Author Topic: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?  (Read 14147 times)

Offline akjw7

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home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« on: Jan 15, 2010, 01:17 PM »
anyone built one of these to keep ice and slush out of their shack when drilling holes?

I have six holes in the shack I just built and what a mess drilling through 2-3 feet of ice makes (especially when the throttle on the auger sticks and brings about 12 gallons of water up with it!  :o)

seriously though - I was thinking of maybe a round plastic tub (the kind with the rope handles) - cut a hole out of the bottom to the size of a five gallon bucket.

cut the bottom out of the bucket

slide the bucket into the hole in the tub - usually the buckets have a wider diameter up top where the handle is so it should seat against the tub if you cut the hole to the smaller diameter size of the bottom of the bucket.

then epoxy or silicone it in and you've got it - right? A catch tub with a sleeve both above and below the bottom of the tub (below so the ice and slush has to go up into the tub and above so the ice and slush can't just go back down the hole)

my only problem is I don't enough clearance for a round tub with a hole in the middle (too close to seat benches/walls in my case)

so then I thought maybe make it square and maybe just make it out of scrap plywood? Build a 2x2x2 open top box - cut a hole tangent to one side of the box and repeat the bucket part -  only fasten the bucket to the box with 90 brackets or some strapping or something.

in that case I said to put the hole at one wall so the square box can be pushed right up flush with a seat box/bench/wall and still line up with the hole you have to auger

So who's done this??? or is it just not that big a deal to shovel the ice/slush out for most of you? (I know not everyone has 2-3-4-5 feet of ice!  ;D)

Offline WYIfish

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #1 on: Jan 15, 2010, 09:24 PM »
When I had a lot of holes in my old shanty, I augered in the holes after measuring with a tape measure, and then drag the shanty over them. A little timely but sure beats the water and ice mess in the shanty. 
One that slush freezes over night, it adds more problems so moving my shanty was no big deal.
Better than freezing down.
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Offline akjw7

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #2 on: Jan 25, 2010, 07:16 PM »
yeah I'm not doing that at 30 below...


here's a pic of the box I built...hopefully try it out soon - had I known about this issue I could have designed the floorplan to allow a bigger box, but this is all I can fit into tight spots - even if I have to empty it three times per hole before I get them punched through 2-4 feet of ice I'll be happy



Offline WYIfish

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #3 on: Jan 25, 2010, 07:35 PM »
yeah I'm not doing that at 30 below...


here's a pic of the box I built...hopefully try it out soon - had I known about this issue I could have designed the floorplan to allow a bigger box, but this is all I can fit into tight spots - even if I have to empty it three times per hole before I get them punched through 2-4 feet of ice I'll be happy

(Image removed from quote.)

Hah! Wyoming is cold but if I had 30 below and 2-4 feet of ice, I would move south to ice fish the winter away.  Burrr......
Hope you have a good wood stove, they help when it gets really cold.
Best,
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Offline akjw7

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #4 on: Jan 26, 2010, 12:15 PM »
30 below is nothing! Just my limit for venturing out...too hard on equipment after that. Although we haven't seen 50 below yet this winter (jan-feb are usually coldest months - so we're not out of the woods yet)

actually I have propane heat - direct vent catalytic. It holds temp ok once everything is warmed up, but it takes a second heater (mr buddy sunflower heater) to surge it up to temp. 

my last 30 below outing it was 80 inside the ice house in about two hours time

this box contraption is just an attempt to not spend 45 minutes drilling holes and cleaning 50+ gallons of ice chips out of the house! (probably more like 100 gallons based on how many times I emptied a 5 gallon bucket on the last trip)

happy fishing!

ps - here's a pic of the auger when it's configured for 5' of ice!!! (I'm 6'2" without my boots on!)

Offline Greg2ha

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #5 on: Jan 26, 2010, 06:04 PM »
The Up-North Mans Auger! ;D How thick is the ice?
Greg
Fish on!

Offline WYIfish

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #6 on: Jan 26, 2010, 08:11 PM »
WOW, now that's an auger!  Good old Jiffy too!

Too much ice for me.
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Offline Lifeguard

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #7 on: Jan 26, 2010, 08:34 PM »
30 below is nothing! Just my limit for venturing out...too hard on equipment after that. Although we haven't seen 50 below yet this winter (jan-feb are usually coldest months - so we're not out of the woods yet)

actually I have propane heat - direct vent catalytic. It holds temp ok once everything is warmed up, but it takes a second heater (mr buddy sunflower heater) to surge it up to temp.  

my last 30 below outing it was 80 inside the ice house in about two hours time

this box contraption is just an attempt to not spend 45 minutes drilling holes and cleaning 50+ gallons of ice chips out of the house! (probably more like 100 gallons based on how many times I emptied a 5 gallon bucket on the last trip)

happy fishing!


ps - here's a pic of the auger when it's configured for 5' of ice!!! (I'm 6'2" without my boots on!)
(Image removed from quote.)

Wow, good thing it's not an old "one armed bandit" Jiffy.  If the handle slipped as you were starting the hole, it would lay you out.

Offline akjw7

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #8 on: Jan 28, 2010, 03:19 PM »
looks like I should get out tomorrow to try out the box...hopefully it works and I spend less than 45 minutes getting holes drilled

best comment so far has been - if you flip it over you can use it for a crapper too!  ::) not exactly what I intended it for...but at least I know it can have a use if it doesn't work for augering holes!

Offline akjw7

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #9 on: Feb 02, 2010, 01:27 PM »
ok got to try it out -

first problem...wouldn't fit through the door in the shack!

It fit through the door opening just like I planned, but I forgot about the trim board on the inside that acts as the door stop/seal!

so I had to take the box apart and cut two inches off of it and put it back together...good thing I brought the battery powered skill saw (small size)...bad thing is that it eats batteries and I brought it to cut shelf boards to length - didn't get to do that because the batteries were dead after fixing the box.

Ok now I have the box inside the shack to check on the second problem - that I originally though might be my first problem.  Did I guess on the box dimensions close enough to get the box over the hole? 

It fit perfectly on 5 of the 6 holes. Didn't fit the 6th hole because of clearance with the heater mounted on the wall. Not a huge deal - 1 out of 6 to clean up with a shovel.

The other five holes went great - drill the hole all the way through (forgot to measure but more than 2 feet of ice) in one shot and almost all the ice chips and slush are contained in the box. Drag the box outside and dump it - virtually nothing to clean up! Still a lot of slush to get out of the hole, but at least not a lot to get off the floor. (a slush inhaler might have to be on the christmas list for next year).

I might modify it slightly by reducing the height of the vertical boards around the hole in the box. I was bottoming out the auger handles on those boards without getting the last inch of depth I needed.  Or I could just use the auger extension, but that has its own challenges in tight quarters.

At any rate it is going to save me a ton of time opening up the shack from here on out.

Offline michianafisherman

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #10 on: Feb 02, 2010, 01:48 PM »
I recently built an 8x8 shanty. I spent a good 20 minutes cleaning all of the ice out and it was only 12 inches thick. I bought a black pail that isn't round, and had a nice handle on it. I bought a plastic shovel that had sides on it. My Icegator gets close to the walls, so I just bore the holes and run it in reverse an allot of the shavings go under the ice. I take the shovel and push or scrape the shavings against the wall and pour them into the pail, or carry the shovel to the door and throw them out. I have this thing that goes down the hole and folds that lets the chips get past it. Once it is at the bottom I shake it a little and it folds down, or opens up to the size of the hole. Then I slowly lift it up and have a column of ice on it that I can put in the pail. I can get some pictures of both if you want. I have not had to deal with the problem until this year and I am sure others may have better ideas. I also use the pail for other items to carry back and forth so it is a double duty item. ;D
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Offline akjw7

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #11 on: Feb 02, 2010, 02:07 PM »
a big part of the problem for me is that the shack is often cold soaked at below zero temperatures (thirty below a couple weekends ago) so when the slush and ice chips hit the floor it freezes just about instantly and you have a big mess until enough heat and time melt it off. Even then, it's still a wet mess for quite a while after that.  So keeping the slush/ice chips from hitting the floor at all is big part of why the drill-through-box concept is a winner for me. Plus mine is on the lake all season so I can just leave this box inside when I leave and that way I don't have to haul anything.

One more thing - 10" hole x 6 holes x over 2 feet of ice = lots of cleanup. If you cleanup one hole at a time you're ahead because less freezes, but it feels like you spend forever getting it cleaned up good just to go mess it up again - then repeat four more times! (I really don't need 10" holes at this lake, but "you run what you brung!")

I've thought before that the 'reverse' on the ice gator is an interesting feature - glad it's working well for you!

Your 'column of ice' device sounds a lot like the slush inhaler - is it something you built or bought? I'd love to see pictures of it if it's homemade.

(great job on that amazing piece of craftsmanship you call a shanty - amazing!)

Offline michianafisherman

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #12 on: Feb 02, 2010, 03:04 PM »
Check out Tackle Tamer. Thats the name of where its made. (the ice skimmer) I don't know how to post a link to their site. Thanks for the nice compliment on my shanty ;D I understand your problem with the freezing on the floor. I fished the other day -1 and had the same issues. I am going to start thinking about it and see if I can come up with a new idea. Like making a piece of 1/8 material to fit on the floor with cut outs for the holes. Use a material that won't freeze to the floor, then just shovel all of the snow out and remove the  floor cover and you are done. If you put a drip edge on the piece that would fit into the holes it would somewhat keep the water from seeping in. Just a thought.
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Offline WYIfish

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Re: home made slush bucket/auger mate device?
« Reply #13 on: Feb 02, 2010, 10:23 PM »
I almost have dreamp't up a 6 or 8 inch diameter black pvc pipe that could stick out the shanty door, and some form of collar to stuff the auger through ( like your slush box with a connecting collar for the pvc). I think the auger would be able to move the slush through the pvc tube if the tube had a little drop angle on it.

OR, make some open doors along the side of the shanty that you can open to rake the slush out and then close the doors back up.  Hinge on the top, make them 1 foot tall, 2 foot long, and make a couple of them along one side of the shanty...just a thought.

Don't let the slush win what ever you do.
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