Fish-Hawk.Net

Gents,

Looking to see if anyone has info/experience using a drill with the auger attachment for ice fishing.
Is a hammer drill required or just a regular one ? From what I can see online you need 18V or more?

Any info would be appreciated.
Cheers

I have been using one for the last 4 or 5 yrs and love it. I have a dewalt 18v with the yellow top batterys. Only issue i have had is chuck loosens and auger drops down hole. Remedy for this issue is a stick drilled with a large hoole for auger shaft below screw on shaft to catch on hole if it drops. I know some are using the newer 20 v drills with the 3 amp batteries and also love it. I use mostly a 4 in auger but also an 8 in when needed

I have been using drill for cutting holes for YEARS.

Good quality drill is important, hammer drill is not.
Good quality auger is important.

Here is a post I made last year:


My biggest suggestion if converting an existing auger is to put something at the top of the auger that won't allow it to fall through the ice if the auger falls off the drill.... and it will!!!

http://www.oodmag.com/community/showthr ... =ice+drill

I do a lot of holes with my drill.

I have an 8" and a 4" auger. The drill is a high quality Snap-On. I am using Nickel Metal and Nickel Cadmium batteries. (update 2016, i now have a 5" too and just bought an 8" Nils which is purposely built to be run by an electric drill, at $300 is better work damn good!)

Lithium is OK, but there is a tendency for the protection circuits to trip out on them due to the very high sustained torque. (update 2016, I am now using an 18V Ryobi and it is fine in the cold for the 5 inch. It struggles with the 7" and can't really run the old cheap/dull 8", it should work fine for the new NILS auger)

On the 8" auger it is hard to hold the drill and it can chew 3-5 holes in 24-30 inches of ice.
On the 4" auger you can drill lots of holes (we had an ice party with 24 guys fishing, I think i changed the battery once).

You do NOT have to keep the batteries warm (but it is better if you do as they will have more consistent power). Batteries generate a lot of heat when you use them, you may find that there is little power when you first start the hole, but the batteries will warm up and by the time you get to the end of the hole (where you need the most power) they are up to full power. We even left the drill out on the ice overnight once, -22C, worked fine the next morning.

I also tried a cheap 18V "Job Mate" (piece of crap canadian tire drill). It would turn the 8" auger, but couldn't break it through. I was lucky to get one hole. HOwever, for the 4" auger it worked pretty good drilling about 12 holes (this is an old drill too).

POWER: Remeber that as you go up in hole size you are removing dramatically more ice!!!
A 6" auger takes 250% more power than a 4" auger to turn.
An 8" auger take 400% more power than a 4" auger!!!

We pulled an 7lb bass through the 4" hole no problem last winter. I have pulled a 10lb trout through the 5" hole. Lots of other posts from last year on hole sizes and fish sizes.



Any questions on batteries, etc. let me know. I design batteries for a living!
Hope this helps.

I have a milwaukee 18v cordless hammer drill I used last season paired up with 6" fin bore 3 auger. It cuts like butter. I brought 4 -3amp hr batteries with me on the ice just in case and I managed to only drain one completely after 42 holes in nearly 20" of ice. I was happy. Fortunately I have the drill and batteries from work. I've also never had a problem with Mil lith ion batteries in the cold. I've used them at -25 for carpentry. They will not charge when cold so they need to warm up. Once charged they've been great for me so far and they are several yrs old now. I also bought an adaptor plate that was on sale so you can old it like a gas auger.

Ches

I wrecked my 8" auger drilling holes with my 18v makita... Probably did 200+ holes that season though! Faster than gas. Got about 10-20 holes per charge iirc... in the thick stuff. Then I got to redrilling holes in the ice shack, thats probably where I went wrong...

The K-Drill bit has been a game changer for me. No more gas, no more lugging a heavy auger around and most importantly no more wondering if this gas auger will start today...

The K drill has a tip that keeps the bit in place while starting to drill. I've heard of a few boots ripped to shreds from a kicking out regular bit and one fella with stitches...



They're now available in Canada, not sure who's carrying them yet.

RJ

there is a small tool will prevent drop auger through ice.


it is the disk in the picture.

You may DIY one or buy one. I have it and so far so good.

I use roybi before and got a MIL for this year. Roybi works but not strong maybe 10+ 6" holes for a charge. I believe MIL is much better. Hammer drill is not necessary and somebody mentioned shouldn't use that. since hammer function will kill the auger blade quickly.

you may need a auger extend bar as the ice may too thick to drill through

when use powerful drill with auger, be careful with your wrist. for comfy, you may try CLAM auger drill plate.

The Clam Company makes a conversion kit that mounts an electric drill and gives you two handles and a trigger like a gas auger.

I picked up one on sale at Bass Pro. Well made and goes together easy.

Using the Rigid drill because of the lifetime repair and battery warranty.

Made an auger extension with 1/2" electrical conduit and a piece of schedule 80 pipe for the coupler.

Pretty slick rig. Now I just need some ice.