# electric augers



## quackpot (May 17, 2009)

as i feel my age and the ice gets thicker i'm looking into a power auger. i was thinking gas but the way i travel i think hauling gas would be a pain. i'm looking at a strikemaster electra, any thoughts. i got lots of good advise on the camera and i wont go without it. thanks bobby


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## RUDDER (Feb 5, 2005)

If your drilling a lot of holes look into a Icegator. If not........go for it.


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## Tailchaser (Feb 5, 2009)

If you don't hole hop all over a lake, you might want to look at a 18 or larger drill with a 5 or 6 inch laser. I went with a 18 v. Bosch drill last year, & I already had a 6 inch laser. It's works very well. I probably could get 20 to 30 holes out of 1 litheon battery. I just haven't punched that many holes. With most good drills you get 2 litheon Batt.'s & charger. They recharge in 1/2 hour. No gas, fumes, & weight. Plus, I use the drill year around for various projects.


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## Perchy101 (Apr 14, 2004)

quackpot said:


> as i feel my age and the ice gets thicker i'm looking into a power auger. i was thinking gas but the way i travel i think hauling gas would be a pain. i'm looking at a strikemaster electra, any thoughts. i got lots of good advise on the camera and i wont go without it. thanks bobby


I have an gas auger that I use through out the ice season.... Start to end, no mater the ice thickness.

I normally just got buy a small thing of 2 cycle oil and mix it with a gallon of gas for the whole year. I probably use 3/4 of a gallon on a good year... A "full" tank on the auger normally last 3 weeks of alot of drilling.

My biggest complaint about it is the weight... I'd try to find some in person to feel the difference. Gas vs Battery... You wouldnt think it would matter much but once everything is packed it's a ton.


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## quackpot (May 17, 2009)

i have a drill adapter but seems to jump around alot when i first start cutting. loved it at first but not so sure now. i run it with an 18 volt drill and can get 10 holes on a battery. i have two extras that i carried in a foam cooler with hand warmers in it to keep the batteries warm. maybe i need to rework the adapter.


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## quackpot (May 17, 2009)

perchy you have seen all the crap i take now whats one more thing. i was thinking electric because some lakes are electric only. i would hate to be on one of those areas and get a ticket for running a gas one.


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## Perchy101 (Apr 14, 2004)

quackpot said:


> perchy you have seen all the crap i take now whats one more thing. i was thinking electric because some lakes are electric only. i would hate to be on one of those areas and get a ticket for running a gas one.


That "one" more thing is just a bit bigger and heavier then everything you carry other then the shanty. It really does add up, but with the lil guy dragging everything you should be good to go. 

As far as the gas/electric lake thing... I believe that only applies to Boat Motors.... But if I'm in the wrong, please someone step up and let me know...

Either way, they are great and makes fishing that much enjoyable... I sat out on Alum Sunday and watched guys struggle for 15 mins cutting a hole... They'd stop take a break, change arms and even change people... No one in hell-0 am I going back to a hand cut auger!!


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

I watched a guy drill a hole with a gas powered auger last week. The blades were so dull I could have three to his one with my hand auger.


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## OPTIMUSPRIME (Aug 21, 2010)

One of the worst thing u can do is slam the tip of the auger in the ice to get it started. I've watched guys at every lake walk up pick there auger up about 12 to 18 inches and SLAM it into the ice .You must think of your ice blade as fine cutlery and treat them so . Dry them off, maybe some oil at the end of the day a few small steps and your hand/gas/electric auger will preform


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## RUDDER (Feb 5, 2005)

Whaler said:


> I watched a guy drill a hole with a gas powered auger last week. The blades were so dull I could have three to his one with my hand auger.


I watched a guy(no names) at Berlin trying to start his gas auger. I felt bad and was going to walk over and hand drill him some holes


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I think the guys that are working so hard to drill a hole with a manual auger just need new blades. I was having a lot of trouble with mine until I got new blades and now it just shaves right through without much effort at all. But I had an idea for the electric drill adapters when watching " dirty jobs" , the episode where they were blowing recycled paper insulation into a new house. They had a homemade rig for a drill fixed into a frame that spun blades to cut off the excess. Seems like with a little bit of imagination and a few raw materials , one could come up with a frame that held the drill towards the bottom , and tall enough to allow a standing position , with some type of lever that operated the drill trigger. It could come to the top like a T so you had a handle on each side for stability. Unless this has been done before , heres a good idea for the inventors out there.

Personally , the lighter I can travel the better, and it would really suck lemons if I got to my location with a gas auger and couldnt get the thing to start.


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## Ruminator (Apr 6, 2004)

The adapters have been made by enterprizing OGF members in past years for electric drills and have worked very well from their reports.

I know Lewis was one of them.

I have one made from store bought parts for the most part.


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## Lightman (Jul 22, 2008)

The hand auger guys are certainly having fun with the rare few who have probs with their gas augers... Mine always starts on the first or second pull and cuts holes fast. As mentioned above, a tank of fuel on the auger lasts many weeks of fishing - so if the OP is worried about having to lug gas around, it's really not an issue.


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## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

yonderfish--that happened to us...huge difference


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## quackpot (May 17, 2009)

I've had my 6" lazer for six years maybe it's time for new blades. Darris only pulls the shanty I drag the sled with everything else ..


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## Lightman (Jul 22, 2008)

quackpot, a lot of places have a blade exchange - you send yours in and get a new sharp set back, i think its 10-20 dollars..


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## quackpot (May 17, 2009)

It still whips through the ice but after about nine holes my arm says that's enough. Maybe i'll buy a new set to hold me over.


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

I always dry mine after every trip and oil them. That and treating them like a baby on the ice will keep them sharp for a long time.


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## bszoke (Dec 22, 2008)

check out nils augers. cabelas has sale right now not bargen cave. heard nothing but good things about them.


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## markfish (Nov 22, 2007)

i put new blades on mine last year and alwise spray wd40 on the blades and half the shaft so the ice dont build up and keep covered when not in use and you will get lots of holes out of the blades with little effert


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## PapawSmith (Feb 13, 2007)

Not sure why guys always try to talk others out of power augers and encourage them instead to sharpen or replace their blades. If the guy wants a power auger, give him power auger info. After years of construction work, I have been left with damaged shoulders and a bad back. Even the best manual augers are a bitch at best for me these days. I have an Ice Gator and love it. It weighs about the same as a gas auger, cuts as quick as a gas auger, but is quiet. I am fishing a populated lake early tomorrow morning with six kids which means a lot of holes, so quiet is important to me. If someone is running a gas auger 75 feet from my lakefront house at 6am on a Sunday I'm pissed and probably going to let them know about it, especially if I was having fun into the early Sunday hours. Electric augers are great, I highly recommend the Ice Gator. Good luck auger shopping and fishing.


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## Offshore Limits (Dec 23, 2007)

I have the strikemaster electra auger in the 8 inch size and I know of 6 people that have purchased one after seeing mine. On one charge I can drill approx.45 holes in 12 inches of ice at 20 degrees, I always carry a backup charged battery with me. It cuts with all the power of a gas auger without the hassle of gas and fumes and is legal to fish on some of the upground reservoirs that enforce the no gas policies. I have used mine for 6 years now


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## quackpot (May 17, 2009)

Bought a new set of blades for the auger today. Electric auger may have to wait till next year. My ice budget has went to heck. New camera suit and shanty. But who knows and thanks for all the imput. Bobby


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Offshore Limits said:


> I have the strikemaster electra auger in the 8 inch size and I know of 6 people that have purchased one after seeing mine. On one charge I can drill approx.45 holes in 12 inches of ice at 20 degrees, I always carry a backup charged battery with me. It cuts with all the power of a gas auger without the hassle of gas and fumes and is legal to fish on some of the upground reservoirs that enforce the no gas policies. I have used mine for 6 years now


I have the same auger and it must be a battery diffrence or something as i've never been able to get over 15 holes on 10" ice on one charge with mine. I get more with the 6" blade i bought for it but still never got 45. I'd like to know what brand battery you use to get those results. I even put a new battery in it too.


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## RUDDER (Feb 5, 2005)

I have a icegator and this thing can drill a hole through the ice faster than most gas augers.


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

RUDDER said:


> I have a icegator and this thing can drill a hole through the ice faster than most gas augers.


I know. A club member that fishes professionally has a 6" blade on his and that thing is worth every cent he spent on it.


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## yknotfrank (Apr 10, 2004)

Don't buy just any battery. Look for the amperage rating on the casing. 

Whole world of difference between a 7 amp and a 9.

yknotfrank


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

yknotfrank said:


> Don't buy just any battery. Look for the amperage rating on the casing.
> 
> Whole world of difference between a 7 amp and a 9.
> 
> yknotfrank


The 9 that i have is too big to fit into the case. I'll post a pic of the diffrent sizes later.

After double checking the new battery, i found that it's a 12amp not 9. I'll see if i can find a 9 today and give that a shot.


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## snag (Dec 27, 2005)

hey rudder that guy that had a time with his auger that morning, got a new plug in it and he gets it going now in 5 pulls, a big difference,was out to that same area on sat morn at berlin and one guy got a eye after daylight at that spot by that point,but not much else i saw..


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## RUDDER (Feb 5, 2005)

Glad to hear Snag. I've moved on to Pymy.


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