Any body using cordless drills for making holes on the ice?

[Bush Critter]

Hello is any body using cordless drills out there for making ice fishingholes, how is it working out? I used one last winter it seamed to work perety good lots of torque only drilled 10 holes but the ice was over 2’ didn’t seam to damage the drill any.

[HuyFishin]

I wanna know if the kdrill or the Eskimo brand is better

[dwedmon]

For early season I prefer to use my powerdrill instead of my gas. I run my drill hooked up to an icekicker adapter and a 6" auger and it works fine. Way easier to move around hauling the gas auger.

Once the ice is thicker or it gets colder then the powerdrill doesn't work as well.

[Bush Critter]

Yeah they are coming out with light weight augers that attach directly to a 1/2” cordless drill. I just used a 6” Normark took the handle off cut the middle of a 5 gallon bucket lid slid it down the auger stem, put the adapter on and secured it with the auger handle retaining bolt. The bolt sticks out a bit so that the bucket lid is stopped by it if the auger was to disconnect from the drill. I used a 1/2” Makita cordless drill and away I went, like I said it worked of but want to know what other peoples experience have been using this method.

[Dean2]

In 4" or less ice, hand auger works just as well. Over 4" and especially at 8" and up, you aren't going to drill many holes unless you have a bunch of spare batteries with you. Still prefer the lightweight gas augers for an all round solution. Eskimo 8" Rocket 22 Lbs and has metal gear case and gears, unlike the Strikemasters that are composite plastic. The big Jiffy auger last forever but are a bit heavier at 34 lbs. The lightest ice auger I know of is the HUSQVARNA 326AI25, it comes in at 12.9 lbs and is all steel and aluminum.

[Moo Snukkle]

K drill fan here. Paired with my Milwaukee mud mixer, it does all I need. This drill has a superior gearbox compared to the regular hand helds.
Drilling holes inside the tent is a nice feature. I get over 20 holes in 2ft of ice with a 9 amp battery. Crazy light. By far the best piece of kit to lighten up my Otter sled. No experience with the Eskimo offering but I see it doesn’t have a centering bit.

[Timothy]

Was just in the market for an auger. Ended up going with the kdrill and got a Dewalt dcd991. Very impressed with it.

[Travco1]

heavy duty Makita 18 volt on 8" Mora works great .

[Dweb]

Nils and a Dewalt brushless with 5ah batteries I can drill all day with two batteries

[Blastoff]

Using the Milwaukee M18 brushless, with 6 inch auger. Easily get 20 to 35 holes per battery depending on temperature and ice thickness, I carry 3 batteries.

[Dubious]

I used dewalt 20v with 5ah batteries with about 18” ice I get 13 8” holes per battery. Just need to put the side handle on the drill to grip it well when the ice is extra polished.

[Freedom55]

But not for auguring ice. I use my old dewalt 18v to pre-drill holes for the ice pins that hold my tent in place.

[Bhflyfisher]

I use the Milwaukee Fuel Brushless 2704, which at the time had the highest torque of any hand held on the market. On one 5AH battery I get 10+ (Usually 15-20 depending on temp and how you store your battery) Holes in 24-30" of ice with an 8" Finbore with the clam plate adaptor.

[Sundancefisher]

Any drill. 18 v. Bigger battery. If cold out store the battery in a small cooler with a hot pocket.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ULE4I1j0hv0