Drilling holes using a cordless drill, What torque is required?

I think the key is brushless. I use a Makita high torque drill @ 1090 in lbs. I only purchased it because I already had multiple batteries, only 3ah though. I recently purchased a 6ah and I have drilled about 30 holes, average 5" of ice and haven't even dropped a bar on the battery status indicator. I have it paired to a 8" nils convertible that is at least 6 years old and have never had the head sharpened. The reason I bought the nils is because it comes with the hand crank so I will always be able to cut a hole if catastrophic failure were to ever occur

I've been using an older brushed motor 18V DeWalt for over 5+ seasons now, no issues. Bought the converter to run 20v 5aH batteries and it's been sweet.

All you guys saying really high torque is required must have stronger wrists than I, the old thing I use will still wrench your arm if the auger gets snagged, I can't imagine twice the torque (unless using the Clam drill plate, which is an excellent upgrade for the drill setup).

400 Inch-LB? Forget it! You need at least 700 Inch-LB

If with DeWalt drill, get Model DCD999 or DCD996

If with Milwaukee drill, get M18 FUEL Model number 2804-20 or 2704-20, both have 1,200 Inch-LB torque.

Love my new Milwaukee M18 Fuel with 1200 lb torque, two 5AH batteries and clam plate to prevent any wrist injury

Milwaukee drill M18 FUEL Model number 2804-20 . 1,200 Inch-LB torque.
Best out there ,5AH,I was on nipp last weekend drilled holes like butter.

The more torque the better so buy what you can afford with the most torque you can get.

I own a older brushless drill with 650 inch pounds of torque that turns a 6” auger like butter but will not properly do an 8”. If I was turning an 8” I would get a drill with over 1000 inch pound continuous no peak. Gotta watch those drill that list peak torque but they don’t sustain that torque.

I have the Dewalt hammer drill DCD996B. It is amazing. I use it with the clam drill attachment and a 8" auger. It drills holes all day, I use a 5ah battery. It cuts holes through ice with so much ease.

Its $200 on amazon.

I am curious if it would be better to get a new drill along with the auger, or just purchase an electric auger all together.

Has anyone gone through the pros and cons of that comparison?

BB

So surprised no one is using a Ridgid drill? great bang for the buck plus technically you have a 'lifetime warranty'.

For 3 winters now I am using a gen5x brushed Ridig drill on a 4ah battery(although I have read 6ah and up is recommended as anything lower will cut power mid drill as its drawing too much amps.. even the 4ah cuts out sometimes and you need to wait a few seconds.. the 2ah is just for first ice)

I got a drill adapter ($20) and put it on my even older swede-bore manual 8" auger.

It gets around 20-25 holes in 10-12" of ice which is plenty for me.

The newer brushless version [URL=at homedepot]https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ridgid-18v-lithium-ion-brushless-cordless-1-2-inch-hammer-drill-tool-only-/1001628225[/URL] is supposed to be even better.

The drill + impact driver go on sale quite often for around $200ish and so I bought mine off kijiji for $120 for drill, charger and battery as the guy only wanted the impact driver.

Plus my second hand summer garage sale $30 swede bore. I have a $150 setup which has been great for me

However this year I upgraded(hopefully not downgraded) to the [URL=cabelas eze drill]https://www.cabelas.ca/product/140862/cabelas-eze-drill[/URL] which is on sale for $139 and has decent reviews. Its lighter weight then my oldschool metal one and hopefully can cut even more holes? (still waiting to try it possibly next wknd).

Cheers,
MP

Also this video compares a ton of drills and is worth a watch. Note that not all of them have large batteries(which they should) and also some augers are more taxing on drills then others. I have read the Kdrill($$$$$$$) gets a lot more holes as it has chipper blades vs shavers but maybe they are just trying to sell you their expensive auger..

[URL=different auger video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FdTEU-H4g0[/URL]

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FdTEU-H4g0[/YOUTUBE]

My bud and I have Ridgida and they work quite well.

If someone wants a ridge they show buy it now because entire octane line has been discontinued.

I use a Milwaukee 1200 in lbs brushless with a 9AH battery and drill holes all day long for three guys. I have a backup 9AH and have never had to use it for drilling so it runs lights and phone charges.

Arnie

Picked up a ridged brushless drill in dec for 200$ with a 4 Amp hour batt, also picked up a new jiffy tourch auger all in 4oo$ so far love the light weight for running and gunning. Highly recommend it also just over 1300 pbs of torque.

x2 on the brushless dewalt 996B hammer drill 6 amp battery never killed it, with some days 30 holes plus. Clam plate is a good suggestion though, when I've gotten lazy without using the plate felt like I ripped my arm off a few times with the auger binding on rough ice.

I use a Dewalt brushless hammer drill forget model number but torque in the 1000 range with an 8" auger. I used an older Dewalt brushed drill much smaller for several years with a 5" auger and worked great, but then hooked up the 8" auger to try fishing simcoe, didn't work well at all. So stepped up the the brushless drill with the 8". This setup will drill about 15 holes in 18" of ice on a 5amp battery. If I put the a 6" auger on the brushless it will go all day, I have drilled over 30 holes in 14" of ice and it was still going strong. So I'm a believer in torque has a lot to do with it.