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I'd also recommend staying away from K-Drills. They were a fad when drilling first got popular, but there are tons of better options out there now. K-Drills use chipper blades and they're super slow (maybe that doesn't concern you), Eskimo, Clam, and StrikeMaster all have lightweight auger flighting out now that have shaver blades. These cut faster and in my experience are easier on battery life. Don't let anyone try to tell you you need chipper blades to reopen holes, that's a bunch of crap. Most power augers now have pilot points which make chipper blades obsolete in my opinion.
changing the topic a bit, do you all have any safety devices for preventing the bit from falling through the hole? I know the Eskimo has that plate and the k-drill has that foam flotation thingy. Looking for ideas, thanks!
Keep in mind that when drilling an 8” hole, you are removing twice as much ice than if you were to drill a 6” hole. So, for those getting 10-15 holes with a 6” auger can drop right down to 5-6 holes with an 8” auger. Same goes for the other direction. If you’re getting 20 holes with an 8” auger (and want longer battery life/more holes) switching to a 6” auger will double that to 40 holes.Regardless of auger size, I’d recommend at least a 4/5ah battery (depending on the brand). Any less will just leave you wanting more.
I started the same thread on the Michigan Ice fishing forum. I received some very good information. I settled on the Milwaukee fuel hammer/drill 18v.. I actually purchased a kit. It came with the drill, 3 5.0ah lithium batteries, charger, side handle and hard case. I got it from CPO tools for $216 and tax. I purchased this drill because it has 1200in. of torque and is suppose to be top of the line? We'll see! Then I purchased a Strikemaster dual adapter ($19), that can be used on either a handheld or power drill. I have a Jiffy pro 4 with both a 5in. and 10 in. augers. The adapter wouldn't work on the jiffy augers so I had to take the adapter to a machinist ($20) and have the middles collar turned down so that the adapter would go down into the auger further, in order to line up the holes for the pin. I also purchased a strikemaster auger saver disk for ($7). Soooo, I have about $265 into the whole system. Hopefully this helps and good luck with whatever you decide to buy.