drill, cordless drill for ice

What is best cordless drill to be used for ice auger (long last batteries)

Milwaukee Fuel Hammer Drill - Model # 2704-22 hands down.

Add a Lazer Strikemaster and a Clam Auger Drill Plate and you are laughing.

Alex

I use my 20V Dewalt with an adapter and adjustable shaft with a large snowblower pully on top as a stop incase the chuck comes undone. Works like a charm. The beauty of using a drill is reverse to shove all the ice chips back down the hole so you never need an ice scoop.

http://www.lakesimcoeoutdoors.com/forums/i...topic=28053&hl=

Look at the torque, higher the better, my Bosch is 700 (in. lbs.) the milwakee is around the same they are on the high end of power, i would look for at least 500 in/lbs of torque.

Most quality brands have multiple battery sizes available.

Ive thought about going this way as well but Ive wondered about how many holes guys were getting to a charge? Right now im leaning towards an Ion but a drill setup would be the fraction of the price. So how many hole are you guys getting with one battery? obviously ice thickness matters but in a normal season kinda thing..

I second what zuperalexu offered above. I myself have used for a couple of seasons a Milwaukee M18 2604-20 drill with a max 725 in-lbs torque, with Milwaukee M18 4.0AH and 5.0 AH batteries, with CLAM auger/drill converter/adapter/plate and with Strikemaster Lazer 8" auger.

With ONE single such battery and with ice around 12 inches thick, I have drilled at least 20 holes no problem. I usually carry an extra battery as backup, but have yet to use the 2nd battery the same day on ice;-) (But, I mean but if you are looking at drilling over a hundred holes in one outing on ice looking for those crappy crappies, it might be a different story altogether I'd say:-)

(PS: There is also a newer model Milwaukee M18 2704-20 drill that offers a max 1,200 in-lbs torque)

I also use the Milwaukee M-18 with a Ice Kicker II gear reducer. LOVE It. Makes me grin every hole I drill. I use a Strike Master Laser 5" for perch and 7" for Walleye on Saginaw Bay. You should check out the New Ice Kicker. (Google it) You mount your drill on it.

You should stick with a "hammer drill" rather than your standard run of the mill cordless drill. The reason for this is due to torque! A hammer drill will have a much higher torque than your standard drill, 700 inch pounds or greater (the more the better). You will also want to stick to an auger blade blade that is 8" or less. 6" is ideal to maximize the life of your drill and cut holes without much strain on the drill, but 8" will do you just fine as long as you have a heavy duty hammer drill that can handle the job. I personally use a Ridgid R8611503 GEN5X 18V lithium drill with the added handle to keep me from breaking my wrists with an 8" auger, and it drills holes like cutting through butter!

That being said, you DO NOT want to use the hammer drill in "hammer drill" setting. You want to place it in "drill mode" and on the lowest speed (highest torque) setting. Also with regards to the battery, Lithium batteries do not like cold. So what i do is slip a heavy wool sock over the bottom of my drill covering the battery, and i place one of those 8 hour hand warmer packs at the bottom closest to the battery. I also try to keep the battery in the hut with me when not being used, so that if i want to move around drilling new holes, the battery is always warm and ready to deliver max current to get the job done! Also, like others have said, battery capacity is pretty much the same for all brands, they all offer different sized batteries. Just spend your money wisely and buy something that is going to give you the torque you need for the most reasonable price you can afford, but don't skimp too much on the drill or you may find it's just not up for the job.

Tight lines bud, and good luck!

This post has been edited by dameatman on Nov 21, 2017 - 10:40 am

4ah battery most i did was 30 holes (~16") still showed 1/3 on the display. Never used the second but i bring it in case. I try to keep mine warm but honestly ive seen no performance issues when i leave the whole thing outside in the cold.

Only downside ive found is that it isnt waterproof but thats not really hard to deal with unless its raining.

I use the clam plate but the bosch drills have this feature that shuts off the motor if it kicks which can help save your wrist if you dont use the clam plate. i Use Bosch DDH181X 18 V

You should stick with a "hammer drill" rather than your standard run of the mill cordless drill. The reason for this is due to torque!

Would an impact drill do the same? Or will this just ruin the blades on the auger?

We use a Dewalt 18V NiCad hammer drill, works dandy.

We don't get 30 holes per charge, maybe 16 with a 7" auger in 12-16" of ice... but that's enough for two of us to move 4 times in a day (and the batteries are older).

The cold can affect the battery holding charge, so we started keeping batteries in a soft cooler bag with a few hand warmers... worked like a charm.

Absolutely put a stopper on it. I was ignorant of that advice and came very close to dropping an auger through a hole when the chuck loosened off for some unknown reason. Cut-out from the bottom of a bucket is all you need.

I have a standard 18V dewalt drill that I bought the auger attachment for. I use an 8 inch auger and I would maybe get 4 holes on a single battery. I found it to be more of a pain than anything. I just hand drill my holes now.

My buddy uses a Milwaukee brushless contractor grade drill and can drill holes all day on a single charge(~25 or so 8 inch holes)

I will say that my drill and batteries are a little older so that may affect everything.

You don't want an impact drill, since (to my knowledge) it's impact only mode and does not have a standard drill mode. You also need to consider the attachments designed to adapt to an auger, and i don't think you'll find them for an impact drill. Not to mention the impact on the impact wrench, or the "hammer mode" on the hammer drill will ruin your blades and also not cut properly.

Basically you want the most torque possible in a slow gear running in "drill mode" ONLY, and for the love of god buy a good handle accessory so you can hold that sucker with two hands and not break your wrists! LOL

ummm i rember the good old days when i didnt think i would make it through the ice now i just hope i can at least get out to the perch

High speed regular Milwaulkee drill 18V I get about 10-15 holds out of the red lithium 2.0 batteries with ice 12-16” thick. Used to get 20 holes on 12” ice but the batteries are 4 years old. Just bought some brand new 5.0 batteries today at Home Depot. One is usually $159.00 but the Black Friday deals are on and the two pack was $158.00. Two for one, sweet.