KDrill how many holes per battery?

[DTro]

I wanted to know how many holes I could drill with my 8" KDrill paired with a DeWalt 996 Hammerdrill with 5ah battery.   I found about 15" of ice, and here is the result.

[cwavs1982]

DTro - just when I am sitting on the fence deciding whether or not I am going to buy this, someone comes along and does one of these videos.  Much appreciated.  I have the Milwaukee 1/2" drill, now it looks like I am going to pull the chain on getting one.  I was always thinking I want the 8" and this should do it.  Much Appreciated!

[DTro]

Yeah, I kind of thought I should have been able to get a few more holes out of it, but the way I fish, there is NO way I’m going to burn through 2 batteries.  Plus I have a 120v plug in my truck and if I ever got into a pinch it only takes in hour to fully charge the battery.    I do think that a shaver/lazer type blade might be a better performer overall (in speed), there are circumstances in which a chipper blade rules, such as opening old holes or dirty sandy ice.  Plus the blades have free lifetime sharpening.   Not only that, but the thing is SO lightweight.   

[hnd]

i got 400-450" of ice with my m18/6" kdrill.  pretty happy with that.

[Northern_MN Outdoorsan]

I can get between 25-30 holes per 5.0 battery with my 8" k drill and Milwaukee M 18 Fuel drill. I would recommend this setup to anyone. It is so light it takes the chore out of drilling holes, especially if you drill many holes per outing. I just ordered the new Milwaukee 9.0 battery so with two 5.0 batteries and one 9.0 battery I should be able to drill around 100 holes. I will test this out this coming weekend. I also speed tested my k drill setup against the new Ion X 8" auger and my k drill beat the Ion handily. If you are on the fence about this auger don't be. Buy it and you will see how great it is.

[DTro]

Not only will you get more run time with that 9.0 you will also get much better power performance!   Size does matter!  Check out this video, it's proof.  You will get better torque and RPM just by using a bigger battery (even though it's still only 18v).

&t=8s

[DogSled]

I have the Milwaukee M18 Fuel ( came with 3- 5ah batteries) hooked to the 8" K-Drill. I have used this setup for a few weekends now and between three of us fishing we have drilled all the holes we have needed and a few extra for other fishermen that wanted to see how well it worked, all of them and ourselves included were and are very impressed as to how light this setup is and to how fast it will drill through the ice. I have yet to have the first battery drain down to where I needed a second one ( only 6-8 inches of clear ice ) I am very impressed with this and very happy that I fell off the fence the right way.

[cwavs1982]

Pulled the chain this morning and ordered the 8".  Should be here by the weekend.  Now, when I go fishing and walk out on a lake and see a series of holes in a tight group, I will know that there will be a happy fisherman on the ice with a new K drill.  The shallows will start to look like a honeycomb. 

[4Buck]

How much ice can you drill through before needing a extension? Do they even make one for the KDrill?

[Northern_MN Outdoorsan]

How much ice can you drill through before needing a extension? Do they even make one for the KDrill?

The auger length of both the 6" and the 8" K Drills are 36". You should be able to cut through 36" of ice before needing an extension. They do make and extension for the K Drill. They have an extension listed on their website for $59.95. All K Drill products can be found here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjTx8XswL3RAhVM6YMKHdnnAqMQFggwMAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fkdrillauger.com%2Fproducts.html&usg=AFQjCNGmQgJHxnFFbON4i8pYn4ye3OmR0g

[Northern_MN Outdoorsan]

Not only will you get more run time with that 9.0 you will also get much better power performance!   Size does matter!  Check out this video, it's proof.  You will get better torque and RPM just by using a bigger battery (even though it's still only 18v).

&t=8s

I can't wait to see how the K Drill works on ice with the new 9.0ah battery. I charged it up last night after I got it unpackaged. The light on the battery meter only showed one bar. An hour later I checked back and it was fully charged. I hooked up a fully charged 5.0 battery to the power drill and hit the trigger. I then put the fully charged 9.0 battery on the drill and hit the trigger and it did sound like it had more power. The new 9.0 battery is supposed to run cooler than the smaller batteries too. I also like that I'll only have to carry 3 batteries out on the ice with me and have the power of 4 5.0 batteries. We will see how close I can get to drilling 100 holes through now 20+ inches of ice.

[Skywagon]

Just curious, is the 9 amp larger in physical size than the 5 amp?

[cwavs1982]

Should be a little deeper in height.  The 9.0 measures in at height = 3.4"; length = 5.1"; width = 3.1"; weight = 2.4 lbs.  Don't have the specs on the 5.0, but it doesn't seem that high.  Weight should be a little under 2 lbs. 

[Northern_MN Outdoorsan]

Yes the 9.0 battery is larger than the 5.0 battery. Sorry I don't know the specs of each battery. You could find it on Milwaukee website though. I think people have posted photos of the 5.0 and 9.0 next to each other in the customer review section for the 9.0 batteries.

[defiant1]

I used the K-Drill (8" auger) for the first time this last weekend.  The M18 drill batteries are super sensitive to temperature.  It was below zero degrees out on the lake, so I kept the batteries fully charged and warm (in heated truck) before each use.  I only got 22 holes drilled in 12" thick ice and had to use two 5aH batteries (both were used up).  Thankfully, I had a 3rd battery as a backup to drill the last few holes I needed.
As far the performance of the auger itself, it performed exceptionally.  I just might have to invest in a 9.0 battery or two to extend the drilling time.

[Skywagon]

Defiant1:
I was out in similar conditions last week (-0 f, 14" ice) with exactly the same outfit you have (8" K-drill, new Milwaukee Fuel 18, 5 amp battery) and cut 22 holes before the one battery I had with me quit.  The battery had been out in the below 0 temps for a couple of hours on the drill before being used, so it had never been warm.  Since your auger is cutting good, I wonder if there could possibly be something wrong with your drill causing it to not use the batteries efficiently?  Such different results, it just makes me wonder.

[defiant1]

Defiant1:
I was out in similar conditions last week (-0 f, 14" ice) with exactly the same outfit you have (8" K-drill, new Milwaukee Fuel 18, 5 amp battery) and cut 22 holes before the one battery I had with me quit.  The battery had been out in the below 0 temps for a couple of hours on the drill before being used, so it had never been warm.  Since your auger is cutting good, I wonder if there could possibly be something wrong with your drill causing it to not use the batteries efficiently?  Such different results, it just makes me wonder.

I use the  M18 drill for projects in the garage,etc.   And the batteries last forever and I very seldom have to swap batteries.  So, yes I was surprised how little run time I got out of the batteries on the ice.  The only thing I haven't checked is the Clam adapter plate trigger setup.  When i rest it on ground on edge, the arm may be resting on the trigger with enough force to activate the drill light which if left on I assume would pull enough juice to drain battery. 

I will give it another shot this weekend.
d1

[DTro]

Yeah, based on the video I posted above you should be getting at least 20 holes with that amount of ice, with just one battery.   

[DTro]

Also there are different models of the M18.  All are not created equal. 

[defiant1]

Also there are different models of the M18.  All are not created equal.

I bought the model recommended by K-Drill.

[Northern_MN Outdoorsan]

I also think there may be a problem with something. 3 weeks ago I was able to drill 30 holes with one 5.0ah battery through 14" of ice. I had my 9.0 battery out last weekend and I was able to drill 30 holes through 23" of ice and I still had 50% battery left. I figure that with my two 5.0ah batteries and one 9.0 batterie I should be able to drill 100+ holes through 20" of ice.

[Skywagon]

I use the  M18 drill for projects in the garage,etc.   And the batteries last forever and I very seldom have to swap batteries.  So, yes I was surprised how little run time I got out of the batteries on the ice.  The only thing I haven't checked is the Clam adapter plate trigger setup.  When i rest it on ground on edge, the arm may be resting on the trigger with enough force to activate the drill light which if left on I assume would pull enough juice to drain battery. 

I will give it another shot this weekend.
d1

The drill's light does not pull much juice, so I don't think that would be of much consequence even if the light was on for a little while.   It does take a lot of power to auger ice, the reason your batteries last longer in the shop is they are not being used on near the load that drilling ice holes would be.  My guess is it's one of two things, either your batteries are bad/not getting fully charged, or there is an issue with the drill itself (probably the drill), it seems like most of the rest of us are getting a lot more done with one battery.

[riverfisherman]

From my experience not only is the shaver blade auger (Nils/lazer)  at least 2-3 faster you will also get at least twice as many holes per battery vs the Kdrill. This was using a Milwaukke 18v fuel with 5.0ah batteries. We drilled 20 holes with a 6" Kdrill and used over  half the battery and then 20 holes with 6" Nils and used 1/4 (1 bar) of the battery. This was in 14" of ice. 

[ran7ger]

i have one of the first m18 fuels with original 4ah batteries going on 4 years of all season use.  paired with a not very sharp 8" finbore III,  a clam plate and extension i hit over a dozen holes today that buried half the extension. 

 i would try a different auger, see what happens.  something is not right.

[DTro]

Last night in about 15-16” of ice I was able to get about 30 holes with the 8” KDrill.   I definitely got a few more with the rest periods between holes (actual fishing time)  vs straight up one hole after another until it dies.    More impressed with this setup every time out!

[defiant1]

I drilled (12) 20" holes this past weekend.  The temperature was around 15 degrees.  The battery only went down 1.5 bars out of the 4.  Which I believe is very good considering.

I still contend the temperature had a huge effect on these batteries.  As I indicated earlier in this thread, the first time I used the K-drill it was well below zero and I burned through 2 batteries and only got (22) 12" holes drilled.  I have no complaint with the auger itself, it performs exceptionally.

d1