Follow up on my Lithium Lazer

I spent the last two days out on a lake in Northern Wisconsin ice fishing with friends.. We had temps well below zero in the am and mid teens for highs in the afternoon. . The ice thickness was in the 18 to 20 inch range..Now remember I run a 6″ bit on my Strikemaster and we drilled the poop out of the ice !!! I would say in the 80 to 100 holes per day on a single charge and she wanted more !!!
I did not have to keep the battery warm at all like in my Otter or in my pocket.. it stayed on the auger on the ice all day long..from sun up to sun set !!!

I think it is safe to say I have found my new auger for the future !!

Thanks for the update Dave, I am glad it’s working out for you and sounds like it would be more than capable of meeting my needs. I have been very intrigued by the electric augers but I have two questions in my mind that keep me from jumping in just yet.

First is about the life expectancy of the battery. Should/can I expect to get 3, 4, 10 years out of a battery?

The other question is about the long term availability of the batteries. With the battery technology constantly changing how long will I be able to get a new battery to fit the auger?

These are questions that I don’t think anyone can answer at the moment without a crystal ball. I currently run a Jiffy model 30 that is over 20 years old… It’s heavy, I have to mix my fuel, and it’s slow compared to a lot of other options out there today but it starts up every winter and keeps putting holes in the ice.

Dave

Now I am that much closer to an electric. Thanks Dave. My only worry is that next year, there will be an even better battery unit on the market devaluing the resale of a current model. But these electric units are sounding better and better each year.

At the very least, I can see owning one of these little gems for all my early and late ice needs or just as a backup or use the Jiffy Pro4 as a backup.

Dave Ansell wrote:

Thanks for the update Dave, I am glad it’s working out for you and sounds like it would be more than capable of meeting my needs. I have been very intrigued by the electric augers but I have two questions in my mind that keep me from jumping in just yet.

First is about the life expectancy of the battery. Should/can I expect to get 3, 4, 10 years out of a battery?

Just as an possible future direction, I have noticed that battery rebuilding services for power tools are now offering Lithium Ion rebuilds.

With power tools, this was a real burr under the saddle, back in the NiCad and NiMH days, which lasted for almost 20 years, you could have those battery packs rebuilt for a reasonable cost. Suddenly LI tools hit the market and surprise! Nobody could rebuild the batteries. Yikes. I had a cordless drill that I bought for $189 and the two batteries that went bad would cost $225 to replace.

Now the rebuilding services have finally figured it out and can rebuild LI packs. I don’t know that that’s an option for the Lazer right now, but it would surprise me if someone didn’t offer it down the road as more and more augers will be out there.

I think cordless electric is the future for all kinds of things that used to be gasoline powered.

Grouse

Battery Life….
You are right as I do not have a crystal ball to tell the future… man if I did….You know what ??? I don’t think I want one, it would cause me a lot of trouble !!
Back to battery life and longevity of the battery..I do know that the past performance of the lithium batteries has been very good !!
I know the batteries Strikemaster has been testing for a year and a half and they are still going strong !!!

Only time will tell, and if a person wants to sit on the sidelines and watch the game go by they are going to miss out on a hole lot of fun !!

Oh and another note..

This auger with a 6″ bit weighs a measly 23 pounds !!!

OK Dave, I gotta ask. Ever use that Milwaukee Vex electric rig? That thing weighs in at 10lbs. The K-Drill I think it is called. I’m looking at that too.

I have never used it..
I think talking to some guys the drill you buy makes a big difference. . You can burn thru a lot of drills if they are cheap drills…
If I were to get a cordless drill and use it for Ice fishing..I would want one that had free replacement !! Lol

Here again.. I am just reporting on the lithium Lazer and will thru out the year as I use it..

Ice Fisherman Rock !!!

I would think that Strikemaster should guarantee the battery for 5 years, not prorated, showing that kind of commitment and confidence would go a long way…that is if they truly belive in their product. Again, I’m just talking the battery, there’s no moving parts, any damage would be very noticeable, the only problems would be design, materials, quality control…all manufacturer areas.

castle-rock-clown wrote:

I would think that Strikemaster should guarantee the battery for 5 years, not prorated, showing that kind of commitment and confidence would go a long way…that is if they truly belive in their product. Again, I’m just talking the battery, there’s no moving parts, any damage would be very noticeable, the only problems would be design, materials, quality control…all manufacturer areas.

That is impossible to do. There are way too many varibles involved that can not be proved/disproved. Was thew battery properly charged/maintained, was it only partially drawn upopn before charging again Vs drawn dead, subjected to extreme heat, failure to completely charge……….. If I was a battery manufacture – NO WAY would I touch that. Also, they only cycle so many times. James could get 3 seasons, Dave K might get 1.5 to 2 seasons and I may only get a month. Come and run-gun Bago or Poygan for a full season and you can easily pop 75 plus holes a day – day after day, ………..

I agree !!

Even 2-3 years would be great !!

Sounds like a good deal, Dave! I just picked up a new Jiffy last year, and I love it, but after a major back surgery last spring, it’s a little ungainly for me this season. After a day of punching lots of holes, I’m in bed Brett Favre-ing it for the next day, haha. So, if you’re willing to trade…:)

Milwaukee red lithium 3 years, they are subject to the same variables as Strikemaster. If what you say, that the batteries are that prone to misuse then im out. I will wait the few years to have others prove the product for me…im sure my Eskimo will last me that long. Alot of guys on here bragging about their 20 year old gas augers.

castle-rock-clown wrote:

Milwaukee red lithium 3 years, they are subject to the same variables as Strikemaster. If what you say, that the batteries are that prone to misuse then im out. I will wait the few years to have others prove the product for me…im sure my Eskimo will last me that long. Alot of guys on here bragging about their 20 year old gas augers.

Then this auger truly is not for you…and that’s OK !!
There is not one auger for everyone from what I can tell..

Bugger T. Jones wrote:

Sounds like a good deal, Dave! I just picked up a new Jiffy last year, and I love it, but after a major back surgery last spring, it’s a little ungainly for me this season. After a day of punching lots of holes, I’m in bed Brett Favre-ing it for the next day, haha. So, if you’re willing to trade…:)

I hear ya man !!!

I have had both hips replaced and also inside one year on my left knee replacement. .. lighter is good…and anything where I do not have to work the auger to get it to cut holes !!

The thing is that this auger could have been for me. I am a consumer, but for my money I also need the manufacturer to show their commitment. If they offered a better warranty on their battery I would have bought it, instead I bought Strikemasters big volt. And as a consumer looking at electric powered augers it was the warrantee and track record that made the difference. The lithium lazer doesn’t have it yet, the big volt does.

Dave Koonce wrote:

Battery Life….
You are right as I do not have a crystal ball to tell the future… man if I did….You know what ??? I don’t think I want one, it would cause me a lot of trouble !!
Back to battery life and longevity of the battery..I do know that the past performance of the lithium batteries has been very good !!
I know the batteries Strikemaster has been testing for a year and a half and they are still going strong !!!

Only time will tell, and if a person wants to sit on the sidelines and watch the game go by they are going to miss out on a hole lot of fun !!

I hear ya about sitting on the sidelines. I am not out, just thinking and doing more research. If I needed to buy an auger this season because my current auger died I would have a hard time talking myself out of the Lithium Lazer.

Keep the great reports and info coming. It all helps in the process. I also agree that there is not one single auger for everyone, this is proved by so many options being available in the market.

Dave

As a first time ice angler I purchased this auger as my very first auger and couldn’t be more happy! Push the button and rock and roll. No gas, lightweight and gets the job done efficiently. I haven’t had any issues with the battery draining this year either. Highly recommend to anyone thats in the market.

If you never pull the trigger you’ll never have new stuff! All you naysayers are still bashing electrics 3 years after the ION’s came out and very very few of us that have them have any complaints. The electrics are here to stay. Like Dave said-22#’s compared to 35-40#’s is a huge difference, especially with similar performance.

I love my Ion! The fact that it now has competition will only make future releases by both companies even better!

Not sure there were any naysayers or bashers in this thread Boss Hawg but your point is well said. I think some of us just want the technology to settle in, get to an optimal state, and get the feedback from you early adopters. I really WANT to believe that electric will solve all the problems in the Middle East, but for now, I’m watching from the sidelines with increasing curiosity.

Just curious Boss, do you have an all-electric car yet? lol (What? Not a fair apples to apples comparison? And 3…2…1…fight)

I wasn’t trying to be negative on the warranty issues. For anyone that has read much in detail on the Lithium batteries, would clearly understand that a manufacture would have difficulty setting a time lime. Lithium, NiCad,….all have cycle life. More interesting is the lack of industry standards on the chemistry of Lithium (as of early 2014). That is why you can look up two 48V street light lithium batteries and one has a cycle life of >500 and the other is >1000. Now, add in the fact that many laboratories can’t agree on a standard for testing/defining cycle life – so which data then becomes valid/invalid.

I’m intrigued with this and have a strong gut feeling to jump into electric for my smaller 5″-7″ hole needs. Especially with as much hole hopping as I do, the lack of weight is HUGE. BUT, I’m also currently looking at what to expect in cycle life.
What are all the guys with the 48V systems getting for battery cycle life? How many guys have replaced their batteries and what are the replacement costs? At how many cycles did your battery max out at 90, 80, 75%? What amp charger comes with the Lithium Lazer and what amp are the 48V guys using?

Taking into consideration that I have already burned 7 gallons of gas so far this year, I wonder what that equates to in battery life? Seriously, would I be on pace to burn a battery out in 1 year?

Randy Wieland wrote:

Seriously, would I be on pace to burn a battery out in 1 year?

An Ion Engineer was quoted saying the battery will last 700 recharge cycles before any degrading will be noticed….using Ion’s 40 holes per charge math, that’s 28,000 holes drilled before she starts to slow down….

of course all of this depends if you properly take care of your battery over the years…always keep it topped off

So I’ve heard it both ways but this seems like the time and place to get the right answer once and for all.
With the new lithium batteries is it imparative to drain them all the way before charging? If I’m gonna head out and sleep on the ice I’d want to head out with a full charge. If it still has half left I don’t want to sit and hold the button for an hour waiting for it to die. I know I’m not the brightest knife on the tree but…I’ve heard both sides.

I would like to pick one up and the end of the season if they get marked down.
I really like the idea of not priming, choking,pulling, mixing, carb cleaning…

belletaine wrote:

So I’ve heard it both ways but this seems like the time and place to get the right answer once and for all.
With the new lithium batteries is it imparative to drain them all the way before charging? If I’m gonna head out and sleep on the ice I’d want to head out with a full charge. If it still has half left I don’t want to sit and hold the button for an hour waiting for it to die. I know I’m not the brightest knife on the tree but…I’ve heard both sides.

I would like to pick one up and the end of the season if they get marked down.
I really like the idea of not priming, choking,pulling, mixing, carb cleaning…

These are quotes from somebody who spoke with an Ion engineer at a Ice Fishing Sports show last year (his full review here):

“I spoke with an engineer from the company who gave some good advice about getting the most of the battery. First and foremost, he recommended giving the battery a full charge before each use. The battery takes between 2-3 hours for a full charge, but can sit on the charger overnight if needed. He did recommend not keeping the battery on the charger for more than 24 hours, however.”

Off Season Maintenance:
“As far as the battery goes, the engineer I talked to said the battery should be removed from the device over the offseason (or any prolonged non-use time…longer than a week or two). During the offseason months, you should give the battery a couple charges to make sure the battery maintains a charge. He recommended twice during the offseason, and suggested setting a reminder on my phone or computer to remind me to throw the battery on the charger a couple times in the warm weather months.”

I definitely see myself with a battery powered auger by next year.

Your talking the new lazer full size battery op auger correct here not an attachment for a cordless drill??? I just wonder why the 6″ vs 8″ is better.

suzuki wrote:

I definitely see myself with a battery powered auger by next year.

X2

I’ve had mine for a while now and it hasn’t failed me yet .

lrott2003 wrote:

Your talking the new lazer full size battery op auger correct here not an attachment for a cordless drill??? I just wonder why the 6″ vs 8″ is better.

From many of Dave’s Ice fishing posts, I believe he is panfish GURU. I am guessing that he is also fishing in a lot of very, very shallow back water areas. So with the smaller hole diameter, less might to spook finicky fish. These are just my guesses.

FDR