KEN's Electric powered Ice Auger- now with video

[Ken07AOVette]

Being too cheap (see Websters 'broke') to go buy one of these fancy gas hogging augers, I decided to dig in my pile of treasures in the shop.

I found a couple huge 12V wheelchair motors that were supposed to go in a r/c tank one day, and found out that with a little ingenuity, some nice long wires and battery clamps, a little machining and welding, I was able to make a deadly 12V auger!

I am experimenting with a 8" auger, would like to try it with a 10" some time.

The motors are incredible efficient, tons of torque, I dare say more than the gas ones, and almost silent. I do not think you have to have the truck running to drill holes.

When I get it all finished and painted up I will post some pics if anyone is interested.

I have a 2nd motor here, if anyone doesn't like messing with mixing gas, sparke plugs, frozen gas lines, choking to run, pulling a rope, gas line antifreeze, mixture settings......:lol::D

If I can get out this weekend, after fixing the F'ng150 I will take some video IF it is real impressive. If it isn't, pretend this thread never existed. :D

[IR_mike]

^^^^ This is better than watching Macgyver re runs on tv tropolis!! :lol::wave::)





What do the people with the now motorless wheelchairs think of this??

[DarkAisling]

If I can get out this weekend, after fixing the F'ng150 I will take some video IF it is real impressive. If it isn't, pretend this thread never existed. :D

Sometimes an epic failure is even more impressive than success (though a touch more embarrassing). :lol:

[diamonddave]

This i gotta see:wave:

[Okotokian]

Big deal.... you can get a better wheelchair-powered ice auger CHEAPER down in the U.S.

sign me

Ducking and Running :lol:

[AxeMan]

Ken, I did the same a few years back. I had a 12 volt power head in the junk pile that I adapted to my 8" auger bottom section. The drive unit has a gear reduction built in it and has lots of torque and the right speed. I put about 35 feet of cable with battery clamps on it. I built it to drill about 45" of ice max. I adapted the 8" hand auger bottom section to it using a piece of 1" black pipe and a 3/4" shaft to fit the bottom flange on the power head. A bit of tig welding and a drilling and it was done. The bottom section of my hand auger detaches with two 5/16" bolts and it can be a hand auger again.

It works absolutely fantastic. Everyone who sees it in action is in awe. Quiet, extremely powerful, smooth, and reliable. 8" auger but easily enough power to drive a 10". It will keep up with any gas auger for speed of drilling.

I have seen guys make them with 12 V gear reduction starter motors as well.
Looking forward to seeing yours, Ken.

18003
18004

[jacob1202]

ha ha good idea...i actually made one that fits into an 18v cordless drill... works damn good... i thought it would be a battery killer but 1 charged battery drilled 10 holes for me... prolly coulda done more but didnt need to

[Hunter Trav]

Just bought one actually, got me the 24V IceGator, and man does it chew. Can't wait to see some pics of your setup though...if it works that is...;)

[Ken07AOVette]

Big deal.... you can get a better wheelchair-powered ice auger CHEAPER down in the U.S.

sign me

Ducking and Running :lol:


Bwaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha!!!

pekcerhead LOL!!

[Ken07AOVette]

I was able to take the Frankenauger out today, and it is AWESOME! LOL!

It drilled 2' of ice in about 40 seconds. Like I thought, tons of torque, easy to handle with a 8" auger.

Now I need to find a 10" and see how it handles it.

The motor is big, geared, runs very efficiently.

I redid the handle, added a 12v solenoid and a push button on/off switch.

I may try adding another gear box now, see if it likes running faster or slower.

For now though, I am going to the lake this weekend, run a dozen holes and do some video's.


wave:

[JFK]

Anything built by a Ken has got to be good!!!!!
Good Job......
Jack Fish Ken:D

[Paul C]

:D I saw Axeman's auger at work. It is faster than a gas one and half of the noise. A couple of batteries off the 6.2 diesel and runs like a dream.
Cheers :wave:

[Mulestalker]

I built a similar auger about 12 years ago, used a old 1/2" electric drill that the motor had burnt out of,took the electric motor off and attached a 12v truck starter to it along with a solenoid switch and cables,worked well.

[CeeZee]

sounds like a good deal! just was thinking, most of them are variable speed right? perhaps keeping it variable somehow would be handy when your breaking thru the bottom and stuff. just a thought. good job and im sure it saved you at least 400 bucks and gave a guy something to do for a while.

[Ken07AOVette]

Went out today, put a set of new blades on the 8", took 21 seconds. We burned close to 20 holes, and laughed every time.
I would sure love to try a 10" auger under it, I know it has the power. The thing is just a hoot to run, and every time we heard someone pulling for 10 minutes on their rope we just giggled to ourselves.

Here is Steve running another hole....

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb267/KbxSrx/th_101_5048.jpg (http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb267/KbxSrx/?action=view&current=101_5048.flv)

[Shmag]

Good job Ken, looks like a pretty slick rig

[-JR-]

Going green hey!
Right on !
...just wonder how many holes can you drill if you do not start the truck or if you just carry a battery out on the ice?

[Geezle]

That looks like it worked pretty good...pity I wasn't able to get out with you to check it out in person :cool:

Hopefully in a couple weeks...:)

[WayneChristie]

way to go, looks like it works great. and doesnt spook the fish too.

[Lappy]

WOW, looks great!

What items would one need to build one of these? Are you willing to provide some instructions?

[Ken07AOVette]

the motor is a 22V geared wheelchair motor, but on high speed runs on 12v if that makes sense. It is easy to convert if you have a lathe, aluminum heavy wall pipe, 3/4" steel shaft, ~40' of cable/wire, something for a handle and of course an auger, solenoid, push button switch.

I would gladly help make the adapter, it is the only piece where the lathe is needed, have to drill a 29/64th hole in it, tap to 1/2 20nft, and turn the steel down to fit in the aluminum pipe.

I can provide better pics if anyone wants to see them.

I have enough parts here to make 1 more the same as mine, which I think is spoken for, although a price has not been set.

I would think it would be worth the equivalent price of a decent 4 man tent?

[mooseknuckle]

12V yep think about it.. not your everyday drill my friends:wave:

[Ken07AOVette]

Going green hey!
Right on !
...just wonder how many holes can you drill if you do not start the truck or if you just carry a battery out on the ice?


When I was testing I likely ran the motor for well over an hour, and it did not drop the voltage at all. I would think you could drop 40 holes without worrying about draining the battery, maybe more. I kept the truck running most of the time, but drilled a few quiet ones.

Steve brought a tent, and the slickest part of the auger was drilling holes inside the tent. Try that with a gasser! :tongue2:

[Ken07AOVette]

i have enough parts to make another one if anyone is interested. The other guy backed out.

[randster]

Good job, I was thinking about building my own for many years, couldn't find a decent 12v motor. But when Ralf Klein handed out those energy rebate checks a few years back.($400.) I just went out and bought a jiffy 8".

[The Ice Man]

I think I have an old tread mill motor in the basement, might be time to start playing around in the shop! I think its 3/4 hp and I have the electronic chips and digital speed button. Man this is going to be fun...

And my wife said I would never use it, it was crap.....a dust collector...

[alacringa]

Very cool...although I do pretty well by hand. Don't mind taking less than 5 minutes to drill a hole, instead of seconds.

[AxeMan]

Nice Ken, welcome to club electric!

[Ken07AOVette]

I think I have an old tread mill motor in the basement, might be time to start playing around in the shop! I think its 3/4 hp and I have the electronic chips and digital speed button. Man this is going to be fun...

And my wife said I would never use it, it was crap.....a dust collector...

Won't that be 110 v though?

[Ken07AOVette]

If anyone has an electric motor and needs the conversion piece made up I can do that for you.

[Ken07AOVette]

I tried it today with the 10" used auger, and even though the blade is fubar, it made a great hole. When I get a new blade I will post the new video.

[Map Maker]

When I was testing I likely ran the motor for well over an hour, and it did not drop the voltage at all. I would think you could drop 40 holes without worrying about draining the battery, maybe more. I kept the truck running most of the time, but drilled a few quiet ones.

Steve brought a tent, and the slickest part of the auger was drilling holes inside the tent. Try that with a gasser! :tongue2:

Very nice. Thats using your noggin.

You can calculate exactly how many holes you can get out of the battery by hooking up an amp meter to drill and seeing how much power it draws.

then divide that number into the amp hours of the battery. That will give you total working time of the battery. Then see how long it is to do one hole.

I starting trying to make one before but hard to find a good 12v motor with alot of torque. wheelchair motor sounds like a great choice.

[BigBuck$]

Sure is ugly.....I love it!!!