Ice Augers

[randy-hartstein501]

What's the best cordless drill for auger.

[IFF]

that's like asking which pickup truck is better Chevy, ford or dodge,  One that has enough power to drill the holes you want.

[Rebelss]

A gazillion answers....just use the search function. We must have 100 different threads on that topic.

[bouncin_toads]

Look at and research each of the top brands for cordless drills right now. YouTube has lots of videos if you are already leaning towards a certain one. Then try to decide after you weigh the pros and cons of each, and choose the one that best suits you. I guess.

[Light liner]

Harbor freight

[crowslayer17]

Milwaukee 2804.  Even better with a Clam plate.  5 -6ah batteries minimum, 9ah or 12ah if you drill a lot of holes.

[IceAddict87]

Milwaukee. Personally I have a dewalt but that is because it was cheaper to buy the drill and an impact driver together. I wish I had looked at it as an entire system instead of just a drill and driver i needed right then. Bomgaars typically has better deals on dewalt but everything I’ve seen tells me Milwaukee might be a bit better quality. I do quite a bit of my ow. DIY stuff so I have a bunch of other dewalt cordless tools.

[ChrisL]

My K-Drill has a very short list of acceptable drills.  You more or less need a brushless Li-ion drill to power an auger.  I have a Dewalt 20v drill that works great.

[BrianF]

If you have a K-Drill there is a list (really just Dewalt and Milwaukee) in the user manual and more importantly it provides you with the amp and torque needed. DeWalt 999 with a 6AMP battery seems to be the correct amount of cheese for a K-Drill.

Then there is a school of thought to buy a Rigid due to the warranty. If you go this route, understand that Rigid may take a very long time to fix something so have a backup plan if you are a serious ice fisherman.

[Arctic Addict]

Agreed, there is a lot of preference to this.  I run the Ridgid 1/2" Octane hammer drill with a Clamplate, clam extension and the nylon HT E-Drill 8" bit.  I have the 9ah battery and have not been able to kill it in a day of running and gunning.  For me, this set up works great.

I've used the K-Drill and it too is a solid unit but i prefer the shaver blades verses the chipper blades when using the drill.

[xiaolu]

Milwaukee 2804.  Even better with a Clam plate.  5 -6ah batteries minimum, 9ah or 12ah if you drill a lot of holes.

+1

I have similar/same setup: Milwaukee M18 brushless 2704-20 drill (with same torque as 2804-20) + CLAM plate + 9.0ah Milwaukee M18 battery. Been with this "combo" for several years, with no issue.

[bigfoot86]

Dewalt 991 here.  Drill has been battle tested and proven.

[kpd145]

milwaukee Fuel 2804 is what I use for ice

Not a single complaint. It just works well.

[DR.SPECKLER]

On year 3 of the ridgid octane/9ah battery and clam plate.first 2 years running the 8" mora and didnt like the jarring effect at breakthru with that auger.im now running the 8" ht edrill and it cuts so smooth that I probably dont need the clam plate anymore but its nice to have two handles and not breaking the side handle off my drill and it keeps the drill off the ice while fishing.ive cut 40 holes in 6" of ice and battery has 3 bars still.drill is discontinued now so next will be a Milwaukee 2804 if the ridgid craps out but its chewing ice still at year 3.

[smitty]

I use the Rigid 18v octane brushless ,cordless drill with clam plate with new gear box. A Nils 8" auger.
No problems at all little slower with the gear box but a much smoother cut.


smitty

[badger132]

On year 3 of the ridgid octane/9ah battery and clam plate.first 2 years running the 8" mora and didnt like the jarring effect at breakthru with that auger.im now running the 8" ht edrill and it cuts so smooth that I probably dont need the clam plate anymore but its nice to have two handles and not breaking the side handle off my drill and it keeps the drill off the ice while fishing.ive cut 40 holes in 6" of ice and battery has 3 bars still.drill is discontinued now so next will be a Milwaukee 2804 if the ridgid craps out but its chewing ice still at year 3.

Remember the Ridgid warranty. If it craps out , they will repair it or give you a new one. Not sure what they would do if the current drill has a lower torque spec than the Octane, but even the 800 in- lb current model should work with the clam plate. That 9 AH battery is GOLD. I have not seen one for sale in a while, and it it will go all day no matter what.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Remember the Ridgid warranty. If it craps out , they will repair it or give you a new one. Not sure what they would do if the current drill has a lower torque spec than the Octane, but even the 800 in- lb current model should work with the clam plate. That 9 AH battery is GOLD. I have net seen one for sale in a while, and it it will go all day no matter what.

right. i bought a spare 9ah battery  with charger when they were 99$ Back then.

[BF1983]

I have DeWalt tools already, so I went with the DCD999 as I already had 2 9ah batteries.  I paired it with the Cabela's EZ Drill auger, and the auger came with a nice carrying case that has a pocket for the drill and two partially insulated battery pockets.  Very convenient. 

[BlueDuck]

This is the 2nd year for my Rigid Octane drill.  Works great.  Came with 2,  3 amp battery's.  Ill get a bigger battery when I find a deal on one.  Not a priority for me now though.  This season I have drilled 114 holes on one 3 amp battery and still have one bar left.  The ice has averaged 6" and that auger is only 5" but the 8" auger seems to eat battery's only slightly faster. 

[bigfoot86]

For those considering a dewalt drill, remember that the 991, 996, 997, 998 and 999 all carry the same exact specs.  I chose not to have the hammer drill purposely in case I ran it on the wrong setting (hammer mode).  Could easily damage my nils head.  Not good for any auger bit actually. 

As far as batteries go, if you have a 6" auger anything more than 5 amp is overkill.  I have 2 4amp and have drilled 60-70 holes through 8-10" of ice and have never went to the 2nd battery.  Still usually has a couple bars left at the end of the day on the first battery.