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Author Topic: Gas Auger  (Read 6072 times)

Offline Jason1817

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Gas Auger
« on: Oct 11, 2017, 09:20 PM »
I've been using a 20v dewalt with a custom insert to use the lazer hand auger works great however, I find myself  drilling loads of holes and have ran 2 batteries dry many many times....with that said I'm looking for a gas auger leaning towards  strike master lazer pro 3hp 8 inch bit....from the videos I seen they seem so loud....do u think a gas auger scares fish ? Is that auger the best choice ? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. As I only been ice fishing for the past 3 years

Offline prospector

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #1 on: Oct 11, 2017, 09:47 PM »
Spend your money on a couple  new 60 V nine amp hour batteries from Dewalt. They will run your 20 V drill all day long.Gas augers are a thing of the past. I have a jiffy Pro 4 piece of crap collecting dust right now. Just an opinion.

Offline HWeber

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #2 on: Oct 12, 2017, 12:04 AM »
First do you know much about small engines? If not buy more batteries. If you do have a decent knowledge of small engines go buy a gas auger. I prefer chipper blade style augers because they handle dirty ice better and will drill dull. I don't know how anyone with a decent knowledge of small engines would prefer electric. I cant imagine you get near as much ice in PA as we do up in north dakota so i guess take that into consideration when looking at my opinion

Offline Chris338378

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #3 on: Oct 12, 2017, 07:11 AM »
If you take care of you stuff you won't have any problems with a gas auger, most of us add Seafoam and Startron when we mix our gas and that saves us a lot of problems from Ethanol.  Some guys are lucky enough to be able to buy ethanol free gas and others buy TruFuel (premixed ethanol free gas).  I haven't had any problems with the auger scaring the fish but if that's one of your concerns drill your holes in the area you're going to fish then come back and clean them out.  Another thing to remember is ALL augers make some level of noise whether it be the noise of the motor or just the noise from the blades cutting the ice.  Even talking and walking on the ice makes noise.  For the price of two or three batteries you could get a new gas auger or even a used one in good shape.  I don't know where you're located at but there's a few used gas augers in the papershop if you wanted to go that route.  If you're looking for a good deal check Glen's Army and Navy because they run good sales that include free shipping on certain models.   When it comes to what brand auger is the best it's pretty much a Ford, Chevy, Dodge truck thing, it comes down to personal preference.  I like the Eskimo Mako a lot because it's a good auger and is very reasonably priced, normally on sale you can get it online at Glen's for around $290 or less.  To help you out I checked their website and they're just starting to put the ice fishing stuff on there for the season so it'll probably be on there by the end of the month.  It might not be the fastest auger in the world but they work very well as long as your don't beat the crap out of it.

Here's the link to Glen's Army Navy:

http://www.glensoutdoors.com/fishing/ice-fishing

Offline Spider1

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #4 on: Oct 12, 2017, 07:21 AM »
gas augers are far from being a thing of the past, but I like electric. I have a small ridgid fuego, gives me only 525 in/lbs and I turn a 6" HT auger. The 1.5ah battery would barely cut 20 holes in 6" of ice. Forget about it when the ice got thicker, in a ft of ice it barely got me 5 holes. I got a set of 4ah batteries and now I can drill holes all day in 20" of ice on a battery. What size batteries do you use in your Dewalt?

CowDawg

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #5 on: Oct 12, 2017, 07:51 AM »
I'm an old fashioned gasser.

Like Chris said, take care of them and have no issues..  Personally, my opinion,....  I don't want to have to worry about batteries, charging them, or having extra on hand, thick ice, thin ice or dirty ice.

Eskimo Shark 10" Z-71cc gasser tank of 50:1 mix gas and drill for days......... @)

Offline prospector

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #6 on: Oct 12, 2017, 08:05 AM »
gas augers are far from being a thing of the past, but I like electric. I have a small ridgid fuego, gives me only 525 in/lbs and I turn a 6" HT auger. The 1.5ah battery would barely cut 20 holes in 6" of ice. Forget about it when the ice got thicker, in a ft of ice it barely got me 5 holes. I got a set of 4ah batteries and now I can drill holes all day in 20" of ice on a battery. What size batteries do you use in your Dewalt?
Yeah I guess it depends on the drill set up you have whether or not gas is a thing of the past. I do keep the gas for when ice gets over 2 feet thick. Other than that, all electric here.

Chute82

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #7 on: Oct 12, 2017, 08:15 AM »
If you buy a great portable drill you can justify the purchase with the wife “ it’s for the home improvement project”  you plan on working on next spring...

Offline 3300

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #8 on: Oct 12, 2017, 08:30 AM »
taking care of the batteries is key. not storing them with a full charge is important. they need to be 50% or less when storing them. my drone has built in discharge and discharges every 10 days or less (it is programmable). this is why lithium need a charge before using them. they are partially charged on purpose.

i never run out of battery and i make ton of holes too. it make me want to ask what size hole and how thick is the ice and how sharp are the blades and how old are the batteries and their amp hour rating and drill. the battery needs to be 4amp minimum. do you have to push down to cut holes, if so it means dull blades or bad blade alignment.

i would never go to gas unless i had to. what about adding a 3rd battery. seems cheaper than an all new auger system.

Offline Jason1817

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #9 on: Oct 12, 2017, 12:17 PM »
I appreciate the insight thus far, I use a 8 inch lazer auger. I have 2 4ah 20v desalt batteries that I swap between they been used heavily the past 3 years. The thing cuts like butter I can cut quite a few holes....I actually purchased an invertor to charge them in my jeep in the event I needed more holes....however I find myself drilling holes until I find fish....sometimes just a few holes and sometimes I drill half the day away lol...

sunniewally

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #10 on: Oct 12, 2017, 01:15 PM »
When my old  mag lll bit the dust I bought a new strikemaster. worse thing I ever did. never ran good. gear case went to hell, they put in a new carb, never ran good had carb done by so called expert, still did not run, now got an ion and its a pleasure to go ice fishing!! I'm sure the drill combo's will  work great! Good by gas!!! anybody want a gas????? haven't used it since I got my ion!

Offline Deal Ninja

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #11 on: Oct 12, 2017, 01:21 PM »
I'm with prospector and I'm in PA also.  You couldn't pay me enough to get me to switch back to a gas auger after using a drill setup the last two years!  Update your drill and/or your batteries and never look back.  In some parts of North America with crazy thick ice, gas augers make sense, but in temperate PA, NO WAY.  Electric is the only way to go.

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8" K-Drill, 8" Nils Arctic Trekker, Milwaukee Mud Mixer, Milwaukee 2704-22, Clam Plate, Adapters to make everything work with everything. lol
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Offline ice dawg

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #12 on: Oct 12, 2017, 01:21 PM »
I use a Strikemaster/Honda 4 stroke. It starts on the second pull, can be laid down to warm up a bit, can be stored or operated in any position, is quiet, sips gas, weighs 23 lbs and is quiet. I can't see purchasing an electric auger that weighs one pound less with the same size drill and I already have a cordless drill. I used a 3 hp Jiffy for years and this this auger is great for a 74 year old with some Titanium joints. It isn't unusual to have four feet of ice here by March.  ;D ;)
It seems to go from zero to hero all some have to do is lie.

Offline Chris338378

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #13 on: Oct 12, 2017, 05:53 PM »
I'd personally go the propane route before getting an electric auger such as the Ion because I can buy a ton of one pound propane bottles for the price of one of those batteries.  I don't mind or have any complaints with my gas auger. 

Offline RuttNutt

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #14 on: Oct 12, 2017, 07:06 PM »
After seeing what the Milwaukee Fuel can do last year, I went ALL IN on the cordless hammer drill. Got the hammer drill, charger and three(3) 5.0AH batteries for $319  Best money I ever spent!  @). Used it all Winter and never used more than one (5.0AH) battery. Finally tested it out mid-season just to see what it could do, and it took 3 days of ice-fishing to drain all 3 batteries.

And instead of having an electric auger that sits in the basement all summer, I had it out doing all kinds of projects! So I get year round use out of it- which made it much easier to justify(the expense)

Also, much easier to transport! Just loosen chuck, pull auger off, and put drill and batteries back in case. No fuss, no muss(or mess!)
Where's the FISH?!

Offline FG Steve

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #15 on: Oct 12, 2017, 08:43 PM »
I switched from hand auger to gas about 20 years ago.  Strikemaster Lazer Mag 8" on my 3rd set of blades and one recoil rebuild.  Back then electric wasn't much of an option.  The old Tecumseh power head has been so reliable that I have never found a reason to consider other options.  I really like it.

If it died today I would probably stick with gas because caring for a gas engine is simple for me and I see batteries as having a more limited lifetime.

Although I must admit that prospector's electric setup is pretty sweet.
 Happiness is a wife who can outfish you.

Offline lostbrit

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #16 on: Oct 12, 2017, 08:50 PM »
The new eskimo auger look good, light weight is a big plus in a gas auger as it seem to me you chase the fish hard. A friend has a jiffy 10" man o man that thing is a pig to lug around.  I have a ION a love it

Offline Jason1817

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #17 on: Oct 12, 2017, 09:31 PM »
I'm thinking...
Ion x
Strike master Honda lite (4 stroke)
Strike master lazer pro
All in 8 inch

I'm leaning heavily towards the strike
Master Honda 4 stroke

But my go to bait shop nearly has me convinced to get the ion...
Few more days and I'm ordering 1 of these units.

Offline FG Steve

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #18 on: Oct 12, 2017, 11:34 PM »
Oh, and on the noise thing. After getting bites on nearby deadsticks while drilling holes, I'm convinced it's not an issue.
 Happiness is a wife who can outfish you.

Offline prospector

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #19 on: Oct 12, 2017, 11:36 PM »
I'm thinking...
Ion x
Strike master Honda lite (4 stroke)
Strike master lazer pro
All in 8 inch

I'm leaning heavily towards the strike
Master Honda 4 stroke

But my go to bait shop nearly has me convinced to get the ion...
Few more days and I'm ordering 1 of these units.
If those are my choices, I’m going with the Honda motor. Since you already have an electric drill, you may as well get a gas one for the long days. I have the luxury of using my drills for work year-round, so buying batteries and drills in the future is no biggie. Different strokes for different folks but I think you will be happy with the strike master. You definitely can’t argue with how much it weighs for what it does. I own three tools that run on the four stroke motors. Two are running  power screeds for doing concrete and also a water pump to run one of my dredges for gold mining. Every year when I go to fire them up, it always amazes me how few problems I have had with them. I look forward to hearing what you bought and how it works for you!

Offline chez

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #20 on: Oct 14, 2017, 04:58 PM »
I'm an old fashioned gasser.

Like Chris said, take care of them and have no issues..  Personally, my opinion,....  I don't want to have to worry about batteries, charging them, or having extra on hand, thick ice, thin ice or dirty ice.

Eskimo Shark 10" Z-71cc gasser tank of 50:1 mix gas and drill for days......... @)
I have 2 gass augers.1 is 25 yo.
Still runs well.did a few carb rebuids threw the years but still runs great.
Its a jiffy 8".
Got a new jiffy 10" last season,i run premix 40/1 ratio no problems.
The premix in the can seams to go further than the gas oil mix.
Im with mike.old school gas augers.

Offline StonecoldCat

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #21 on: Oct 14, 2017, 06:35 PM »
 :icefish:.....Yep,old and old school here. 'Cept my Jiffy runs on propane.But I don't think you could go wrong with any of those three.

Offline PaWhiskerWacker

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #22 on: Oct 17, 2017, 05:58 AM »
Go electric with gear reduction, you will RARELY need a gas auger, but nice to have as a back up

Offline filetandrelease

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #23 on: Oct 17, 2017, 07:35 AM »
I have a12+year old strike master lazer mag runs great , I see no reason to get another auger , last couple years with the ice only 12" tops I ran my nils 6and 8" hand screws ,I didn't even bother with my dewalt set up
 

Offline NEZ

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #24 on: Oct 17, 2017, 08:34 PM »
I started using a Milwaukee drill with my 6inch mora.  Upgraded to a 8.25 strikemaster gas auger, worked very well, but gas smell and ethanol issues were problems.  I have used a propane, which was nice.  Bought an Ion and absolutely love it.  I bounce around a lot and looking to buy extra battery this year, I drill about 90 holes in 10 inches of ice with it before it slows down.  Other issue with gas is can be difficult to start when very cold.  Nez

Offline dkfry

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #25 on: Oct 19, 2017, 06:59 PM »
I've never had a gas auger or hand auger not work when I needed it.(I do know how to care for them and maintain them though) But I have had drill batteries just up and die for no reason when I needed them most. Some were not even a year old. Never had the old Nimhs crap out suddenly just Lion batts. Hell a couple my NiMh drill batteries were 10 years old and still kicking before I bought newer Lion stuff.

Offline Chris338378

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #26 on: Oct 24, 2017, 09:36 PM »
I add some Seafoam and Starttron with my gas mix and never had any problems.  Last year I got lucky because my local gas station started selling non-ethanol gas which is all I run anymore.

Offline PaWhiskerWacker

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #27 on: Oct 25, 2017, 06:25 PM »
I agree with what was said about lithium batteries crapping out.  Most lithium batteries use 3.7v Samsung 18650 cells which are great, but the problem lies in the charging systems.  Lithium cells need to balance charge and can not be charged above 3.7v per cell. The crap chargers that come with these drills balance the cells for poo and once one cell falls below 2.7v the charger will recognize it as a bad pack.  Where really just one cell is just low.  I gave up on lithium and still spend the big bucks on NiCad, $120 for two dewalt 2.6 ah but it is worth it...I like how dewalt still offers both NiCad and lithium tools!

Offline dkfry

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #28 on: Oct 26, 2017, 02:01 PM »
If it isn't the batteries themselves crapping out its the circuitry within the battery. If you go below a certain voltage per cell (like say when the batts are sitting for a while) some of the circuitry will not allow the charge. They set the battery circuitry to work with the charger circuitry. If you try a few times to charge a battery (on some of them) with no avail it will brick the pack. Sometimes you can get lucky and trickle charge a Lion or Lipo in NICD and Nimh mode to get the voltage up and the charger will recognize it but most times that don't work.

Offline prospector

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Re: Gas Auger
« Reply #29 on: Oct 26, 2017, 03:08 PM »
I've never had a gas auger or hand auger not work when I needed it.(I do know how to care for them and maintain them though) But I have had drill batteries just up and die for no reason when I needed them most. Some were not even a year old. Never had the old Nimhs crap out suddenly just Lion batts. Hell a couple my NiMh drill batteries were 10 years old and still kicking before I bought newer Lion stuff.
What was the brand? Thanks.

 



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