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Old 02-24-2009, 12:22 PM
insomniac insomniac is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 71
Default Auger (Long) Review: IceGator Electric Auger

IceGator First (long-winded) Impressions

Ordered this directly from the manufacturer (took a week to clear Canada Customs)

Unit: Attacker (24 volt) model w/12aH batteries and 8" Strikemaster Lazer hand auger bit.

Included in the box from Pavatti Manufacturing:
- 24 volt charger
- Hand auger adapter and bolt for Strikemaster Lazer or Mora augers.
- Power Head with 2 sealed, maintenance free lead-acid 12 V batteries installed
- Instruction manual

Note what's missing - an auger bit. You need to purchase a hand auger or apparently it also fits Strikemaster power auger bits directly with an adapter.

IceGator Pros:
- Reliable: No-fuss startup, just press a button and start drilling. Reverse is very handy when the auger bit gets hung up or for pushing ice out the hole to clean the ice chips.
- Clean: No smoke obviously. No more mixing gas and oil. No more carb adjustments or tuneups required.
- Quiet: Significantly quieter than any gas auger.
- Compact: Powerhead is relatively compact even with two batteries.
- Construction: The construction is simple but solid, the plastic is thick and feels durable. The material is listed as HDPE (high density polyethylene) which is a type of plastic used in many industrial applications.
- Fast: Surprisingly fast and powerful. The high RPM (285) means that drilling is pretty fast. Probably drills faster than most regular two-stroke gas augers. This does depend somewhat on which auger drill you attach to it but with a Strikemaster auger bit and sharp blades the Icegator really chews through the ice fast - you have to see it to believe it...

IceGator Cons:
- Weight: The total weight is probably around 35-38 pounds including a Strikemaster auger bit. Compared with many of the lighter gas augers, the weight difference (10-15 pounds in most cases) is likely going to be quite noticeable. It affects the handling of the auger and the weight is concentrated in the power head which weighs 28 pounds all by itself. I'm not a big guy and although the weight is manageable, I must say that it's a much heavier auger than I'm used to handling. However, you can also get the Icegator with the smaller 9aH batteries which is supposed to make the powerhead about 5 pounds lighter although you'll drill about 25% fewer holes.
- Battery Life in Extreme Weather: Obviously battery life will depend on the temperature. Note: I asked the manufacturer about this and they've tested in -20 F and they say they only lost about 20 holes per charge at those temps and the motor and batteries will actually warm up as you use it. I don't know how accurate this is as I haven't tried it at those temps...
- Charger: It uses a 3-prong 24 volt charger. The part that plugs into the auger can actually be inserted in a way that doesn't actually charge the batteries. Consequently you have to be careful to watch the charging light to make sure it turns red and the unit is actually being charged.
- Price: It's more expensive than most regular 2-cycle gas augers. Probably going to be 15-30% more expensive when you factor in the cost of an auger bit too. However, it's still actually cheaper than my Normark Fin-bore gas auger.

Overall: Nice machine. If you're not mechanically inclined like me or just don't like dealing with gas, oil and exhaust smoke then the advantages of the Icegator are pretty obvious. And if you can live with the hefty weight and premium price then it's a great choice.
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