Power Auger Recommendations

[9huskies]

all the electrics are great until you have some slush layers, then they are useless. i have the ion 8in . i just sold and strikemaster 10in lazer electric 50 amp and both completely stall out drilling w/ any slush in the hole. ask temper. he has the 8in kdrill w/ the same issue. keep your old jiffy for the late season ice.

I have the 8" Strikemaster 40 volt and I didn't have any issues drilling through slush or late season ice. It outperforms my old Jiffy in every condition so far. My last day on the ice last spring there was 6" of slush on top of the ice.

[woodchip]

Keep up the rpms and slush should not be an issue  With poly coated and poly fins water and slush should not freeze on.

[MadFisha]

No problems with slush with mine either just gotta give it a couple twerks once your out of the hole to spin the junk off.

[Seamonkey84]

I’ve never had a problem with slush using my drill and lazer hand auger either.

[teampar]

I’ve never had a problem with slush using my drill and lazer hand auger either.

Its not slush that is the issue. Late season when there is close to 3’ of ice and there are layers to that ice that fill your hole with water the k-drill anyway will not cut with the hole full of water, it will however make a Milwaukee Fuel drill smoke!

[jacksmelt71]

like he said. once that water fills in with the shavings in the hole its like trying to turn concrete!  my 50 amp strikemaster  lazer elect. couldn't turn it either. nearly killed myself trying to cut one hole! no water layer, no problem. you southern guys don't see that too often so you should be ok. up north here we have 2 layers frequently in the later season. the ol' jiffy 30 still has the power to turn it and punch thru.

[ry_ed101]

I got the Kdrill setup last year with the Milwaukee drill.  I used it for a bit, then got the clam plate, more for ease of storage than anything else.  It adds a little weight but it sure makes it easier when setting it down after drilling, and truthfully, for me, it is a bit easier when you are drilling through a lot of ice.  A buddy got a jiffy 8" auger last year and was kind of bragging about it, so we lined them up and my set up was much faster going through 18" of ice. I use the drill all year, so while it is an expense it isn't just an ice fishing expense.  It is light, easy to use and I bring two batteries with me and haven't had any issues yet.  Sebago Bait was great to work with when I bought the Kdrill.  Now can't wait to use it again this year!

Have to agree here....I have a milwaukee m18 fuel w/ 1200 in-lb of torque, the clam auger plate, and a lazer auger, 8". Whole setup weighs ~12 lbs making it great for relocating/moving around during the day. I bring 2, 18v 5ah batteries with me. One of those batteries on a full charge gets me through ~ 400" of ice, which is about 30 holes in a foot of ice. Ive yet to have a day where Ive run out of juice. Ive also had no issues with this setup in any conditions. As far as the batteries go....milwaukee is all that needs to be said. When the ice melts? it doesnt get tossed in the garage till next year, you have a nice drill to use as well. Would 100% recommend this setup

[esox slayer]

like he said. once that water fills in with the shavings in the hole its like trying to turn concrete!  my 50 amp strikemaster  lazer elect. couldn't turn it either. nearly killed myself trying to cut one hole! no water layer, no problem. you southern guys don't see that too often so you should be ok. up north here we have 2 layers frequently in the later season. the ol' jiffy 30 still has the power to turn it and punch thru.

I didn't run into the "water layer" ice last year here on Chaumont Bay, but know from past experiences it is like concrete to try and cut through..

That being said, I'm curious how my 120 volt Trophy Strike will handle it, or if I'll have to crack out one of my old Jiffy model 30's....

[Alex Delarge]

Thank you teampar and jacksmelt for being the guineas and giving honest reviews about electric augers for the rest of us in the county. With all the electric hype I almost took the plunge myself. And the k-drill only 7.5" auger couldn't cut it. There is no replacement for displacement IMO.

[swnoel]

Its not slush that is the issue. Late season when there is close to 3’ of ice and there are layers to that ice that fill your hole with water the k-drill anyway will not cut with the hole full of water, it will however make a Milwaukee Fuel drill smoke!

Hmmm... never had that happen with mine. You wouldn't happen to be a guy with a lot of bad luck like hammers breaking or trees that you're cutting down falling on you? ;-)

[teampar]

Hmmm... never had that happen with mine. You wouldn't happen to be a guy with a lot of bad luck like hammers breaking or trees that you're cutting down falling on you? ;-)

How did you know??    Honestly, I love my k-drill. We get more ice then most up here and it has performed as advertised. The 2 biggest cons I can say about it...Its not a true 8" hole, which is a very big deal in the extreme cold temps we get up here and if your cutting through 3' of ice and after the first foot  there is layers with water and that hole fills with water with still close to 2' feet to go it will not cut, you will however burn up your drill(in my case the Milwaukee). IMHO the Milwaukee/k-drill set will work great up here depending on temp/ice conditions. I will continue to use it as much as conditions allow, I will however always have my 1985 Jiffy 10" model 30 with a tank full of Truefuel waiting for action! I have been kicking around the idea of a Nils or Eskimo Pistol grip to get the true 8" hole for my electric set-up...But another 220 bucks is it really worth it. 

[9huskies]

Concerns of burning up a drill motor is why I didn't go with a clam plate or other adapter. Milwaukee, Bosch, etc make geat drills but they are not engineered to turn a bit anywhere near as heavy as an ice auger. Add in the work of lifting ice shavings and chips 2-3 feet and you are greatly exceeding what the drill was intended to do.

[nbourque]

IMO if u want a true electric auger that replaces gas, ion strike master or trophy strike are the only way to go.

[jacksmelt71]

IMO if u want a true electric auger that replaces gas, ion strike master or trophy strike are the only way to go.

i have the strikemaster 50 amp lithium lazer and it has the same issues with water layers as the k drill does. 98% of the time it works great. you won't know its a issue until you encounter it then is game over for the day.

[gamefisher]

A guy is headed into Ross or Chamberlain for a week, night time lows of -25 and 2-3' of ice, you own a ridgid or Milwaukee setup, a propane auger, and a 30 year old jiffy 30.  Which one is going to make the trip with you?  If any says anything but the model 30, they are a baldface liar.😚😁

[9huskies]

I would bring my 40 volt Strikemaster with the Jiffy as a backup. I did that for a 3 day trip to Chesuncook and Ambajejus lakes last winter. We never started the Jiffy. Two batteries were enough for 3 people for 3 days.

[jacksmelt71]

A guy is headed into Ross or Chamberlain for a week, night time lows of -25 and 2-3' of ice, you own a ridgid or Milwaukee setup, a propane auger, and a 30 year old jiffy 30.  Which one is going to make the trip with you?  If any says anything but the model 30, they are a baldface liar.😚😁

the mod 30 is coming.

[IceMan100]

I have the ION X and kept my Propane Jiffy for Slush season

[TroutWorm]

I would bring my 40 volt Strikemaster with the Jiffy as a backup. I did that for a 3 day trip to Chesuncook and Ambajejus lakes last winter. We never started the Jiffy. Two batteries were enough for 3 people for 3 days.

and the 30 will add 50 lbs to your sled

[9huskies]

The only way the 30 would leave the truck is in someone else's sled. I would rather hand crank a sharp Nils than lug that overweight beast around the ice.

[nbourque]

Hand crank through 2 1/2 foot of ice, lol.  Go for it, I'll haul my pro4.  You must be one of the guys I see who drills a hole and sits there all day, if he catches anything or not, because he doesn't want to have to cut another hole!

clearly have never used a sharp nils.

[woodchip]

I bought a used Nils that had been sharpened on the wrong side. I sent it back to have it sharpened and a couple of weeks later it came back and it would not cut finally gave it away. I paid 60 bucks for it used and the sharpening cost that or more.

[9huskies]

Hand crank through 2 1/2 foot of ice, lol.  Go for it, I'll haul my pro4.  You must be one of the guys I see who drills a hole and sits there all day, if he catches anything or not, because he doesn't want to have to cut another hole!

clearly have never used a sharp nils.

.

There have been many days that I cranked 25+ holes through 2 1/2 feet of ice. Frequently I would drill 2 holes 6"apart, one for the transducer and one for my line. The biggest reason I bought my battery powered Strikemaster was for the 8" hole. I had a Jiffy for many years. When it died I used the Nils for a couple years. Now I have the Strikemaster. The number of holes I drill in a day of fishing has not changed because of using different augers. 30-36 inches of ice is normal where I fish.

[nbourque]

.

There have been many days that I cranked 25+ holes through 2 1/2 feet of ice. Frequently I would drill 2 holes 6"apart, one for the transducer and one for my line. The biggest reason I bought my battery powered Strikemaster was for the 8" hole. I had a Jiffy for many years. When it died I used the Nils for a couple years. Now I have the Strikemaster. The number of holes I drill in a day of fishing has not changed because of using different augers. 30-36 inches of ice is normal where I fish.

I couldn’t agree more. I used a nils for years thru 2’ of ice. I have a 10” ion now but the thick ice never stopped me before.

[9huskies]

If the ice gets too thick I'll go back to using the Nils. It has a longer bit than my Lazer.

[Boglake]

My jiffy propane auger is nothing more than a paper weight now.  The plastic timing gear and rubber band timing belt failed me, in fact it never had the power it should have because of these cheap parts jiffy uses. That combined with their horrible customer support has made me choose to never buy another jiffy product.  You may love your jiffy propane now, but it's a time bomb waiting to fail you. 

Couldn't be happier with my ion x.

[9huskies]

I didn't realize it when I bought it that the Nils was an upgrade from the Jiffy. If battery power doesn't work out in the long run I'll go back to the Nils before I go back to an internal combustion auger. I'll try a 7 or 8 inch before going back to my 6 inch Nils. I won't know if the larger hole is worth the additional effort until I try.

[bassguy9514]

I have a 10 inch  Eskimo for 15 years and wouldnt trade it for anything....to me gas rules, doesnt bind up, plenty of power and no freezing issues, its a little heavy, but worth it to me as i have no worries about performance

[Hoppes]

After 3 Jiffy's and using numerous other brands these past 40 years I decided to go electric.  Watched every conceivable video, read discussions on forums and actually talked to people that used the drill setups (great for weight savings) and Lithium purpose built augers.  Settled on the Strikemaster 40v Lithium.  Guys and gals I'm telling you, the auger is a beast on the ice.  Totally impressed.  Used it on Moosehead with my son Saturday, granted, only 13 to 14" of ice but we drilled 27 holes with a 10" auger and at the end of the day I still had 3 of 4 bars left.  My last Jiffy Pro 3 HP with 10" auger was just not fun drilling for the grandkids or multiple locations.  I let everyone that "wants" to try drilling a hole do so just so they can make comparisons.  ONLY drawback is the price, $600+ but I consider it a key component of my ice fishing enjoyment. By the way, my Jiffy's were totally dependable over the years, just HEAVY!

[jtlambo]

X2.  Plus there's nothing like the blat of a Jiffy auger at first light on a cold morning

AGREED!