RIDGID OCTANE 1300 IN/LB HAMMER DRILL. OVERLOAD PROTECTION TEST

[chilly-willy]

I like the 2-3x more holes per charge much more than the cutting speed advantage

Exactly!!  but is the cutting head sharpening price really worth it?? For the nils?? That's why I have been looking hard at the k drill.. some of it turn me off towards the k drill aluminum shaft could be a problem ?? Flighting is another and speed of cutting..

I think it was Dtro that said plastic can be better then metal...   dtro is correct look at bullet proof poly carbonate etc..  there has been a lot of advancements in plastics since the 50's when they were useing bake lite and soy bean type plastics .. also look at plastics they don't rust like steel does living in salt beLt you car will be gone quicker with high tinsel strength steel versus aluminum or plastics most likely why ford went to aluminum in there f150's??  Don't get me wrong chevy makes a damn good engine  but should have thought before blasting ford for aluminum in there bodies of their trucks??

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

Exactly!!  but is the cutting head sharpening price really worth it?? For the nils?? That's why I have been looking hard at the k drill.. some of it turn me off towards the k drill aluminum shaft could be a problem ?? Flighting is another and speed of cutting..

I think it was Dtro that said plastic can be better then metal...   dtro is correct look at bullet proof poly carbonate etc..  there has been a lot of advancements in plastics since the 50's when they were useing bake lite and soy bean type plastics .. also look at plastics they don't rust like steel does living in salt beLt you car will be gone quicker with high tinsel strength steel versus aluminum or plastics most likely why ford went to aluminum in there f150's??  Don't get me wrong chevy makes a damn good engine  but should have thought before blasting ford for aluminum in there bodies of their trucks??

Im 4 years in with my Nils and haven't sent mine out for sharpening. Still cuts like new. Im around 200 holes so far this year, conservatively 500 over the past 4 years. I do do a light honing twice a year on the nils, which I don't recommend people trying. But in my opinion, if I had to send it out every two years for a $40 professional sharpening it wouldn't bother me one bit. I am super careful with it tho, if I know I'm drilling ultra shallow (1-2ft of water), I use a 15 dollar craigslist back up. Biggest overall advantage for me is that im not married to a drill with the Nils like you are with the KDrill. To each their own!!

[FISHFORPIKE]

Dtro - how about some PICs of a few of those 100 lb. fish, through the ice.

[VTMatt]

Im 4 years in with my Nils and haven't sent mine out for sharpening. Still cuts like new. Im around 200 holes so far this year, conservatively 500 over the past 4 years. I do do a light honing twice a year on the nils, which I don't recommend people trying. But in my opinion, if I had to send it out every two years for a $40 professional sharpening it wouldn't bother me one bit. I am super careful with it tho, if I know I'm drilling ultra shallow (1-2ft of water), I use a 15 dollar craigslist back up. Biggest overall advantage for me is that im not married to a drill with the Nils like you are with the KDrill. To each their own!!

Why exactly is the K drill married to a drill, and why would that even matter?  I've had a 6" k drill out twice now and do like the weight difference for sure.  Drill setups nowadays cut so fast and the batteries last so long, who cares....I highly doubt anyones burning through a 9 AG ridgid battery in a normal day.  I run and gun and still had almost 1/2 of battery life left.

[FISHFORPIKE]

Why exactly is the K drill married to a drill, and why would that even matter?

It's not!  Just advertised that way.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

Why exactly is the K drill married to a drill, and why would that even matter?  I've had a 6" k drill out twice now and do like the weight difference for sure.  Drill setups nowadays cut so fast and the batteries last so long, who cares....I highly doubt anyones burning through a 9 AG ridgid battery in a normal day.  I run and gun and still had almost 1/2 of battery life left.

Certainly weren't bashing the KDill. Was just stating I like that I can use my Nils as a hand auger and that you can't with the KDrill(last I knew.) I don't plan on using my Octane drill till at least 16" of ice next season because it cuts so good manually.  Weren't implying that anyone would burn through a battery either. 

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

It's not!  Just advertised that way.

Can you use the KDrill as a hand auger?? Didnt think you could, but may have been mistaken.

[FISHFORPIKE]

Never saw one.  It would have be a custon rig.  Why would anyone want to do such a thing.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

Never saw one.  It would have be a custon rig.  Why would anyone want to do such a thing.

I certainly wouldn't with the ripper blades. Just weren't exactly sure that you meant in your comment.

[John_BZ]

Never saw one.  It would have be a custon rig.  Why would anyone want to do such a thing.

Whats hard to understand? Reasoning here is the k drill is married to a drill. The nils or any hand auger for that matter has manual backup if you bring the handle with. Drill has a problem, run out of battery, forgot to charge, s**t happens moment, you are covered with a very easily carried means of back up. The k drill lacks that.

[chilly-willy]

Dtro - how about some PICs of a few of those 100 lb. fish, through the ice.

Why would you want a sturgeon picture never seen one??

[lowaccord66]

Why would you want a sturgeon picture never seen one??

Why the heck would anyone here not want to see a pic of that.  What a silly question....oh wait...Fishforpike isn't a kdrill zealot so we gotta disagree with him right?   

[chilly-willy]

Heres a good video of one you guys will like !!


https://youtu.be/snmVbGetO3s

[DTro]

Heres a good video of one you guys will like !!


https://youtu.be/snmVbGetO3s

That one was actually on a stocked pond. But yeah you get the idea.   

Here's a decent one we got on video, but only about 50lbs.  I've seen them caught up to 130lbs in the same spot.

I caught this one in the same area a few years ago.  The biggest I've seen caught there this year so far was 77" and about 125lbs.

[lowaccord66]

That's awesome.

[lefty2053]

OK I got a question 3300. Will the 6 or 9 ah Octane batteries work on the Gen5x 700 Drills? OH never mind, I looked at them and it said it works with all 18 volt .

[3300]

yes

[lefty2053]

yes

So does it work the same? I see I can get 2 6ah octanes for $139 right now. The 9Ah is $184

[MT204]

I personally would always recommend 2-6 AH batteries over 1-9 AH.
Then again 2-9 AH would be even better yet!
2 is almost always better when it comes to batteries.

[3300]

 went out at 5:30pm last wednesday while we were in windchill warnings just before dark to set up for fishing. the drill and battery had been in my vehicle for weeks. the air temp was minus 15 and the wind chills were minus 40. i knew right where i wanted to fish so i popped two eight inch holes no problem at all and set up over. i cut a partial hole to have it hold the auger and drill up and fished from 5:30pm to 8pm when the fish shut down. went to pack up and get the auger/drill put away, but the cold told the motor not to turn even tho it had 75% battery left. the led in the chuck just blinked. i had to shove the auger back and forth to free it and it had water seep into the hole. was 2 inches water at ramp on top of the ice.

 so it seems the minus 40 degree windchill affected the system big time. makes me want to know if i had a cover if it would make a difference or not. i normally have several bags over the system, but have not done so on the octane yet.

 was so cold my fx100i froze up and the right hole kept freezing with the heater on high and a fan over the heater blowing heat back down. i sat in the shelter with no coat and was good to go. i think the drill is good for minus 4 degrees.

right hole keep freezing and line was icing up.




got stuck after 2 hours.


worth it. 18 keepers. 12 went back in.


i should have thought it out better and brought the drill in with me into the shack, but i didn't need it anymore either.

So does it work the same? I see I can get 2 6ah octanes for $139 right now. The 9Ah is $184

i'll take the 780 inch pound with me, but i am using a new 8 inch lazer. the 4 amp and 6 inch lazer with zero problems. thinking the 9 amp will just run longer is all and not give more torque, but i'll try it for kicks.

the 9 amp battery/charger kit for 199$ lets you pick a free tool including the octane drill and you get a lsa on all of it which is important to me. i would go that route before buying 3 year limited warranty battery(s) and get nothing more. it's only 10$ more than the 9 amp battery alone.

[FishGut]

150+ holes in, and 1.7 hrs of use from first charge my battery is at 45%

The drill paired with my 7 inch lazer is a beast. My worry is the Strikemaster adapter I'm using. Ive already got a twist forming on the part that locks into the chuck. I bet it's my own fault for not seating it deep enough.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

150+ holes in, and 1.7 hrs of use from first charge my battery is at 45%

Awesome. 150 holes on one charge in insane.

[TickleStick]

Just picked up my drill today, now I have to wait for the batteries....

[badger132]

2 questions:
1. It seems like the efficiency of the bit is key. I use a 5 inch Lazer and 4.5 Nils, and the Nils is a lot easier, but it is also smaller. Has anyone tested anything that is less power then a Nils for the same diameter?

2. I have 2,3 and 4 AH batteries for my drill. The larger batteries also should have higher peak current capacity, because of how they are made. Since the current capacity goes down with temperature, seems like the bigger batteries might have enough juice to work even lower. Has anyone seen this? It has not been cold enough here to be a problem for any of my batteries this year.

Should have asked last week. Perfect test conditions in the midwest!

 

[John_BZ]

12"of ice today. Drilled 20 holes. About 25 degrees out. Drill and battery sat in truck overnight fully charged. Had a few instances where the chuck light flashed and the drill wouldn't start to turn at the very beginning of a hole. Other than that it drilled extremely fast. I may try it without the clam plate and see if it makes any difference.

[3300]

i think what we might be seeing is the resistance to the motor before it actually begins turning. being it has new intelligent tech built in it may not know how to deal with resistance before starting up if you will.

2 questions:
1. It seems like the efficiency of the bit is key. I use a 5 inch Lazer and 4.5 Nils, and the Nils is a lot easier, but it is also smaller. Has anyone tested anything that is less power then a Nils for the same diameter?

2. I have 2,3 and 4 AH batteries for my drill. The larger batteries also should have higher peak current capacity, because of how they are made. Since the current capacity goes down with temperature, seems like the bigger batteries might have enough juice to work even lower. Has anyone seen this? It has not been cold enough here to be a problem for any of my batteries this year.

Should have asked last week. Perfect test conditions in the midwest!

answer to large amp battery and cold
https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=362620.msg3948342#msg3948342

it would appear to be a temperature control protection system in the bms that keeps it from operating. as noted the chuck led blinked meaning it had communication with the battery, but it was told not to engage the motor being so cold with 75% charge remaining. the same bms keeps the motor from operating in high heat temps also.

with out going to hd or ridgids site to look at the specs, it should be minus 4 degrees is what they are rated for.

your question #1, i think your asking if a smaller powered drill will work with a 4.5 inch nils? if so, yes about any 500 inch pound plus drill should turn it. recommend 4 amps or more. if your asking about battery power, then yes, some have used 2 amp batteries on their augers to get a few holes cut.

down pressure such as added weight from a clam plate or knowing you have dull blades and push down on the auger would worsen results accordingly.

you already know the colder the temps, the less power we have stored in a battery. car batteries have the cca rating, but not power tools. they just have a minimum temp they will operate in and as i mentioned earlier the windchill affects them and mine would not start in minus 40 degree windchill's after being left in it for over 2 hours, but would work to make the holes in minus 15. being a large battery (9 amp) it must have held some heat to be able to function although it spent weeks out in my vehicle.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Pretty warm today 40 degrees cut 45 holes in pretty thick double layer ice.4” of white and 6” of clear ice and had 3 bars left and app said 70% battery left.the weird intermediate trigger no power deal a few times but still working great.

[VTMatt]

So if the drill and battery are rated at -4 and someones using it on a 20 degree day and its cutting out then clearly somethings up.  Mine wouldnt work on the first try in like 10 of 40 holes today...gets annoying having to wait and try again over and over....

[VTMatt]

Seems like everyones drill cuts out regardless of temp....so clearly somethings wrong with the drills.  If someone was doing an outdoor project in 30-40 degree temps and the drill cut out 25% of the time, it'd be returned instantly.  I love the drills performance when it DOES work, but getting it to consistently work is the issue....

[DR.SPECKLER]

My trigger cutout pattern is never in the middle of cutting or break thru.always right at the beginning.hit trigger,nothing,let off hit it again and it cuts.