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

[Iceicemike]

They give lifetime warranty.
Business stand point:
override/cutting out is protection for drill/ company, hence lifetime warranty? If drill breaks, get it replaced for free. (Is that no extra fees?or flat out free)

Dewalt gives a year... you burn it out, your  buying another.
 I have some dewalts too, first rigid for me.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

I am using the Octane with a clam plate and 8" kdrill, I was able to get 52 holes in 8" to 10" of ice. It did not cut out until I had two lights on the battery. really started to notice it more as the battery got lower. I am running the drill in drill mode and the lower speed setting.

Great review Ranger10. Thanks for sharing

[Finnt]

I am not one of the people that have used the drill in the wrong speed . I had the Milwaukee m18,  the drill I had was the first version they made recommended for the k-drill . It just failed mechanically and I found out this was happening a lot to others, so I returned it and got the dewalt that was recommended for kdrill. All manufacturers of all power tools will have limitations. We are putting a lot of torque on these drills buy putting all kinds augers on them. I will tell you if tell them that the drill broke or failed electronically while coupled with a ice auger they would not warranty them. I think the manufacturers will change the wording in the warranty that they offer.  We are abusing these drills with our sport of ice fishing lol. If my 996 dies I will get the dewalt mud mixer it's made to mix concrete it looks like a traditional gas augers and has different rpm settings and you can put any type augers bit on it even a gasses bit

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

They give lifetime warranty.
Business stand point:
override/cutting out is protection for drill/ company, hence lifetime warranty? If drill breaks, get it replaced for free. (Is that no extra fees?or flat out free)

Dewalt gives a year... you burn it out, your  buying another.
 I have some dewalts too, first rigid for me.

Reasons I went with the Ridgid over the Milwaukee or Dewalt. In order of importance.
1.) Lifetime Warranty on drill and battery.
2.) Had the 9ah battery vs 2 5ah like the Milwaukee's and Dewalts.
3.) Was cheaper.
4.) Had 1300 in/lbs of torque.
5.) I liked the slightly bigger profile knowing i was going to use it as an auger power head.

[Iceicemike]

Thats what we're looking for.
Price point? Does do the job?
Are you happy with it? Etc..
something wrong don't like ..go get it replaced or return it
 
I like mine so far, if it has bad issues I'll return and try one more. Next one has issues. I myself.. kicking myself in butt for selling my like new gas auger.

[luv2fish2]

Well said 3300. I was thinking of a tactful was of addressing this. Ive had several people (25 or so) message me about the Octane. Both through here, FB and YouTube. 75% have been with the K-Drill, 25% strikemaster/eskimo shaver blade style augers. Once my Nils starts cutting it melts through the ice. Seems like the KDrill folks aren't as smooth. I wish I had someone close by who had the KDrill, id love to see how it ran on my Octane. Ive heard nothing about good things with the Octane/Nils crowd. Not to offend anyone, but think the Octane excels with the Nils.

        he's using an 8" lazer not a kdrill , I my self have an 8" kdrill with 1st gen clam plate and 2604 milwaukee never had one problem just thought it was a good deal for the the rigid  , as for swapping it out ,  I ordered on line the closest one in stock at a store is 70 miles away pia to swap it out!  I've got a bad taste from rigid i'll trade it in for a different brand seems alot of people are having the same problem and you try and get a "good one" by opening boxes sorry i'm not happy  and no he didnt' use on the wrong speed that was first thing he checked

[lowaccord66]

10 pages?  Who's winning?  Josh I like your setup but have always been a nils fan.  Speaking of...if anyone needs to rehome a Tanaka power head.  PM me!

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

10 pages?  Who's winning?  Josh I like your setup but have always been a nils fan.  Speaking of...if anyone needs to rehome a Tanaka power head.  PM me!

Haha. A healthy back and forth I’d say. Actually been a pretty productive post.

[Ice Thunder]

My first post here.

I enjoyed this post so much I too bought a Ridgid and plan to use a spare Strikemaster 8" power bit on it.

One question on the drill itself.

When I slide/snap the 9 amp battery on the drill, there is a 1/8"-1/4" of "front to back play"/looseness of the battery on the drill.

The drill seems to function as it should regardless, the battery stays on and I believe I have installed the battery correctly, because it won't pull off without pressing the releases and it's pretty simple to install.

Is this "play/looseness" normal??

On other cordless drills I own the batteries are all on pretty firm with no play.

[Ice Thunder]

Reasons I went with the Ridgid over the Milwaukee or Dewalt. In order of importance.
1.) Lifetime Warranty on drill and battery.
2.) Had the 9ah battery vs 2 5ah like the Milwaukee's and Dewalts.
3.) Was cheaper.
4.) Had 1300 in/lbs of torque.
5.) I liked the slightly bigger profile knowing i was going to use it as an auger power head.

My reasons EXACTLY. (and YOU led me there, so thanks!)

[Shack man Shoney]

First the Octane wouldn't  work with a Clam plate and now the Octane lovers say it wont work with the K-drill??? Heres a idea... Maybe the Octane is a diy home owners unit built toward the LSA. My opinion is to buy the best and cry once!!!

[Shack man Shoney]

Maybe RIDGID stands for...

Ridgid
Isnt a
Drill
Good for
Ice
Drilling

[Iceicemike]

First the Octane wouldn't  work with a Clam plate and now the Octane lovers say it wont work with the K-drill??? Heres a idea... Maybe the Octane is a diy home owners unit built toward the LSA. My opinion is to buy the best and cry once!!!

What ever!!! You can buy the best and still be disappointed! What a bunch of crap!

[Shack man Shoney]

What ever!!! You can buy the best and still be disappointed! What a bunch of crap!

Well atleast you have a good warranty...

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

First the Octane wouldn't  work with a Clam plate and now the Octane lovers say it wont work with the K-drill??? Heres a idea... Maybe the Octane is a diy home owners unit built toward the LSA. My opinion is to buy the best and cry once!!!

Don't remember anyone saying the Octane doesn't work with the KDill. The other guy who posted a video got 24 holes back to back with the KDrill. I have mentioned the Nils seems to excel with the Octane, as I feel it would with any other drill. The post I made about people messaging me in regards to the Octane cutting were mostly due to the drill not being set up properly, ex being on setting 2. Its no secret the KDrills chipper blades will get less holes per charge compared to shaver type blades. I have 3 Milwaukee drills, and a ton of Milwaukee bits, bags, boxes etc, and love every one of them. Ive had probably 15 random people try my set up and each's jaw just about hit the ice they were so impressed with it.

[Shack man Shoney]

I'm not really talking about Milwaukee.... im talking about the Octanes disappointing performance. Its a cheap drill and thats exactly what your buying. If you buy the cheap drill and match it with a Nils it seems to do good. But any drill seems to accel with a nils....

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

I'm not really talking about Milwaukee.... im talking about the Octanes disappointing performance. Its a cheap drill and thats exactly what your buying. If you buy the cheap drill and match it with a Nils it seems to do good. But any drill seems to accel with a nils....

Fair Enough!!

[Mein4877]

I ran my Octane with the newer clam plate with the clam extension and an 8" lazer. I drilled 30+ holes through 8" of ice. Left the drill and battery outside in the cold. Drill attached to the plate just fine. I did put a spacer so the light didn't turn on. Drill never cut out or got hung up on the bottom. Drill didn't have a noticable wobble while cutting. Auger didn't walk at all. Had plenty of battery left. My only complaint is that it cuts too fast and throws water everywhere. Overall I'm very impressed with the unit.

[Ice Scratcher]

I ran my Octane with the newer clam plate with the clam extension and an 8" lazer. I drilled 30+ holes through 8" of ice. Left the drill and battery outside in the cold. Drill attached to the plate just fine. I did put a spacer so the light didn't turn on. Drill never cut out or got hung up on the bottom. Drill didn't have a noticable wobble while cutting. Auger didn't walk at all. Had plenty of battery left. My only complaint is that it cuts too fast and throws water everywhere. Overall I'm very impressed with the unit.

Ha ha, awesome, sometimes it's the Indian and not the bow so much. Gotta sorta be able to run it properly too.. Congrats on a matched up rig.. Pretty soon you'll be able to tell it's about to break through and let up on the gas pedal some, might stay dryer..

<°)))>{

[CO_Dinky]

I'm not brand bias. Only interested because I bought the octane. Something seems not right? i used a 8 inch lazer yesterday each hole about a 12 inch ice. I drilled over 20 holes and have 3/4 battery left and left out on ice. Now for some reason right when I started first hole just in beginning it cut out. Never did it again? Have 1/2-3/4 free movement in chuck. Like someone Maybe spinning a auger something is happening and not intended to do that lol
Have dewalt products too. What's price point comparison between the two?
I'll keep using see what happens. Next If I get a chance I'll drill bunch holes in a row

same thing I  started out with chuck rock solid with no movement .now I can turn mine pretty far right or left.run it till it breaks.lifetime warranty anyways.i drilled about 75 holes so far and mine has cutout 5 times.so random too.sometimes first thing in the morning without even cutting a hole,sometimes after 8 holes,other times wont do it  at all.the play in the chuck is not good I don't think.lol

Any chance that the chuck is loosening on the shaft somehow?  There's a screw down at the bottom of the inside of the chuck that locks it to the shaft.  Check if that's loose?

[CO_Dinky]

First the Octane wouldn't  work with a Clam plate and now the Octane lovers say it wont work with the K-drill??? Heres a idea... Maybe the Octane is a diy home owners unit built toward the LSA. My opinion is to buy the best and cry once!!!

Maybe RIDGID stands for...

Ridgid
Isnt a
Drill
Good for
Ice
Drilling

I'm not really talking about Milwaukee.... im talking about the Octanes disappointing performance. Its a cheap drill and thats exactly what your buying. If you buy the cheap drill and match it with a Nils it seems to do good. But any drill seems to accel with a nils....

Are you just here to troll?       Because you sure as heck don't seem to be doing much else... 

[CO_Dinky]

I'm gonna tell you right now I have no horse in this race.  Strictly doing it for a subject on my YouTube channel and to help out fellow ice fisherman.  I can assure you with 100% certainty that the battery was fully charged and I was in the correct mode.   The first day segment didn't record for some reason.  I do have the audio I can play for you though.  LOL    The same exact thing happened on both days.  24 or 25th hole and it cut out.

What I can tell you is that I noticed the cutting out was happening with some sort of variation.  First I would question why it didn't cut out during the first 25 holes?   Next I would question when it did cut out, why more frequently after it happened the first time.  It's obvious its related to a weaker battery and or heat issue.   

Again, no horse in this race and no inherent bias.   I'll be doing more tests this week.

OK, I think it's clear you're the guy that did the video.  Question - did you download the BlueTooth app for the battery, and connect to it? I saw a blue flash in the video where you were showing the change level, so it makes me think you did.  If so, can you go look at the app and see if you had the battery alerts enabled?  Because if you did, you could go back and look at WHY IT WAS CUTTING OUT ON YOU.  The three options appear to be Deep Discharge, Over Temperature Protection, or Over Load Protection.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

I ran my Octane with the newer clam plate with the clam extension and an 8" lazer. I drilled 30+ holes through 8" of ice. Left the drill and battery outside in the cold. Drill attached to the plate just fine. I did put a spacer so the light didn't turn on. Drill never cut out or got hung up on the bottom. Drill didn't have a noticable wobble while cutting. Auger didn't walk at all. Had plenty of battery left. My only complaint is that it cuts too fast and throws water everywhere. Overall I'm very impressed with the unit.

Thanks for the review. Keep us posted with any other findings

[DTro]

OK, I think it's clear you're the guy that did the video.  Question - did you download the BlueTooth app for the battery, and connect to it? I saw a blue flash in the video where you were showing the change level, so it makes me think you did.  If so, can you go look at the app and see if you had the battery alerts enabled?  Because if you did, you could go back and look at WHY IT WAS CUTTING OUT ON YOU.  The three options appear to be Deep Discharge, Over Temperature Protection, or Over Load Protection.

The blue flash is what happens when you hold the button down for a bit (bluetooth pairing mode).   I had not connected the battery to my phone for this test. However I'm working on another one and I will be sure to connect the phone this time to see what it tells me (if anything). 

[lefty2053]

I really don't see any reason to do this kind of test. It is wear and tear on any unit and if you use one drill first there is a possibility the blade of the auger is slightly duller for the next drill. If you do this test again start with the Ridgid this time. Just to be fair. When is anyone ever going to go out and drill 20 plus holes in the same area on a regular basis? Don't get me wrong I have drilled over 30 holes before but there was some walking involved between groups of holes which would let any drill have time to cool down. I drilled over 30 holes many times last year using my older GEN5X Ridgid and the 7" Nero. Right at the end of the year I did get the drill to shut off but I think it was either the blades got dual or I was going in at an angle. My Shaft on my Nero extension was bent somewhere along the line. Not sure if it was bent from the start or one of those trips out. I replaced it with the Clam Extension and connected to the Kovac Ice Master both my Nero and Eskimo Silvertip spin true. Not so much when it was hooked to the clam plate which has been returned. And by the way when I say my Auger shut off I mean for a few seconds only.

[DTro]

I think you are really splitting hairs if you think dulling between holes with this chipper blade is going to bias the results.   I’ve probably got 1000 holes on the current blade and have only seen it dull slightly from new.    Also MANY people go out and drill more than 20 holes at a time.  It’s more common than you think.   Not everyone fishes the same way and while it may be a pointless test for you, others have found it useful.   

[DR.SPECKLER]

I really don't see any reason to do this kind of test. It is wear and tear on any unit and if you use one drill first there is a possibility the blade of the auger is slightly duller for the next drill. If you do this test again start with the Ridgid this time. Just to be fair. When is anyone ever going to go out and drill 20 plus holes in the same area on a regular basis? Don't get me wrong I have drilled over 30 holes before but there was some walking involved between groups of holes which would let any drill have time to cool down. I drilled over 30 holes many times last year using my older GEN5X Ridgid and the 7" Nero. Right at the end of the year I did get the drill to shut off but I think it was either the blades got dual or I was going in at an angle. My Shaft on my Nero extension was bent somewhere along the line. Not sure if it was bent from the start or one of those trips out. I replaced it with the Clam Extension and connected to the Kovac Ice Master both my Nero and Eskimo Silvertip spin true. Not so much when it was hooked to the clam plate which has been returned. And by the way when I say my Auger shut off I mean for a few seconds only.

i agree i like the real world test of how many holes can be done in a days fishing.not drilling consecutive holes until the drill is dead or shutoff.a true test would just go out icefishing and see how many holes you get.probably get more holes that way.you get 25 holes all in a row in these tests but ive drilled 35 in a days fishing and still could drill 30 more if i wanted.

[lefty2053]

I didn't say it was pointless just not an everyday thing I would do. If people are drilling over 20 holes in one area I would think they need to fish a lot more and worry about drilling less.
I have fished for Perch/Crappie and I usually start out with 4 or 5 holes in a line. Drop the finder down and check them out. If no signs move on. I like catching more than fishing just like the next guy but making Swiss cheese of the lake is ridiculous.

[Theshad]

I've been drilling holes for 3 or 4 people the last couple times out. 15 tip ups each x 3. 45+ holes in one shot, not counting a few paces in between them.

[John_BZ]

I think you are really splitting hairs if you think dulling between holes with this chipper blade is going to bias the results.   I’ve probably got 1000 holes on the current blade and have only seen it dull slightly from new.    Also MANY people go out and drill more than 20 holes at a time.  It’s more common than you think.   Not everyone fishes the same way and while it may be a pointless test for you, others have found it useful.

You'll never make everyone happy. Appreciate you taking the time to do a comparison. A torture test is useful in that it will prove which equipment is more robust. Hard use exposes flaws quickly. Most of the critics arent shelling out their money or seeking out equipment to trial on loan and spending their free time to test equipment, post their video and subject themselves to scrutiny of internet experts. People tend to have a bit too much emotional investment into a brand and it shows. All I ask of my equipment is for it to work. I dont necessarily care what brand is on the tool although I have my bias. It comes from years of using tools and sticking with what works. It has likely stopped me from using some really great tools that may have been helpful. Anyhoo keep at it. The videos are helpful to those who are in the market.