NEW Clam Ice Auger Conversion Kit!!!

[Matt Johnson]

Ice Auger Conversion Kit

Description:

Clam’s Ice Auger Conversion Kit allows an angler to use an 18-volt cordless drill as the “power” to drill your holes. Extremely lightweight & portable, there has been nothing like it on the market to date. Providing enough power to drill through over 700 inches of ice on a fully charged battery, testing has been done on up to 24 inches of ice using a 6-inch auger bit (with a 18-volt, 3amp cordless drill). Clam prides itself on mobility and this will set the bar for how a mobile ice auger performs!

Conversion kit and auger bit sold separately.

Watch the Ice Auger Conversion Kit VIDEO -

Enjoy!

[Dooley87]

I see you can buy just the plate alone, what does it look like where the auger bit attaches to the plate, I'm curious if I can fabricate something to attach a nils auger bit to the plate.

[Matt Johnson]

It chucks-up just like a normal auger. Nothing too fancy about it there. Clam wanted it that way so anyone else who already owns a hand auger can just buy the drill plate and away you go!

Here's an image of where the bit attaches...

Let me know if you need additional images and I will get some for you...

[Jim Kusuda]

I was very fortunate to be able to run this device from first ice 'til last (pictured) ice and I couldn't believe how nice this thing works. I live in Madison Wisconsin and have been using a cordless drill for ice fishing since 2002. That is before Dave Genz tried it! Anyways, I looked at the unit and thought, "Extra weight and bulk.". I was amazed after using it, I encouraged my companions to try it, and many others were curious to also use it. Every single ice fisher loved it and said that they wanted to get one. THIS THING ROCKS1 It is naturally comfortable and eliminates any wrist strain or torque issues. It adds a tiny bit of weight to the cordless and the bulk is offset by keeping the drill up off of the ice.

I always caution everyone: Forward/Reverse switch is like the safety on a firearm. Always set it to center position immediately after drilling. Battery removal is like unloading a firearm. Remove the battery before transport. Please remember Safety! If the trigger is touched by anything = whirling knife blades!

It really works well for staying with a school of perch, as well as silently finding the bluegills with little crowd disturbance.

[Brad B]

will be adding one of these to my collection of equipment. it will be nice for early ice. no more hand drilling.

[DTro]

This is just a support bracket right?  I would have to think it is a huge YMMV sort of thing when it comes to how many holes you are going to be able to punch and will vary greatly on your particular drill and the battery condition not to mention the auger bit.

 

I think it’s a great idea especially for early late ice and for people who already have an auger shaft and a quality cordless drill and much better than the options out there now for a cordless drill.

 

Not sure how any claims can be made in regards to how many holes you can drill with it though if its just a holding mechanism.  I just read on Facebook that this thing can drill through “THOUSANDS of feet of ice”.   LOL  Man, I’d love to see the drill that can do that

[Matt Johnson]

LOL... good point Darren. "Thousands of feet" is definitely overkill on an exaggeration. However, I've seen it truly cut through around 700 inches of ice on one charge... I know this to be the case because I was the one cutting the holes with it that day when we did the testing And... that was in about 10 degree (air temp) conditions with batteries exposed to the elements the entire time... I used a Dewalt 18-volt drill and another one of our Pros used a Panesonic 18-volt drill and they both performed about the exact same. We've also tested with Makita and Milwaukee too. 18-volt and 3amp is critical though, especially if you want to match the same performance.

I used this system quite a bit last year and in a wide-variety of weather conditions... as cold as -20 and of course as warm as those beautiful days in April where we were still beating up the ice I also used it from 4" of ice all the way to about 36" of ice with the extension. I would recommend 30" or less for best performance though.

But to answer your question exactly I would have to say yes and no. Yes, it's a support bracket, however because it's literally replacing the chuck of the drill, the auger drill bit doesn't act like a normal drill bit in regards to wear and tear, and this is mostly due to the fact that the Clam engineers added a bearing to absorb most of the abuse on the drill which allows you a sense of comfort in knowing that the potential of burning out your nice Dewalt or Panesonic drill is lessened. I put literally thousands of holes into one of these systems last year and the drill I used still runs like a champ at the end of the season!

We also tested on a variety of different auger bits and the 6" bit that comes with the Clam Hand Auger performed far-and-away the best, which is the reason Clam chose that for their hand auger and combo piece for this auger system

But yes, weather can definitely play a role in battery life so it's always best to keep the spare battery in your coat pocket or someplace warm to maximize performance, same with the auger when you're done with it. Laying it directly in the snow may reduce the battery life and amount of holes you can punch... however I never saw a situation where it would drastically reduce things, maybe a 20-25% reduction at most if you didn't spend a little time attending to the battery temperature? I could cut a handful of holes, set the auger in the snow, then come back in an hour and cut a bunch more holes, no matter the weather condition... it would never kill the battery...

For me, as a guide, I value these lightweight tools immensely. Especially how fast it cuts a hole and how easy it is on your body to quickly drill-out a dozen holes for my clients. I even know many anglers who will actually pick this auger up and cut their own holes now instead of just waiting for me to cut the holes for them

A very fun and efficient product for an easy price if you already have a hand drill at home!

[DTro]

Solid info, thanks Matt.

I guess what i was trying so say was that the quality and type/voltage drill you are using will be a major factor in how long the charge will last.

[amateurfishing]

that looks awesome for an early & late ice angler like myself who loves to travel light!! Price point?

[Brad B]

that looks awesome for an early & late ice angler like myself who loves to travel light!! Price point?

Price will depend on if you buy just the auger drill plate or the combo which includes the 6 inch auger.

[Matt Johnson]

$59.99 for the drill plate (if you already have a hand auger) and $79.99 for the hand auger... retail pricing may vary though depending on location...

[Mike Walerak]

I have been using an 18V drill for years. Infact, my brother was making the adaptors and selling them in Colorado to people fishing mountain lakes. I sometimes carry 3 charged batteries at times and also keep the hand crank in the sled just in case. I find on average with new batteries and sharp blades I can get about 40 holes through 12" of ice with a 6" bit. I will warn you that you should let the drill cool down after about 5 holes because you WILL burn out your drill.

I think this will really catch on across the state now! If you ever fish the backwaters of the Mississippi you will see various variations of these and I think this looks to be the best version for sure!

[Mike Walerak]

I have been using an 18V drill for years. Infact, my brother was making the adaptors and selling them in Colorado to people fishing mountain lakes. I sometimes carry 3 charged batteries at times and also keep the hand crank in the sled just in case. I find on average with new batteries and sharp blades I can get about 40 holes through 12" of ice with a 6" bit. I will warn you that you should let the drill cool down after about 5 holes because you WILL burn out your drill.

I think this will really catch on across the state now! If you ever fish the backwaters of the Mississippi you will see various variations of these and I think this looks to be the best version for sure!

[Matt Johnson]

I will warn you that you should let the drill cool down after about 5 holes because you WILL burn out your drill.

This was the main reason that the bearing was added to this new Clam Ice Auger Conversion Kit drill plate, it takes most of the stress off the drill. I've cut 40 holes straight with this system without any worry about burning out the drill. It's the systems where the drill takes all of the abuse where you need to worry... IE: Adapters that turn your ice auger drill bit into a direct extension of the drill, basically replacing your industrial drill bit.

Clam has been playing around for years with options for using a hand drill for ice fishing and everything used seemed to burn out the drills... except for this one. Now, I'm not saying it can never happen, but I had many situations last winter where I would cut 30-40 holes before setting this auger down and never burnt a drill out. Literally thousands of holes. There was even tests where we would not stop cutting until several batteries were spent, just to test the wear and tear on the drills themselves. Still nothing that showed these systems are going to breakdown with any average, or even above average use.

I have burnt out several drills throughout the years using hand drills for ice fishing, so I can confirm the frustration involved, especially when on a guide trip. I hate when my gear falters, probably the one thing that upsets me the most. But, when I got the chance to put this new system to use I truly reassured myself that I can attack the ice without worrying about auger issues. It's just one of those systems that can really change the way you ice fish!

[mrklean]

Any idea would it work with an 8" auger?

[amateurfishing]

my wife has already been told to plan for this purchase and her response was "sounds like a very good idea and great product for u"

[Matt Johnson]

Any idea would it work with an 8" auger?

Yes, we did a lot of testing with 7" and 8" drill bits. They all work but you can expect less holes per battery charge, especially once the ice gets thicker. Also, we recommend that you continue to use a hand auger bit and not power auger bit, it performs better...

[jmg]

Matt:

Just wondering if there is a minimum lbs. of torque required of the drill to make this work properly? I remember seeing some other devices that required at least 400lbs of torque and recommended higher to properly power the device. Also, is there much unexpected torquing of the device while holding it that could sprain a hand, wrist, etc.? Just wondering. Looks like a real slick device.

[mrklean]

Thanks Matt

[Matt Johnson]

Just wondering if there is a minimum lbs. of torque required of the drill to make this work properly? I remember seeing some other devices that required at least 400lbs of torque and recommended higher to properly power the device. Also, is there much unexpected torquing of the device while holding it that could sprain a hand, wrist, etc.? Just wondering. Looks like a real slick device.

I know that Clam recommends using at least an 18 volt, 3 amp drill for this setup. Industrial is even better. Drill should also be set to “low” speed too for more torque. And from my personal experience, I've used a variety of drills in a variety of conditions and have never had an issue with the system torquing on my wrists. The way you hold the system really prevents a lot of that...

[jmg]

Thanks for the info, Matt. Good Fishing wishes to you out in the heat!

[Hawg]

18 volt lithium ion full sized battery and an 8 in hand style auger. How many holes thru a foot of ice can I expect to dril? 6 or 8?

[brian6715]

I would still worry about the batteries burning up, the bearing will save wear and tear on the drill, but that doesn't help the fact that you are still taking a fully charged battery and draining it completely in short amount of time if you are a mobile angler and like to swiss cheese the lake. Heat is a Lithium Ion's enemy, and those batteries will cook pretty good if you drain them fast with constant drilling. New batteries will be fine, but anything over 1-2 years old I would worry; we burned two 18v commercial grade 3.0 ah Makita batteries in one day this summer building a deck in a speedy fashion, granted it was hot out. It sucks when they are $100 a pop. Not being critical of the product, that would just be my one concern, as constant use and a quick drain is horrible on lithium ion batteries, no matter what the battery/tool is doing.

[Matt Johnson]

18 volt lithium ion full sized battery and an 8 in hand style auger. How many holes thru a foot of ice can I expect to dril? 6 or 8?

We tested these with 6, 7 and 8" drill bits. With a 6" bit we average around 700" per charge. We found roughly a 150" decrease when going up 1" in hole size. So you can expect around 400" with an 8" auger bit. So if you're cutting through 12" of ice you are around 33 or so holes before killing the battery...

With the 6" auger bit we could get between 55-60 holes through 12" of ice on a full charge... through 18" of ice we were getting around 40 holes on a charge...

[Matt Johnson]

I would still worry about the batteries burning up, the bearing will save wear and tear on the drill, but that doesn't help the fact that you are still taking a fully charged battery and draining it completely in short amount of time if you are a mobile angler and like to swiss cheese the lake. Heat is a Lithium Ion's enemy, and those batteries will cook pretty good if you drain them fast with constant drilling. New batteries will be fine, but anything over 1-2 years old I would worry; we burned two 18v commercial grade 3.0 ah Makita batteries in one day this summer building a deck in a speedy fashion, granted it was hot out. It sucks when they are $100 a pop. Not being critical of the product, that would just be my one concern, as constant use and a quick drain is horrible on lithium ion batteries, no matter what the battery/tool is doing.

We've done testing with a variety of drills, both new and old, and never had any issues with the batteries frying on us. Now, could it happen, I'm sure, but we never encountered it and we made every attempt to burn up the drills and parts associated with it so we could give it an honest test. We are also outside in colder conditions so the battery will "cool down" a lot faster than during the summer months.

I know I punch a lot of holes on guide trips and I never had an issue with battery performance last winter when using these... in fact, I run an inverter in my truck to always have a battery on the charger so I can keep punching holes... I like to punch a lot of holes

One example would be a trip I had in February last winter... 24" of ice... I would cut 30 holes before the battery would die, then I would grab the spare battery and run another 30 holes... then if that first battery had any juice in it (after being on the charger while using the spare) I would plug that back in and cut as many as I could... I've done that several times and my personal drill is about 3 years old... still runs like a champ...

Bottom line though, I don't want to sit here and say no one will every burn out a drill or battery, but Clam has taken every precaution to avoid that situation and we haven't experienced any issues when testing over 24 units last winter in a variety of conditions...

Hopefully this info helps a little... I know I'm excited to run this system again next winter!