade lazer style? I know you said strike master mora......but that label is on the lazer and the mora augers I've had. 

 

I'm a little suprised if you found the flat blade shaver hard to turn with a drill......A lot of people prefer the mora flage blade because it is $40 for a new auger, cuts smooth and easy, and blades are cheap.

 

I've actually put a 10in mora on my 1200in/lb drill and turn it fine.

 

 

[rl_sd]

It wasn’t the curved blade that you are showing

[Agronomist_at_IA]

10 hours ago, rl_sd said:

It wasn’t the curved blade that you are showing

 

 

That isn't a curved blade. It is a flat blade shaver. A "mora" hand auger is basicly the same design has an ion.

[Hoyt4]

Kdrill works awesome on early ice and up to around 18inches. We ran the gas next and it gas just cut faster in that thick of ice. Love having the light drill for packing and pulling out but when we are punching 100 plus holes  on 20plus inches of ice gas is the way to go. We have a few gas setup with the 6inch bit for Devils and they rip Nills or strikemaster bits they are both fast and light.

 

I do like when i hit a couple metro lakes I can pack in with the bit and just a cordless drill just nice to go light when needed in certain situations.

[rundrave]

Had to modify my setup because I finally found an extension in stock after desperately searching for one all of last season. I’m 6’4” so no more back issues lol. FYI the clam extension will work on the lazer, bolts right on

 

bring on the ice now!

 

[Jmnhunter]

i think i'm still going to TRY to sell my 3 year old gasser, but that seems impossible to do now days, and put that towards a 40v Strikemaster

[AlwaysFishing23]

I’m thinking next year I’m going to upgrade to a lazer pro 8” probably end up keeping my chipper lite for backup. Since I won the auger I wouldn’t be out much, and plus I could use the chipper bit off that auger on the lazer pro for drilling spear holes or to have a back up bit. Don’t get me wrong electric is slick. No starting and no gas. But your dealing with remembering batteries, charging batteries, keeping them warm. And of course batteries only have so long of life. But a lazer will drill thousands of holes and will drill holes much faster than a battery operated unit. I use less than a gallon of gas all season So you figure premium non oxy is about $3.40 a gallon plus 2.6 oz of a amsoil saber mixed at 50:1 at $5 per 8oz. Usually get out a minimum of once per week and drill 50 or so holes per outing. It just doesn’t add up for me the solo engines are EXTREMLY reliable. And there Cheaper to buy. Right now the lazer pro 8” at marine Genral is $499.99 while the lithium 40v 8” is $549.99. That’s $50 in savings plus you’d probably want an extra battery for that 40v But if you went with the lazer you could Use those savings on fuel for the truck or a new reel or rod. Sorry to make this a rant and try to bash electrics there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them I just feel gas is best for me.

[rundrave]

I will still haul my jiffy model 30 around when I take the truck out and when ice gets really thick. It's just to heavy to run and gun with in the portable when I walk out early ice and late ice that's where the electric works great.

 

When ice gets to be 30"+ inches nothing beats a gas auger. I know some still swear by electric but I run and gun too much for them to be effective for an entire weekend or multiple days out away from home.  The batteries don't last forever but I can still get plenty of holes. Its always nice to have a gas backup if you need it. And I think for sentimental reason I just cant let my model 30 go lol

[monstermoose78]

I was fishing late ice on lake Osakis with rick g Eyeguy Icehawk and we all used the drill augers. None of us ran out of juice and the ice was over 36 inches thick. I will say having the big amp hour batteries is awesome. We had a k drill nils lazer and clam auger out there. I will not use my gas auger ever again. 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

8 hours ago, monstermoose78 said:

I was fishing late ice on lake Osakis with rick g Eyeguy Icehawk and we all used the drill augers. None of use ran out of juice and the ice over 36 inches thick. I will say having the big amp hour batteries is awesome. We had a k drill nils laxer and clam auger out there. I will not use my gas auger ever again. 

 

 

Lol...I was really hesitant about selling off my gas auger.....but did last season since It hand n't seen the ice in over a year. I can't believe more guys haven't switched yet.

[Jim Almquist]

Give it a year or two and you will have a few that will go back. Those that use Milwaukee drills will start to have the clutches start slipping and will find 30" of ice is no fun. Not to say it won't happen to other brands but I use Milwaukee's everyday and have seen it in a lot of that drills at work. As little as I use my Nils it will never be sold.

[monstermoose78]

My dewalt has been working for 3 or 4 years and over 6000 holes cut with it. It’s still going strong. I have a brushed drill but it’s the top end drill. I also run the clam plate.

[eyeguy 54]

If I ever wear out my M Fuel I will buy another. I like no gas and how light it is. Much better for my back. 

[nofishfisherman]

2 hours ago, eyeguy 54 said:

If I ever wear out my M Fuel I will buy another. I like no gas and how light it is. Much better for my back. 

 

Same here.  Its also nice to not have hundreds of dollars tied up into a gas auger that I'm only going to use part of the year.  I'd rather put that money into a good drill that will drill through a lot of ice and then I can still use it year round as an actual drill. Just makes sense to me. 

[Tom Sawyer]

I will always own both, gas and batteries. Battery powered K-drill on the end of a Milwaukee Fuel is great for early and soft late ice, and is sweet for reopening old holes, but no way will it replace my Lazer for hard ice over 2 feet. As long as I'm driving out the Strikemaster is with me.....

[leech~~]

To all you battery panzies!  I got Gas.  And like it!  

 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2018 by leech~~