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It is getting close to that time of year again. Ice fishing is all I do anymore. I read about the Nils augers often and think about one, but never follow thru. Maybe this year??? I have a gas auger and it has been, and still is, a great auger. Yes, it is heavy, but I drag my gear out onto the ice with a snowmobile, so weight and bulk is not an issue. Here is my question... I read from the guys who have them that they claim they are as quick as a power auger, but I have noticed everyone talks about drilling thru 4 to 12 inches of ice. Later in the season when I go to strawberry, the ice will run in depths of 24 to 30 inches, sometimes more. How do those setups compare to power augers when drilling thru that much ice. The drag has got to be hard on the cordless drill if you are going thru that much ice. Who of you have used a cordless drill setup when drilling thru 15 plus inches of ice and what has been your experience? Also, what is the thickest ice you have drilled thru and size of hole. I drill 8 inch holes with my power auger. Still not convinced the cordless drill method is superior to or even equal to the 8" gas auger, other than less weight and bulk.
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Just my opinion, but I have been running an Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill with the kdrill set up for years with absolutely no issues cutting through thick ice. The thickest ice I have drilled through has been at Strawberry at 22”. Although my auger is only 6”, I believe it would be just as easy with the 8” as well. As a plus with the kdrill, overlapping holes is what that auger is designed to do.
Prior to this set up, I had the Nils 8” set up with the Milwaukee drill. Great auger set up as well, however due to the shaving blade set up, it made overlapping holes a little more difficult with the blades catching. I like chasing the Macs through the ice at the Gorge, so overlapping is a must.
I think either set up is awesome for most applications. The battery power on the drill is the key.
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I made the plunge and switched from a Jiffy power auger to the K-Drill with the recommended Milwaukee drill. Drilling deep holes has been as easy as slicing butter with a hot knife. Jumping around on the ice has been awesome.
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[quote kj]Still not convinced the cordless drill method is superior to or even equal to the 8" gas auger, other than less weight and bulk.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]I've had 3 gas augers (one 8" and 2 6"), a NILS 6", and now a K-Drill 6". The NILS & K-Drill were/are powered by a Milwaukee M18 drill. The NILS was the fastest through any depth of ice. But the K-Drill has the added function of being able to overlap holes for larger openings. There is no reason EVER to have an 8" or 10" auger. The K-Drill can make any size hole you need by overlapping. And the effort to go through any depth ice is very small - just let the weight of it work for you. Gas/propane augers are dinosaurs and are heading into extinction. Electrics do it all and start instantly with a push of the 'GO' button. [/#800000][/font]
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
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Kevin, I owned a 10" gas auger for years. It was heavy, leaked gas on several occasions (not fun when it leaked inside of the Suburban and we had to breath those fumes) and occasionally was difficult to start. I have had an electric, with a 6" and 8" Nils blade, for a couple years. It is much lighter, never leaks gas and has always started instantly. I drill lots of holes and although I always carry three batteries out on the ice I have never had to use the third battery. If I need to make a bigger hole all I need to do is use my ice saw to quickly and easily cut out the bridge between three holes.
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Well all I can say is try an electric and you'll never go back. I just bought a great 10" Eskimo Maco and it's a great auger always starts and after I started using the electric I hardly ever use it anymore. I drilled through about 36" of ice or more on Whitney reservoir the spring before last with my electric and had plenty of juice to drill 3 more holes on that battery. One thing no one mentioned is electrics are quiet and don't scare the fish like a gasser. I hate it when the hoards with their gas augers hit the ice they scare all the fish so the bite stops. No lie electric is the way to go for sure. Later J
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Great info gentlemen. My Eskimo has been great, but as mentioned, I have wondered about going thru really thick ice. I am a general contractor, so I have 3 or 4 cordless drills, none of them are Milwaukee. Hardly ever see that brand on the job site being used by my vendors. Most of the guys say they are too bulky and heavy. I've seen about every other brand though. You have me thinking a bit more serious about the cordless drill setup. I have a couple of hundred sitting in my slush account that is burning a hole in my pocket. I may yet invest.
Thanks all. Maybe we will bump into one another on the ice this winter.
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I have the DeWalt drills now and it's not as strong as the Milwaukee so I'm changing this year. They say the mud mixer is even stronger but it has the keyed chuck. But I think you'll like the new set up. Anyway it would be great to share some ice this year, hope that will happen. Later J
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Nils and no gas and no electric. The ease of electric drills has been made possible by quality design and sharpness of the Nils auger. It's quite apparent by using it with muscle power. Just the Nils without the electric drill is very lightweight and trouble free. I run around on the ice after leaving the bulk of my equipment and tent at one location. Then running around making a lot of holes, I appreciate not having to carry much weight. I make as many holes as I like without a thought of the effort because it's that easy. The thickest ice was 30 inches.
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Just about any 18 volt or bigger drill will work with a Nils. My family has used dewalt, ryobi, and makita standard drills with no real problem. However, when I had a reason to buy ryobi's 18 hammer drill, it worked much better when the ice gets deep. The hammer is slower with more torque like the Milwaukee fuel.
If you already have a drill, rather than buy a new drill you might want to just invest in a good battery with high amp hrs for the one you already own. The standard batteries tend to loose a lot of juice to the cold, especially if they are a couple years old.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]I have one of those 18 vdc Ryobi home kits with 7 tools in one bag which is a great deal for those smaller home projects. I use mine all the time. But when I switched to the NILS electric drill auger, I found that the smaller Ryobi would load up, overheat a little and stop. Wait about 3 to 5 seconds and it would go again for a few seconds and then stop. Kind of a PITA. That has never happened with my Milwaukee Fuel M18. I'm sure the larger, industrial strength cordless drills by just about any brand will work as good as my Milwaukee. But from what I'e heard talking to professional construction folks, Ryobi is never a good choice for heavy duty work. And drilling through a couple feet of solid ice would be 'heavy work' IMHO. [  ][/#800000][/font]
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
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I bought an ION X electric auger with a 10" blade prior to last season. It is a great product although it is quite pricey. One thing I would like to suggest to everyone considering any type of battery operated auger combo is to make a battery warmer that will greatly enhance the performance.
I have a small soft bag type cooler and I place a hand warmer inside and then place the battery in a protected position in my sled. I carry several hand warmers and I can replace them as needed. Frankly last season never produced extremely cold temperatures in Utah or up in Idaho were I fished twice. The battery warmer would be invaluable if the temps get to the minus 20 degree range. It would probably make an extra battery unnecessary. An extra battery for my ION is about $150.00. I've drilled over 35 holes on some trips through 14 to 18 inches of ice and never had the battery indicator go below 50%.
Mike
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