Fishing Forum

For those of you that ice fish and use an electric drill to cut a hole in the ice. What size/make of drill do you use. A model # would be helpful.
Thanks.

Dewalt DCD996. It's a 20 volt drill. I got the one with two 5aH batteries. It's been great so far paired with my 8 inch Mora hand auger.

Make sure that whatever you decide on, you have a side handle to go with it. These things turn hard, and if you're not careful, you could hurt your wrists or fingers.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20-Vo.../206875596

I use a rigid octane drill with a 6" hand auger on it no complaints

I'm a cheapskate and love Harbor Freight. I'm on my third year using a $50 Hercules 1/2 inch drill and 6" Nils. I bought the 5 AH 'battery and can't drain it in a day. It has a bunch of tourq at half the cost.

I also went with the DeWalt kit..mine purchased 8 years ago, DCD 980, Heavy Duty 20v, mine came with 2-4amp rechargeable batteries...I use it with a 6" Clam auger....Totally happy with it, never an issue...easily 25 to 30 or more holes per battery...never did run out of power on one if I started with a full battery charge...very reliable kit...

After smoking my DeWalt I got a real drill, Milwaukee Fuel M-18 1/2" hammer drill Model 2804, it turns a Nils 8" easy, but I'm currently using a 8" laser drill (not as easy to turn, but a lot cheaper and does the job).... They also like the Milwaukee Mud mixer or the Rigid drill... If you get a DeWalt, better go for their best, highest torque drill, all those that go on sale are great for home projects but they don't have the torque to stand up to drilling lots of ice holes in my experience... I like my DeWalt tools, but they just don't have enough torque for this job... Later J

SkunkedAgain Wrote:After smoking my DeWalt I got a real drill, Milwaukee Fuel M-18 1/2" hammer drill Model 2804, it turns a Nils 8" easy, but I'm currently using a 8" laser drill (not as easy to turn, but a lot cheaper and does the job)....  They also like the Milwaukee Mud mixer or the Rigid drill... If you get a DeWalt, better go for their best, highest torque drill, all those that go on sale are great for home projects but they don't have the torque to stand up to drilling lots of ice holes in my experience... I like my DeWalt tools, but they just don't have enough torque for this job... Later J

I've experienced the same thing. Burned one up two years ago.

Milwaukee 2804 paired with the clam plate with gear reduction. 8" stryker laser. 5amp hr battery.

Another vote for the Milwaukee. I did a lot of research before buying mine a few years ago and those seemed to be the gold standard against which all others are compared. I've been happy.

Makita 18V LXT on a clam plate paired with a 8" nils. I also bought an adapter to run my garmin livescope on the makita 5 amp batteries. It's nice having the same batteries for everything.

X3 ON THE MILWAUKEE 2804

(12-09-2021, 02:21 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: [ -> ]After smoking my DeWalt I got a real drill, Milwaukee Fuel M-18 1/2" hammer drill Model 2804, it turns a Nils 8" easy, but I'm currently using a 8" laser drill (not as easy to turn, but a lot cheaper and does the job)....  They also like the Milwaukee Mud mixer or the Rigid drill... If you get a DeWalt, better go for their best, highest torque drill, all those that go on sale are great for home projects but they don't have the torque to stand up to drilling lots of ice holes in my experience... I like my DeWalt tools, but they just don't have enough torque for this job... Later J

I really think it has to do with the augur you use, I've been using a DeWalt for four year now. This Winter will be the start of it's 5th year but I use a 6" nils. Ira on the other hand has been using an 8" nils and has gone through two of the Home Depot brand name drill motors, I think they are called Rigid or something like that. That extra 2" Dia augur really puts a big strain on your drill motor and I have never caught a fish that needed a 8" hole to get it on top of the ice, now if I fished the Gorge, maybe the bigger size makes sense.

Another vote for Milwaukee 2804-20 hammer drill. Never needed the 2nd battery but comes with one.  StrikeMaster Lite-Flite Lazer 8” auger. Super light-weight and cuts like a champ. Has a pointy spike in the middle so it doesn’t dance around when starting a new hole. I always keep the drill covered if it’s snowing so it stays fairly dry.

Curt I will agree with you on the drill size making a big difference, I got along okay with my 6" Nils and my DeWalt drill, but when I went to the bigger auger I needed the extra torque... Got to say I love that Milwaukee all year long, it's so nice to have a battery powered drill that will punch holes in concrete... I use that thing for everything now it limits my ability to hold it before it stalls out... I make the mistake of not using the second handle most of the time and it has more torque than I can hold one handed, so don't let it grab... Later J

Hey, Jeff, those Milwaukees have several adjustable settings. Can you remind us which they should be set to?

(12-10-2021, 03:15 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: [ -> ]Curt I will agree with you on the drill size making a big difference, I got along okay with my 6" Nils and my DeWalt drill, but when I went to the bigger auger I needed the extra torque... Got to say I love that Milwaukee all year long, it's so nice to have a battery powered drill that will punch holes in concrete...  I use that thing for everything now it limits my ability to hold it before it stalls out... I make the mistake of not using the second handle most of the time and it has more torque than I can hold one handed, so don't let it grab... Later J

I hear you on the extra things a good drill can do but that is just the thing, I've been using my Dewatt for mixing mortar for stonework and stucco for the last 3 years, along with all the other assorted things I do around my house over the course of those years. It has been a workhorse for me but that being said I do have a HD hammer drill that I use for drilling holes in concrete but it's electric. I know nothing last forever but I've been so impressed with my Dewatt, I plan to buy another one for a backup, they are on sale right now at Lowes for $99, that's 1/3 the cost of Milwaukee. I'm not saying the Milwaukee isn't worth the money, it's just for me I've been more than happy with my DeWatt.

Hey Craig, I put my drill on the slow speed range I think that is 1 and then the twist setting should be on the drill part not the hammer setting... I think that is all the setting I remember, I'll go get the drill and see what I forgot... Later Jeff

That was what I was thinking. I'm kinda flying blind cuz I can't put my hand on my drill right now. Just hoped to varify what I was thinking for everyone--you don't buy it for the hammer feature. Saw a guy try it one time and it didn't work so great.

I can tell you my 18V Ryobi won't cut it. Even with the newer 3.8 aH batteries I bought it peters out pretty quick. I bet it WOULD run a 6" auger better.

I'm just CONSTANTLY annoyed that nobody just makes an auger that turns clockwise, so I could use one of my little chainsaws. I got plenty of chainsaws.

(12-16-2021, 03:34 PM)Springbuck1 Wrote: [ -> ]I can tell you my 18V Ryobi won't cut it.  Even with the newer 3.8 aH batteries I bought it peters out pretty quick.  I bet it WOULD run a 6" auger better.

I'm just CONSTANTLY annoyed that nobody just makes an auger that turns clockwise, so I could use one of my little chainsaws.  I got plenty of chainsaws.

I thought all augers turned clockwise, if they didn't wouldn't the bit fall out of the drill?