M18 Fuel Longevity

[spears]

Just bought an M18 fuel hammer drill and an adapter for my eskimo hand auger.  Just drilled a couple holes and it seemed to work pretty well. I am just curious what people have been seeing as far as longevity on these drills? Seems like a pretty tough task for the drill and I am just wondering how hard on these drills this is? Thanks

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I'm not sure which Milwaukee you have..........

I bought the Milwaukee 725in/lb drill and ran my 8in hand augers on it. Once the 1200in/lb Milwaukee
Came out I put that on my clam plate and ran my 8in and 10in augers on it.

Lately, I've not really used the 1200in/lb on the clam plate. I just found it to be easier to use the 725in/lb by itself. I'm putting it on the 6in lazer & 8in pistol bit & also using it to crank up my ice castle vs cranking it by hand.

I typically use a 6in laser in my one man, and an 8in pistol bit in my ice castle or clam voyage flip over. I like my 8in nils, but its just so tall/long on the clam plate with my 1200in/lb drill that I  end up using my 725in/lb.

Overall I've ran the drills since I bought them every season with zero issues. Use 4ah batteries and a 9ah battery.

The biggest issue I have is just making sure I don't mess up my wrist with the drills. I tweeted my wrist once really bad with the 725in/lb so I'm really careful with them now.

I can't remember when they came out, but I would never go back to a gas/propane auger ever again. Having to keep a battery somewhat warm is so much more simpler then messing with fuel and everything else with power augers. Don't miss having to pull start the auger either.

[spears]

Thanks for the reply. I've got the 1200 lb one. Glad to hear its served you well.

[stephen20]

I absolutely love this set up. I run the 1200 ft lb, and a 5” lazer, most of the time. Sometimes I’ll run tye 6” lazer. I have easily drilled 20-30 holes in a day, 5-8” of ice, and Havnt had to change batteries. I use 5 ah batterie. I just use an adapter and it cuts like butter. It’s pretty light, and easy to get out, and even easy to switch auger sizes, which I really like, although I don’t have to often.

I have had this setup a few years, and use it a lot every year. I have had 0 problems.

[westtrout]

I love mine (1200 lb) and have no problem with 4ah battery, even in really cold temps. I carry an extra 4ah battery but almost never use it. I run a 7" Mora and tend to drill lots of holes looking for greener pastures. This weekend I punched a couple dozen holes through 12"+ ice and it never slowed down until the Icemaster adapter sheared off where it meets the auger...and the mora sunk to the bottom! Luckily it was only about 4 FOW and I was able to spud a larger hole, carefully lasso the auger behind the wingnut with the rope tether on the end of my spud, and rescue the auger. Total gong show....

UPDATE: I talked with Kovac Icemaster and they said that they have come out this year with a stronger attachment for the Mora style augers. He said that with today's more powerful drills they needed to update their design and they are sending me the new adapter free of charge -- hard to beat that customer service! I wanted to flag for anyone thinking of getting the Icemaster adapter to run on a Fuel drill, just be sure to get the updated design.

[monk38]

I have been running mine with a K-drill and have loved it.   But this year I have been burning through batteries quickly.  I have a brand new set of blades I'm going to throw on and see how it goes.  Hopefully that solves it for me.

[BFV]

I drilled 25 holes last week end on 10" ice with one 5ah battery