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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]This might surprise you. If you are considering stepping into the realm of cordless drill driven ice augers, here is a link to an article from TechGearLab rating cordless drills that was just released Nov 5, 2019. It may just help you decide which drill brand will work best for you and will fit your budget. I'm not planning on replacing my Milwaukee Fuel 18 drill, but I was surprised by the 'Top Pick' brand. I never would have considered that brand in the past. Here's the link:[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[url "https://www.techgearlab.com/topics/tools/best-cordless-drill"][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Best Cordless Drills of 2019[/size][/font][/url]
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
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I have been using a cordless drill for my auger for 10 years at least. I made my own adapter for my Mora 8 inch auger way back then and I still use it.
Started with a 12 volt Black and Decker with limited success - it was at least 10 years old at the time and I burned it out. Since then I have used several other drills.
I currently have a Dewalt and 4 different Ryobi drills. Dewalt makes a fine drill and I have used it for many years - but I am using now the Ryobi drills (mainly because I have numerous Ryobi 18v tools and a lot of batteries.)
The Ryobi they tested is one of the tools I have. It has drilled many holes in the ice without any issue. The test they ran used about the worst and whimpiest battery that Ryobi makes. Maybe I missed it during my perusal of that article, but it seemed that they also did not mention brushless drills which I can say for sure that it makes a fair amount of difference in tool torque and performance and in battery performance and overall tool life and longevity.
The drill I use now is a brushless Ryobi Hammer Drill with a far more powerful and robust 4ah battery (Ryobi sells up to 9ah batteries)- I can slice through 20 holes in 6 inch ice as fast as my buddies gas auger and it weighs less than a third of his noisy beast. I really like the light weight in my sled. Granted I am limited by the length of my Mora 8 inch hand auger shaft but I don't live in Minnisota.
Which ever Drill you choose, get one with a 1/2 inch chuck, one capable of at least greater than 500 lbs of torque (the more the better to make you life easier) and the highest amp hour battery you can get for it or carry a spare.
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Earlier this month I purchased that same Ryobi (P252) for similar reasons. That is a brushless Drill. I got it for $69 without battery on Amazon. I already have various Ryobi tools and 4 of their batteries. The largest battery I have is 4 amp hour so that's 3 times the size of the one they tested. All but my oldest smallest battery has a built in battery meter so you certainly don't need the drill to monitor that separately. Glad to hear it works well with an auger.
I haven't had a chance to try it on ice yet. I only ice fish a handful of times a winter. A week ago after fishing the Jemez River, I drove up and checked out Fenton Lake. It was iced over. However here in NM the State figures people here are clueless about ice and you weren't allowed on it yet. I picked up a guy who got his Jeep stuck in the snow off on a forest road. He had a cabin a couple miles from the lake. He said if it remains cold enough they let people ice fish come January. I guess they want the ice a foot thick before allowing anyone on it[crazy].
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I have been using Ryobi hammer drill model 251 for last 3 years. 750 lbs of torque. Was using 7" eskimo drill now using a lazer drill bit. Love the set up. I use a 6ah and 9ah battery. Love having the drill for anchoring down the tent. There are 2 different Ryobi hammer drills. The cheaper model has 600lb of torque.
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Just for clarity: At the site that you posted, in the (full details), it states that the [b]DRILLS USED[b] , they used the Milwaukee M18 model 2606-20 rated at 500 peak torque. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel model 2804-20 is rated at 1200 peak torque.
Milwaukee 2804-20 M18 FUEL 1/2 in. Hammer Drill (Tool Only) Tool-Peak Torque = 1,200
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Good fishing to all. Hue
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I hope that this information is helpful for anyone considering a new drill or just wondering about the torques recommendations for their auger. On the K-drill website, under information, drill requirements, it has these recommendations:
Cordless Drill Minimum Requirements: (as per k-drill)
You can use any cordless drill brand you choose, as long as it meets or exceeds the following minimum requirements:
Side Stabilizer Arm (for a secure two-handed grip)
1/2” Drill Chuck
18 Volt/4 Amp Lithium Ion Battery (or higher)
Brushless Motor Design
500-750 RPM with a minimum of 725 in/lbs or 820 UWO of torque
They then list several drills from Milwaukee and two from dewalt. New models
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Good fishing to all. Hue
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If you google cordless drill reviews you will find literally dozens of similar "studies" that rank cordless drills. The "Top Pick" or 1st place drill is different in every one. I just looked at several and the top cordless drill is Hitachi or Craftsman or Dewalt or Makita or Black and Decker and on and on depending on which "study" you look at. It really becomes a Ford vs Chevy argument on which drill to buy. I have quite a few years of experience drilling holes with cordless drills and I can verify what has been said about getting the drill with the most torque you can afford. Also a key factor is the size of the hole you are trying to drill. I use a 6" auger and can get many more holes per battery than with an 8" auger. As with any drilling in ice or whatever material sharpness is also key. I happen to use a Ridgid hammer drill from Home Depot with 750 pounds of torque and it has drilled hundreds of holes the last few years with no issues. I can usually go all day on one 4.0 Ah battery and drill 30+ holes with that sharp 6" auger unless the ice is super thick. The reason I chose Ridgid? Lifetime guarantee including batteries and yes, they have already honored the warranty on a battery but you must register online when you purchase. And if you haven't figured out yet lithium ion batteries usually cost more than the bare tool. Anyway, that's my$.02
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Just to throw in my experiences with drills powering my auger.
I started with a 12v Ryobi and a 12v DeWalt, not enough power, but by a fluke, Cabela's was selling a gear reduction transmission for their meat grinders which has a 6-1 gear ratio in their bargain cave so I bought it..
When I rigged this up between the auger and drill it worked fine, but only for 6 or so holes per battery.
Fast forward several years.
I still use the gear reduction transmission but now have a Ryobi 18 volt and 9ah batteries. I can drill about a dozen holes per battery of which I have 4.
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Many, many moons ago, Kory and I were fishing Mantua. Near the end of the day, a guy walked up to us. He noticed that we both had electric-drill augers. He said that his auger was exactly like one of ours with one minor exception --- wait for it --- he could only drill two holes before his battery was dead![unimpressed] He went on to explain that he had purchased his drill at Harbor Freight.
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I’ve been using the M-18 fuel with 5Amp batteries, I have 3 but can usually drill all my needed holes in a day off the one battery. I use the clam attachment with an 8” Eskimo that’s old but the blades as sharp as the day I bought it.
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I have a 18 volt Rigid HD it does extremely well . I bought a larger sized battery it turns my 6 inch nils through any ice I've put it on , including Strawberry, Cascade , and even drills refrozen holes.
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Thanks for the info in this thread. I would like to get into ice fishing and its an encouraging start to know I already have a drill that will work.
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Most of these tests are tainted. I own Dewalt and have had zero issues. I believe 100% Milwaukees are tougher more durable. There is a video where the guys disassembles the kobalt to find many internal parts are inferior to the big brands. I do think Kobalt products perform well but they are absolutely not #1. Having said that all these drills will work for ice fishing...one thing to keep in mind run your drill on the low speed high torque setting when ice fishing
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Bob,
Here is a link for a brushless Kobalt drill at Lowes for $99. It comes with a battery, charger and case and is the top-of-line drill from Kobalt. 650 in/lbs of torque. It would drive any auger and the price is a screaming deal.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-24-Volt-...1000604919
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]Thanks Scott. That IS a great deal. The battery is only a 2 aH, but its a good place to start.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
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For someone who has more than $99 to invest I would suggest at least looking at this Ridgid from Home Depot:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Vo.../206127587
That drill will get the job done and it comes with 2 big batteries (4.0 Ah) and an impact driver to boot. Ridgid does make a similar setup to the Kobalt for $69 but I would not recommend the basic drill for ice augers. Get the heavy duty 750 torque 2 speed with 2 big batteries and you won't regret it. The best part is that Ridgid Tools AND Batteries are lifetime guaranteed. Kobalt is guaranteed 5 years on the tool and 3 years on batteries. I can verify that I had a Ridgid battery go bad and took it in to Home Depot and a week later a brand new battery showed up in my mailbox. I was expecting to need the warranty on my drill but I've had no issues with my Ridgid drill after several years of ice fishing and drilling many hundreds of holes.
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Is Clam the only manufacturer of a drill conversion? Anyone recommend anything different?
/Jim
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There are others I have seen but the thing I like about my clam is the integrated bearing which absorbs the shock and torque of the ice so the drill only has to spin it. The other one I've seen is Nordic Legend I believe but I attribute the long life of my drill to the clam design.
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I have owned most of the "top" brands out there. The one I have stuck with has been the makita. The charger has a maintenance mode that I think makes all the difference in battery longevity. I liked the Milwaukee's but I only got a year or two out of the batteries. Same with the dewalts. Granted I haven't owned either in several years so I don't know if their charging technology has improved. I purchased a makita drill on clearance at home depot for under $99 and only use it for ice fishing on a clam plate with a 8" nils. I take 2 5ah batteries with me fishing but I use those batteries every day for work. Current batteries are 5+ years old.
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I have a question/problem that I hope someone might be able to help me with. I have used a nils 8" with with a hand drill or power head attachment. I wanted to reduce my sled weight so I went the drill route. I purchased the adapter for the auger and a Milwaukee 2801-22 drill that comes with 2-2.0 batteries. Yesterday I tried it our on 3 inches of ice and could not drill a hole without the drill cutting out and it seems to get hot. Am I doing something wrong, did I get a bad drill or did I buy a not powerful enough drill? It is supposed 500/in lbs of torque and the batteries were fully charged before I went out. The dang drill even melted my down coat somehow. I plan to take the drill back as it by far did not live up to my expectations or what others have been saying about the ice drilling experience. Oe thing I did learn is that the side handle is a necessity!
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