Cordless drill/ice auger

[John M. Grimes]

     I have been using a 7 inch Eskiimo hand auger for years. I have been thinking about going to a drill/ice auger combo. Probably a 5 or 6 inch auger to be able to drill more holes. I was wondering what others are using that they like?

[John Foro]

Hi...I've been using a 6" laser auger with a clam plate and a Milwaukee fuel 18 for few years now....the laser was one I've had for years and with the plate/drill.....what a difference, with the 4.5 ahr battery I can drill as many holes I need for 1 or 2 days..I also bring a spare battery along just in case.. Haven't had to use it yet. I'm 71 yrs old and this is so much easier than hand or gas auger....my 2 cents. Been out once already did decent with 17 nice gills and few sunnies.Good luck.

[John M. Grimes]

Thanks John, the lazer auger is one I'm considering. I've been looking at drills, it looks like amp hours is important. Good luck and stay safe on the ice.

[dave schuyler]

I have a Milw fuel 18 and use both a 5" and 6", both are lasers from hand drills. I use a 5 ah lithium battery and have yet to run out of juice, most often after all day of drilling I still have 2 bars of power left.  Two things to look at for electric drills, lithium batteries, and torque of the drill. General rule is you want a minimum of 750 in. # of torque, Milw fuel has about 1200. Depending on how quickly I find fish, I may drill 30 to 90 holes on an outing. Good fishing and be safe 

[John M. Grimes]

Thanks Dave for your reply. I,ll have to pay attention to torque and amp hours of any drill I buy.  I would like to drill more holes and move more than I do drilling by hand. Thanks

[Allen Morgan]

You want a hammer drill with a 1/2" chuck, a battery with as many amp/hours as you can afford, and as mentioned, at least 750 in/lbs of torque.  Don't use the hammer setting, leave on Drill, setting #1.  I have a buddy that uses as Milwaukee m18 hammer drill.  He can drill as many holes as he wants, all day.

You might want to go Youtube and watch some head-to-head videos on drills and/or augers.  Some augers are better at different things.  Some drills are cheaper, but have a "thermal cutoff" that kills the drill until it cools down.  This really doesn't help if you're drilling 40 - 50 holes a day, but if you're only drilling a few, then fishing, then moving, then drilling a few more, it's no big deal.

I'm still getting started with ice fishing.  I've been using an Eskimo 8" hand auger.  Lots of effort in that one.  I've been thinking about a drill.  I just bought a HT 6" hand auger.  I'll start there.  Smaller augers are easier on the drills, from what I hear.

Since I typically only drill two holes, getting a cheaper drill with a thermal cutoff is probably what I'm going to do.

[John M. Grimes]

Thanks Allen, I wondered why I have seen hammer drills recommended, I guess for the torque and maybe amp hours. It seems like Milwaukee drills are popular for this.

[Allen Morgan]

It seems like most folks use either the m18 Fuel or the DeWalt.  But, drill/battery/charger for each of those is going to run you $300.  Some folks are using the Rigid Octane with good results, but that is one of those that has the thermal cutoff.  I saw another video where the guy was using a Ryobi, with is somewhere around $100.  That also has a thermal cutoff, so you won't be drilling 20 - 50 holes at one time and then fishing.  The guy that did that video said he typically drills 5 holes, checks those, and if they'll all fish-less, moves on and drills 5 more holes.  Never has a problem with the Ryobi like that.

The K-Drill has chipper blades, which takes more torque to cut ice.  That auger will also reopen old holes.  Most augers have shaver blades, which are easier on a drill.  And, of course, the smaller the auger, the easier it is on a drill.

I'm seriously thinking about the Ryobi.  I don't drill a lot of holes, so it might just be perfect for me.

[John M. Grimes]

Thanks Allen. I'd like to drill more holes than I do with a hand auger, but still don't think I would be drilling that many. I may look at the Ryobi.

[Allen Morgan]

N/P.  I just went and looked at them today.  The one to get is the only hammer drill offered, it's $159.99 with a 4ah battery and charger.