Electric Auger Any Good?

[carterM]

So it looks like my 15 year old gas auger is finally hurting. It's got alot of issues. Anyways, long story short, if the price to fix it is going to be high enough I'll just get a new auger.

Now I'm looking at electric augers. They seem good enough, mainly not having issues starting... Spending an hour and a half in -30 weather just trying to get your auger started (and failing) will make that luxury all too obvious.

The only real issue I see is that I don't know and can't seem to find any information regarding how well they'd work in thicker ice. Almost all of the good reviews I've seen have been from people who rarely have to deal with anything over 12 inches. So does anyone here have experience with an electric auger in thicker ice?

The particular one I'm looking at is the Strikemaster Electra Lazer in 7 or 8 inch.

Thanks

[Kevin_Thunder]

I've heard mixed things about the Jiffy and Strikemaster electric augers, people seem to be split in the middle with those two augers. Either they love it, or they hate it. If you've got some money to spend, look into the IceGator powerhead. Attached to the right auger (like a Nils), and it'd make short work out of any thickness of ice. Electric motors have a consistent torque band, no matter the rpms it will always have torque, so it'll always cut.... or rip your arms off (nearly happened to me once when I wasn't paying attention).

I was in the market for an auger this fall before the temps started to drop, and ruled out gas augers immediately. For me it was a toss up between propane and electric. I went with the IceGator and haven't regretted my decision. Instant start ups are great, it has plenty of power, no smells, no gas and I've never run out of juice yet. The most I've drilled so far has been 40-50 holes in 18" of ice with an 8" finbore III auger attached... and it was still going strong at the end of the day.

There are a few videos on youtube that helped me make my final decision:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epjUgfnFIIs

[BGSH]

Eskimo Auger is where it's at.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Thunder

I've heard mixed things about the Jiffy and Strikemaster electric augers, people seem to be split in the middle with those two augers. Either they love it, or they hate it. If you've got some money to spend, look into the IceGator powerhead. Attached to the right auger (like a Nils), and it'd make short work out of any thickness of ice. Electric motors have a consistent torque band, no matter the rpms it will always have torque, so it'll always cut.... or rip your arms off (nearly happened to me once when I wasn't paying attention).

I was in the market for an auger this fall before the temps started to drop, and ruled out gas augers immediately. For me it was a toss up between propane and electric. I went with the IceGator and haven't regretted my decision. Instant start ups are great, it has plenty of power, no smells, no gas and I've never run out of juice yet. The most I've drilled so far has been 40-50 holes in 18" of ice with an 8" finbore III auger attached... and it was still going strong at the end of the day.

There are a few videos on youtube that helped me make my final decision:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epjUgfnFIIs

Hokey Diana thats impressive. If they could improve the battery life by about 35% they should sell a ton up here. Down in the warmer parts I don't know why you would use gas. Having said that if you use a flasher through the ice instead of drilling holes to find the depth that should be good on all but the thickest ice up here.

[Willowtrail]

Originally Posted by BGSH

Eskimo Auger is where it's at.

Eskimo doesn't make an electric auger.

I've seen Kevin's IceGator in action. Made my Eskimo Shark look like a hand auger.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Our buddy Slingshotz has one, and WOW does it cut ice! Just like the video, exceptionally fast, and no more fuel residue near your fishing tackle.

[camshaft]

Had my Icegator for a couple of years. Other than a few minor issues which Iv gotten addressed, I wudnt trade it for a gas any time soon.

I rarely drill more than 15 or so holes in an outing and those holes that I do drill, I can drill circles around any gas auger period. I have holes drilled before most even have theirs started. Anyone that has seen an icegator in action can attest.

Also paired with a 8" finbore III

[Ken07AOVette]

Find a wheelchair motor and I'll make you a great auger

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

Find a wheelchair motor and I'll make you a great auger

Years ago we used to make them out of staters. Put booster cables on the starter motor and then put them on the truck battery,had to move your truck around to drill your holes. lol But did those suckers spin fast. Redneck done right lol.

[carterM]

Originally Posted by camshaft

Had my Icegator for a couple of years. Other than a few minor issues which Iv gotten addressed, I wudnt trade it for a gas any time soon.

I rarely drill more than 15 or so holes in an outing and those holes that I do drill, I can drill circles around any gas auger period. I have holes drilled before most even have theirs started. Anyone that has seen an icegator in action can attest.

Also paired with a 8" finbore III

Man you'd have 3 holes drilled before I even got the cover off of my Eskimo's carb to pour in the gas to get the damned thing to start...

[fish gunner]

friend has a 11/2" 12 volt portable railroad drill. holy moly keeps on your toes, but man does it hog ice.give any gas auger a seeing to.his is a little heavy but very compact.

[Kevin_Thunder]

The IceGator is essentially a wheelchair motor attached to a big battery. Even somewhere on the charger it mentions its for wheelchairs if I remember correctly. If you can fabricate one, all the more power to you. Posts some pics, I'm sure more than a few people would be interested in it.

Originally Posted by BGSH

Eskimo Auger is where it's at.

....And you wonder why people are critical of you? We're talking about electric augers not gas. I'd compare my gator to what ever Eskimo auger you're using any day. Stick with what you know, not all that much.

[carterM]

So how exactly did you get that auger seeing as they aren't sold in Canada? Did you go for a drive or find somewhere that would ship it to you?

[Kevin_Thunder]

Originally Posted by carterM

So how exactly did you get that auger seeing as they aren't sold in Canada? Did you go for a drive or find somewhere that would ship it to you?

At the time I bought it, buying it direct from IceGator was still an option. Now you need to contact one of the dealers in their dealers listing. I believe there is a Canadian shop in the list. One of the big problems with IceGator is that they backorder pretty quick. Last I heard, there was a backorder for powerhead a couple weeks ago.... similar story to last year.

[carterM]

Oh nvm. Found it. That's more than I'm looking to spend. I think I'm going to go have a look at the Strikemaster. Hopefully I won't regret it. But I'm sick of fighting with gas motors. Admitedly, I didn't have what you would call a great experience with the last auger...

[slingshotz]

The first year I got my Icegator we had crazy ice. The gator tore through 3+ feet without any issues with the 8" Nils blade. The biggest issue was trying to keep your legs planted on the ice as the torque gets crazy in the thicker ice.

Had an issue with the power switches as it was their first year design I think but I fixed it myself but the new switches I heard are much better. This year I had the nut come loose on the chain drive but that was a easy fix to tighten it down. I love how you can get the auger out press a button and away you go. I see guys all the time adjusting the choke, pulling it multiple times, etc on gas ones and glad I didn't go that route.

[BeeGuy]

Gas augers will soon be a relic.

Good riddance!

Everyone has stories about the auger that wouldn't start.

[Ken07AOVette]

I was out at the lake a few years ago and remember listening to 2 guys trying to start their gas augers. These poor buggers must have pulled the ropes 400 times each, and they never started. Pull the plug, blow out the gas, pull the plug, squirt some gas in, nothing worked. I was using a hand cranked auger, and offered to drill holes for them, but they wanted their new gas ones to run. They were some mad.
When I got home, I remembered I had just stripped down an electric wheelchair, and a couple hours later, 20' of cord, a solenoid, heavy duty momentary contact switch, 2 battery clamps, a handle off a lawnmower cut down and a little lathe work later I had an electric auger.

Mine works excellent with an 8" 2 blade auger, but did not like a single blade 10" chipper, not enough rpm.

The 2nd one sold right away. If anyone finds an old wheelchair motor I would be happy to help build an electric auger.

[dwedmon]

I've had both the strikemaster electralazer and a jiffy 3500 gas model and a costco eskimo.
The advantage with electric is that it starts with the push of a button. The disadvantage with electric is that it does not cut as fast as gas. Electrics will also use up power quickly, especially on cold days. I would run mine off a nautilus deep cycle marine battery and on a cold day I could drill 12-15 holes through 2ft+ thick ice. Plus the batter you have to haul around is way heavier than a gas powerhead.

The new gas augers are junk. My eskimo was dead out of the box and the manufacturer suggested I take the engine apart to see if the gas lines were hooked up properly in the factory. Returned the eskimo and bought a jiffy. The plastic jiffy broke after about 6 trips.

Bottom line is that if you drill only a few holes, go electric. If you move and drill a lot go gas.

[Ken07AOVette]

This is the motor I use, it is EXTREMELY efficient, but heavy. I just use the truck battery, you can run all day long and it doesn't touch the battery.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-HOVEROUND-...#ht_509wt_1396

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

I was out at the lake a few years ago and remember listening to 2 guys trying to start their gas augers. These poor buggers must have pulled the ropes 400 times each, and they never started. Pull the plug, blow out the gas, pull the plug, squirt some gas in, nothing worked. I was using a hand cranked auger, and offered to drill holes for them, but they wanted their new gas ones to run. They were some mad.
When I got home, I remembered I had just stripped down an electric wheelchair, and a couple hours later, 20' of cord, a solenoid, heavy duty momentary contact switch, 2 battery clamps, a handle off a lawnmower cut down and a little lathe work later I had an electric auger.

Mine works excellent with an 8" 2 blade auger, but did not like a single blade 10" chipper, not enough rpm.

The 2nd one sold right away. If anyone finds an old wheelchair motor I would be happy to help build an electric auger.

What did you use for a battery Ken? Sorry missed the previous by seconds.

[Hunter Trav]

Originally Posted by dwedmon

The disadvantage with electric is that it does not cut as fast as gas.

This may be true of the Strikemaster, but the gator will have holes drilled before you even have a gas started, even if it was warmed up already. The only thing I don't like about my Icegator is the fact that they didn't have the 10" unit when I bought it, and I prefer a 10" for sight fishing.

[dwedmon]

Originally Posted by Hunter Trav

This may be true of the Strikemaster, but the gator will have holes drilled before you even have a gas started, even if it was warmed up already. The only thing I don't like about my Icegator is the fact that they didn't have the 10" unit when I bought it, and I prefer a 10" for sight fishing.

Good point, I used an electric years ago, I haven't tried the current generation of electrics, they are probably a lot more powerful.

What I use most often now is an 18v LI powerdrill connected to a 6" hand auger bit. That combo goes through ice almost as fast as my jiffy and works fine for ice less than 2feet thick.