Electric ice augers

who use a electric auger and which one

Have used a few. I bought the Strikemaster 40v, 10 inch…couldn’t be happier. My brother in law has, I believe the 2nd gen, Ion in 8 inch. I can cut 10 inch holes faster than he can cut 8 inch. I always felt like the Ions were just a little awkward to hold on to as well, but they get the job done too. Either way, can’t go wrong without gas and oil on your hands.

I have had the ION X 8” for two seasons and have been happy with it. A blade did sheer off while drilling but I called and they took care of it in a hurry. I haven’t ran any other brands of electric so have no comparison.

I had an Ion, and used the Strikemaster 40v quite a bit. I liked them both but I like my 20v Dewalt and 8″ or 6″ hand auger more. Its faster, lighter, cheaper and best of all I don’t have to worry about replacing a $150 auger battery.

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Ion/Eskimo or SM are both great. I’m a Eskimo fan and couldn’t be happier than I am w/ my Pistol Bit.

Hey Joe, how are the drill auger combos cheaper?
I had to buy an appropriate size drill when I switched to the Clam Plate, think I had almost six c-notes invested, I’m not complaining, it is worth every penny… I ended up with two…LOL…

iceager01 wrote:

Hey Joe, how are the drill auger combos cheaper?
I had to buy an appropriate size drill when I switched to the Clam Plate, think I had almost six c-notes invested, I’m not complaining, it is worth every penny… I ended up with two…LOL…

I had $450 in the Ion.

I only had to buy or make the adapter to go on my hand auger.

Dewalt Drill $75 new on Ebay.
Dewalt 5AH Battery on Ebay $50each.
Adapter $75
Hand Augers are $10-75.

Everything at retail is still only $275 and I have something I use 365 days a year.

Batteries go in my weed trimmer, drills, saws, impact, locator, underwater camera, heated hunting jacket, heated boots… anything that takes 12v.

Ice auger batteries rot half the year, thats a huge waste. Batteries last 4-5 yrs weather you use them or not. I do like the electric ice augers I personally just like the drills much better.

I’ve owned an Ion since they were released and finally upgraded to the G2 this fall, best electric auger imo and Artisam’s customer service is top notch.

love my ion

iceager01 wrote:

Hey Joe, how are the drill auger combos cheaper?

I’ll add in also, if you shop sales and depending which drill/auger you use it can be pretty cheap. Ridgid octane hammer drill, 9 ah battery and charger were $170 on sale in the past, and come with a lifetime service warranty when bought in a “package”, even the battery. $15 or so adapter. Then a mora or lazer hand auger and clam extension. Some run a clam plate with this setup, I haven’t yet.

Other option- Razor scout augers come with a built in drill adapter, extension, and hand auger handle and only $70. I think this is the route to go in the future instead of a Mora or lazer auger bit options.
https://www.razrpowr.com/product-page/cordless-drill-auger

A drill auger combo like this or like Joe mentioned can be cheap, it also can be spendy when you start adding in different brand drills, clam plate, lite flight or pistol bit etc. If you get the strikemaster 24v on sale for $300ish that might be better for some people/situations also.

Love my ion x 8″. Had it since 2016 and nothing but great things to say. Since I bought a new Milwaukee drill I will be buying a strikemaster 6″ lite flite for jigging holes. I used my buddys 8″ lite flite last year and it cuts awesome. So really excited to see how fast and easy a 6″ cuts.

Ion G2 now Gas auger hanging in the shop

Strikemaster 40V

I like the idea of the drill augers, will ion/strike master/eskimo battery’s be around in 10 years when you need a new battery.

Charles wrote:

I like the idea of the drill augers, will ion/strike master/eskimo battery’s be around in 10 years when you need a new battery.

This question makes no sense, you can always just open the battery case and replace the cells, just like a drill battery case…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

This question makes no sense, you can always just open the battery case and replace the cells, just like a drill battery case…

Hmmmm…

This is new to me. I guess I’ll need to google/Youtube this

Been using a milwaukee fuel with K-drill for 3 years now. Love it, will never go back to gas. I use the milwaukee because that is what I had already and I have a respectable fleet of batteries to work with, including 5ah, 6ah and a 9ah. I use the Kdrill because I like chipper blades and I like the centerpoint.

Whatever you decide on just remember to maintain it, and I like to keep batteries in my the pocket of my parka or in the shack where the heat is. This ensures longer run times and less drain when actually drilling.

Francis K wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
This question makes no sense, you can always just open the battery case and replace the cells, just like a drill battery case…

Hmmmm…

This is new to me. I guess I’ll need to google/Youtube this

yeah, I probably should investigate this further, I was going by a thread I read a few years past that said a guy took his Ion battery pack to a Batteries Plus store and they simply replaced the bad cells inside…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Francis K wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
This question makes no sense, you can always just open the battery case and replace the cells, just like a drill battery case…

Hmmmm…

This is new to me. I guess I’ll need to google/Youtube this

yeah, I probably should investigate this further, I was going by a thread I read a few years past that said a guy took his Ion battery pack to a Batteries Plus store and they simply replaced the bad cells inside…

They have been doing it for years in like mentioned above drill batteries, and I have also found some of the hybrid vehicle batteries can be serviced this way also. Depends on cost of it whether it is worth doing versus replacing the whole battery. I was not aware they can do the Ion/Strikemaster batteries.

Hey Ben, Yeah when I first bought this setup I looked around for deals but I am not in the know about power tool sales, esp. online, and etc., I bought most of my drills at FF and HD… the kdrill I got at the Bloomington vex shop.. maybe the auger I have in classified I should lower the price… I was asking 300… but I have five augers cause of ice fishing OCD and need space (really just more cash to buy more stuff!!), LOL!!!..

Ion head with 8” K-Drill auger. Cuts fast and reopens old holes with ease.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Francis K wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
This question makes no sense, you can always just open the battery case and replace the cells, just like a drill battery case…

Hmmmm…

This is new to me. I guess I’ll need to google/Youtube this

yeah, I probably should investigate this further, I was going by a thread I read a few years past that said a guy took his Ion battery pack to a Batteries Plus store and they simply replaced the bad cells inside…

Pop open a battery and you’ll see it’s not just one battery but a group of smaller batteries, or cells, wired in some combination of series and parallel. The “cells” are generally either 18650 (most common) or 21700 (new tech, bigger, more efficient) rechargeable li-ion batteries that look like overgrown AA’s. The names (18650 & 21700) refer to the dimensions – 18 mm x 65 mm or 21 mm x 70 mm. So if you have a battery that dies you could disassemble it, test each individual cell, and then replace the bad ones. One 21700 cell can be anywhere between $5-$10 with 18650s being slightly cheaper.

For example the popular 18v 5ah batteries have 10 18650 cells: 2 parallel sets of 5 in a series.
With the newer 21700 cells the same 2 parallel sets of 5 in series make for an 18v 8ah battery.
The Stirkemaster 40v (18650 cells) likely consists of 2 parallel sets of 10 in series to make for a 36v 5ah battery.

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tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Francis K wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
This question makes no sense, you can always just open the battery case and replace the cells, just like a drill battery case…

Hmmmm…

This is new to me. I guess I’ll need to google/Youtube this

yeah, I probably should investigate this further, I was going by a thread I read a few years past that said a guy took his Ion battery pack to a Batteries Plus store and they simply replaced the bad cells inside…

Pop open a battery and you’ll see it’s not just one battery but a group of smaller batteries, or cells, wired in some combination of series and parallel. The “cells” are generally either 18650 (most common) or 21700 (new tech, bigger, more efficient) rechargeable li-ion batteries that look like overgrown AA’s. The names (18650 & 21700) refer to the dimensions – 18 mm x 65 mm or 21 mm x 70 mm. So if you have a battery that dies you could disassemble it, test each individual cell, and then replace the bad ones. One 21700 cell can be anywhere between $5-$10 with 18650s being slightly cheaper.

For example the popular 18v 5ah batteries have 10 18650 cells: 2 parallel sets of 5 in a series.
With the newer 21700 cells the same 2 parallel sets of 5 in series make for an 18v 8ah battery.
The Stirkemaster 40v (18650 cells) likely consists of 2 parallel sets of 10 in series to make for a 36v 5ah battery.

yep, I just couldnt confirm this as I haven’t opened my batteries or seen a picture of an ion battery opened. I figured they are setup the same way a Dewalt or similar tool battery pack is…

Scheels has an offer going now on the strikemaster 40volt augers. Buy 1 and get a additional 40v lithium battery for $50.

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I have a 1st gen ion. I told my wife if it fryed. I would drive directly to the store and buy a new 1 instantly. There are probably some better out there but. With as long as I’ve had mine and amount of holes I’ve drilled. I’m sold.

Can anyone tell my why my 20V “NEW” Electric Drill (MAsterforce from Mendards) will run my auger for 10 to 15 seconds and then shut off? I’ve seen videos of this drill chewing through the ice. Dont know if I have a bad drill or why it wont drill an 8″ hole.

Thoughts?

is it brushless? You’ll fry the cheaper drills…

Just my opinion, but hand drills are not meant to spin 8″ auger bits through thick ice…Get a legit electric auger from Ion or Strikemaster and never look back…

I drilled probably 50 holes with my Milwaukee fuel this weekend without an issue. Used one bar of battery life. That was a 9ah battery.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

is it brushless? You’ll fry the cheaper drills…

Just my opinion, but hand drills are not meant to spin 8″ auger bits through thick ice…Get a legit electric auger from Ion or Strikemaster and never look back…

Could’ve fooled me. I’ve been using a Ridgid Drill with a 10″ ION for 2 years now. Eventually it will fail. So far so good, but lifetime replacement warranty will probably cover it when it does.

Dave Doty wrote:

Can anyone tell my why my 20V “NEW” Electric Drill (MAsterforce from Mendards) will run my auger for 10 to 15 seconds and then shut off? I’ve seen videos of this drill chewing through the ice. Dont know if I have a bad drill or why it wont drill an 8″ hole.

Thoughts?

What size battery?