Electric Auger

Tonight was the thing that broke the camels back with me and any type of gas powered auger. Propane, 2 stroke, 4 stroke and messing with oil. Was drilling with my 3 year old Jiffy Pro-4 propane tonight and it was just draining oil out of the air filter and think it drained all of it out along with the other guy I was with. Not sure. Rant over

Best electric auger? I want fair and honest reviews. Main ones I’m looking for are reviews on the strike master 50 volt. Not the new 40 volt (although all reviews accepted on this). And the ion and ion-x. Main reason I’m looking for reviews on the 50 volt is i can get it brand new for $400. Any input is good input. Thanks!!

Bob, if you are going to bash, it might be nice to elaborate and have some facts. Clearly you have a problem with strikemaster but have nothing to backbiting up.

ClownColor wrote:

1) Electra Lazer was a huge failure, screwed a lot of people.

2) big volt was a horrible idea. An electric auger with NO battery? Yeah, it was discontinued.

3) 50V. Isn’t that discontinued and parts/batteries stopped being produced? Again, screwed it’s customers

4) 40V. Didn’t they have fire issues or something? Lol.

Come on.

Milwaukee M18 fuel and a nils high velocity hand auger is what I have been using for the last couple seasons and it’s been flawless. Planning on getting an 8″ at some point, just have a 6″ now since I mostly panfish.

I also have an awesome drill now for home repair and projects, so basically saved myself hundreds of dollars by having something that can do both.

IMO, the 50V SM is a piece of s#%t. I hope to never need to touch one again. I’ve not used the 40volt yet, but have heard and seen positives with those.

The 50volt is all rrrr-rr-rrrr-rrrrrr-rr-r-rrr AND slow.

I liked my original Ion, but it was also kinda slow. The Ion was not all rrr-r-rrrrr-rrrrr-rr. It was very consistent and constant while drilling.

I’m an advocate of using a brushless drill with either a Nils or lazer bit. A kdrill is a good option too if you don’t mind the slower drilling.

ClownColor wrote:

1) Electra Lazer was a huge failure, screwed a lot of people.

2) big volt was a horrible idea. An electric auger with NO battery? Yeah, it was discontinued.
But that’s just my thoughts and maybe it’s not all correct.

Yes bob, your thoughts and no…it’s not all correct. I still currently have an Electra Lazer and would not categorize it as a huge failure nor that I was “screwed”. It still works just as fine as when I got it 5 years ago. It was and is for the most part what they advertised. Don’t expect it to drill endless holes on single battery or charge.

And same with the Big Volt. Sure, the Big Volt is obsolete now, however keep in mind that these were amongst the first electric augers that came to market, the ION was introduced later. This was before the development and improvements made, particularly with lithium batteries.

I would have no hesitation in buying a new Strikemaster 40V now, and I may still yet. Except that Electra Lazer is still holding out for what I need out of an auger now.

I had the 50v it was fast and powerful. I liked it. But it was returned in the recall and I went to the sm Honda. That thing is great too. I believe they still have 50v parts for sale at this time. In ten years? I would doubt it. But batteries can be rebuilt with new cells so that shouldn’t be an issue. If I bought an electric auger today it would be a kdrill. Only because I would use the drill in the summer.

I’m on year 4 with my Ion auger, I will never own a gas auger again…absolutely love it! Just pull the trigger!

I picked up an ION early last year. Got sick of the 2 stroke, 75lb Jiffy in the hard house.. I love that ION!! It’s not the fastest on the ice, it’s not going to cut 300 holes on one charge, but it has more than enough power for anything I do. It great for me since I mainly use it in my permanent. It cuts great, and re-opens holes even better!! I love it! get one!!

I got the 8″ ION X at the start of last season. The only issue I had was the ice up on the auger when it was cold (single digits). This issue was well documented on many websites and ION quickly addressed the problem. I had a new 8″ auger bit within a few days as did most others that had that problem. My understanding is that it was caused by the kind of finish they used on the black colored casting by the blades, The new auger bit was noticeable different and has worked great

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

I still currently have an Electra Lazer and would not categorize it as a huge failure nor that I was “screwed”. It still works just as fine as when I got it 5 years ago. It was and is for the most part what they advertised. Don’t expect it to drill endless holes on single battery or charge.

X2

-J.

I have the standard Ion and love it. Would like to upgrade sometime to the new one.

I made the switch to the Milwaukee M18 fuel with 8″ nils and it’s awesome!

fargotridad wrote:

I have the standard Ion and love it. Would like to upgrade sometime to the new one.

I’ve thought about that too, but in my mind the new features are just more stuff to potentially break and worry about…I only need it to drill holes, it does that just fine…

I got an ion 2 or 3 years ago. My gas augers have sat idle unless I take a big trip north and we have to drill a lot of holes through thick ice. I cant say enough about the convenience. Small, light and quiet. I love not shattering the silence with the sound of a 2-stroke early mornings on the ice.

I have the strikemaster 40v and so far really like it. Haven’t drilled a ton of holes as I just recently got it, but the first two trips were positive experiences. Drilled just as fast as my gas strikemaster, weighs less, and I can drill inside my hub without it looking like a clam bake inside when I’m done.

X 2 on the Ion. I have the XC5. Some mentioned that it isn’t the fastest drilling holes – they are right….but while they are busy scooping slush, I just hit the reverse to clean the hole and go on to the next. We have a wheelhouse and the ability to re-drill old holes is why I sold my Strikemaster Honda.
bestfishes – jim

I’m on my 3rd year with my Ion and couldn’t be happier

ClownColor wrote:

You want facts on the big volt. Let me pull it up on SM webpages…must be an error cause I can’t find it. Weird sales fell short cause people could drill more then 10’ from their car battery. But it’s a great auger cause you’ll need two espically if u want a tip up outside. And this auger was dirt cheap to boot. LOL

Works great in a wheelhouse.

I bought an electric SM two years ago that runs off the same 12v as my depth finder so I just would bring along a couple of spare batteries for long days on the ice. I liked the SM electric as it cut through everything I could find, but it was slow.

I just received a K-Drill for Christmas because I wanted lighter and faster. I live in Iowa so I mostly pull my sled everywhere I go. I ended up buying the Milwaukee M18 so spent some money, but like others have said, now I have a great drill for other projects also.

I tried the K-Drill yesterday for the first time and it CUTS !!! I counted and I got 56 holes on one battery. The Mi8 kit comes with two so I had the extra along. I had read about keeping them warm, so I had the spare in a small cooler with a heat pad in since it was so cold out. That worked great. I don’t see myself ever going back to gas. BTW my electric Lazer is for sale if you don’t plan on cutting holes fast.

Rick Janssen wrote:

BTW my electric Lazer is for sale if you don’t plan on cutting holes fast.

How much do want want for it……

I use the original Ion and bought the 5amp X battery as a spare I with the use of the Univers-all adapter mounted an 8″ K-Drill. It cuts about 1″ a second and reopens old holes without drama. I love it and my gas Strikemaster has been handed down to my nephew.

Can only speak for the origional ion 8″ had an old gas auger always messing with the carb got my ion and never looked back had never failed me have had it 5 seasons now always had plenty of juice to drill all the holes 2 of 3 guys could fish ion all the way

I have had the original 8” ion for a few years and it has worked well for me. It is really nice for in the wheelhouse. I can’t speak for any of the strikemaster products as I haven’t used them. I have a jiffy propane also that has given me some grief over the years. I like that the new strikemaster 40 volt comes with two batteries. I did hold it In The store and wasn’t a fan of the button but hard to say without actually using it on ice.