which cordless dril

[flukeman]

Going to get an auger adapter for a cordless drill. Wanted to know which cordless drills you guys have had the best luck with? Please include how many holes the battery will allow.

Thanks in advance,

[hardwater diehard]

     4ah or more for batteries ....brushless ....hammer drills seem to be a better choice also ...

Plenty of past threads on drills search upper left

I have the DeWalt 995 Clam plate w/SM 6" Lazer...cuts plenty of holes ..never really counted as last season was quite a challenge from finding ice .

plenty of other YouTube videos

[reeleyz]

I use a Milwaukee Fuel and it has not let me down in 2 seasons. The first season I was drilling through over 2' of ice with no issues. I think I have only run a battery down once but I don't remember how many holes it was. I run and gun a lot too. I use the 4ah batteries.

Oh, and I use a 7" power auger bit that everyone said wouldn't work.  It works great.

[Shack man Shoney]

I use the Milwaukee fuel with 1200 in\lbs of torque with clam plate and 8" Mora. It rips through the ice 12"-24"-36" it doesn't matter the thickness. I have had zero isues with the setup. I saw where CPO Milwaukee has a kit with (2) 5ah batterys and charger for $219... I think its a good buy for the money.

[CLUTCHfan]

My fishing partner has a Milwaukee fuel brushless that we use w my nils convertable. That drill is amazing.

[3300]

in my group we all use ridgid brand drills that have the life time warranty (lsa). right now you can buy their best drill and they give you a free impact driver and choice of 10 tool add-ons at homedepot. homedepot offers 90 days to try any tools and return them hassle free. their strongest is 780 inch pounds in a brushed motor and 700 inch pounds in the brushless motor.

last season a user told us how his sons new (less than one year old) milwaukee drill switch died and they told him that was normal for that to happen and not covered under their terms of warranty or not a defect and charged him parts and labor and shipping. he is also an electrician.

ridgid is more than happy to replace parts like those for free and before they wear out and for your life time. just use a independent service center. when your battery dies and they all do, they ask that you bring in all of your ridgid tools so they can go over them. they even replace batteries that don't need to be replaced. there is such a huge difference in brands and they both have the same parent company.

as far as hole count, it depends on how wet the ice is and how deep the ice is and how sharp your blades are. with 4amp batteries on average i'd say 50 holes with a 6" lazer. i make a ton of holes when they are not on their spots so i can try to find them. making holes is actually fun and i make them for others that don't have a drill set up. watching folks with those gas powered augers is also fun to watch them try to cut holes. we can make 3 to 4 holes to their 1 hole.

no you won't need a plate, they just cost more and weigh more and take more space. if you don't know how to use a drill you might want one. or if you want that look while your drilling you might want one, but drilling large holes is easy with out one and always has been like cutting wood with large basket saws. you don't use a plate then and it can break your writs if you don't know how to use a drill. some people need that assist because of bad hands and want to keep fishing anyway.

you should get an auger adapter that has a bungee system to save your auger from falling in. the ice master is a good one and nothing sticking out to catch your body or clothes like many of the home made and cheaper models have. some use a long bolt and some use a giant washer for this.

[Garyp3]

I been looking too ,and every one says go with brushless and at lest 4.0 ah battery . I found two that every one says are good at home depot 
A Milwaukee fuel 18 volt with 3 5ah batteries case and charger for 299.99 good deal BUT 300$
Second is a Ridged 18 volt brushless with 1 2.0 ah battery/charger for $119  Than buying 2 4 ah battery's for $99 --total $220+tax?

[3300]

just make sure the batteries you want to keep using for the rest of your life are the right size in the kit you buy. they need to be 4 amps or more. stay away from the compact systems offered.
279$ is the price for the ridgid drill and free impact with two four amp batteries and charger. the free tool can be a 5 amp battery among other choices, but batteries bought outside of the kit only have a three year warranty like milwaukee has.
you do have to register your tools to get the life time warranty. that's what the lsa is.
it does not have to be brushless. the warranty doesn't care if it's brushed or not in the motors and neither does the ice.
i've been using brushed motors with zero issues for years. you can burn out any motor, brushed or not.

[Garyp3]

Thanks 3300, now more choices

[flukeman]

That Rigid Kit for $279 is what I just picked up Friday. The deal is a no-brainer, then add in the warranty and it just makes sense.

[bigZin315]

A good drill is key I have a nice bostitich drill w extra battery seems to work good for me and also the clam drill plate, I had the adapter bit but the drill plate is the way to go hands down.

[Shack man Shoney]

Milwaukee VS Rigid is just a Ford VS Chevrolet debate. Do you want 1200 in/lbs of torque or 700 in/lbs??? Torque drills holes that is the plain and simple truth. If you are OK with a 6" hole and live close to a Home Depot that will fix tools on site it is not a bad deal. Here's the part that some of the rigid guys don't tell you, if you don't live close to a rigid service center then you will be sending the drill off to be fixed or replaced at their option. This can take a few weeks for turnaround and your at home without your drill for your auger...... and it may be January!!! I for one would much rather be fishing than waiting a few weeks for the mailman to deliver my repaired drill so I can go fishing with my drill auger. The Clam plate is a darn nice option that can save a drill as well as a wrist and it adds very little to the total weight to the auger. My drill, plate, extension, and auger are under 16 lbs... and thats with a 9ah battery. 3300's notion that if you have a plate that you don't know how to drill is total nonsense. If you want the best warranty get the Rigid... If you want the best drill get the Milwaukee.

[Garyp3]

Any one use a Dewalt dcd980m2 , Seen one at Home Depot a Dewalt 20 volt 3 speed drill/driver with 2 4ah batteries,case,handle and charger for $219
Would this work ok with a 6'' strike master lazer
 

[3300]

3300's notion that if you have a plate that you don't know how to drill is total nonsense.

i did not say that tho!      i said  " if you don't know how to use a drill you might want one".  i'll say it again too.

i did consider buying a milwaukee drill when they made their 1200 inch pound version, but i recalled the report i mentioned earlier and i don't care to support a company who doesn't stand behind it's products. to me that's not a better drill at all. if any thing, it is more powerful while it is functioning is all it is, but will cost much more to keep it running. and down time is down time no matter what brand you chose. if you chose red white and blue brand and it goes down, you will be waiting for it to get repaired also. that's a given. or, you go out and buy another so your not down ever no one says you can only have one drill or any tool for that matter. i have four ridgid drills and all are warranted for life.

get what makes you happy, that's all that matters, so long as it works for you. i'm happy if your happy.
sharing information is what this site is about tho and we all (that have experience) have some to share with those asking for it. information is what makes you a smart shopper, or not. which ever one buys that is strong enough to do the job is what's most important and saving money is nice. if you have always been a hand crank hole cutter, any drill making that hole is awesome!

while i am at it, i want to thank you and the rest of this group here at the "shanty". many thanks for the tips and time spent sharing your ideas and thoughts with the rest of us! i get a ton of information from every one that posts here besides sharing my thoughts and that's what makes this place tick.

[3300]

Any one use a Dewalt dcd980m2 , Seen one at Home Depot a Dewalt 20 volt 3 speed drill/driver with 2 4ah batteries,case,handle and charger for $219
Would this work ok with a 6'' strike master lazer

how many inch pounds is it?
my drill is 780 inch pounds and cuts great. nothing has ever stopped it. i was using a 500 inch pound ridgid 24 volt before i bought their latest version gen5x brushed 18 volt drill, and it also cut non stop and never slowed down and still cuts like brand new. so i would say if it's at least 500 inch pounds and you use a 6" lazer, you should be good. if you buy it from homedepot, they will take it back if you don't like it with-in 90 days and you can try some thing else out.

[Garyp3]

No foot pounds listed just says 535 watts of power
 Now home depot has the drill for 249 not 219. l might as well spend a little more and get the Rigid deal 

[Shack man Shoney]

Roughly 565 in/lbs of torque for the DCD980M2... It should run a 6" auger.

[KeukaZ71]

this is what i used last year. a little overkill (brushless hammer drill) but i love the 4.0 ah battery. i use it on the 8 inch nils below. love it. best thing i ever bought.

[pooch2543]

Milwaukee Fuel with Nils 8 inch and Clam Plate hasn't let me down yet. 30 Plus inches of ice, no problem.