Drill Recommendations?

[Stelladog]

Making my Christmas list and need some suggestions.  I have an eskimo 8" auger and looking for best drill.  I tried my dewalt 20v last year and it did not have enough umph to do the job.  It is a little older but does all jobs around the house.  Recommendations?

[Iceassin]

Peoples opinions of brands are going to differ. Just the way it is. But most will agree you'll want brushless, use the drill mode... and for every inch of auger it's 100# of torque (in. lbs.) minimum

[hardwater diehard]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20-Volt-MAX-Cordless-Brushless-1-2-in-Hammer-Drill-Driver-with-FLEXVOLT-ADVANTAGE-and-1-FLEXVOLT-6-0Ah-Battery-Kit-DCD999BW606C/314645263

Since you are already set up in Dewalt platform the abive drill will do you fine . And a decent price ..then you can use your other drill for ice anchors.

Or go with the Milwaukee 2803 or 2804 but have to use the 5ah batteries.

[tblaster123]

Any brand hammer drill but never use it on hammer mode. They have a lot of torque and work the best overall in my opinion

[Stelladog]

Thanks for the info - Mama Claus has been given the info - she is usually pretty solid in her gifts!

[xxxbeer247]

This is somewhat off topic but what is the best built adapter to use that doesn’t strip or destroy the drill chuck?

[hardwater diehard]

This is somewhat off topic but what is the best built adapter to use that doesn’t strip or destroy the drill chuck?

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=372843.msg4025394#msg4025394

[badger132]

You might consider a clam plate instead of a new drill. There is a model with a 3.6:1 gear ratio. That should allow most any drill to turn it. Also gives you nice big handles to hold on to.

[papadarv]

Milwaukee 2804-20 with a 5AH M18 battery from Walmart. The 2804-20 is the tool only option at $145. 5 AH battery $80. Walmart selling the combo for $180.
 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Milwaukee-2804-20-18V-1-2-Hammer-Drill-48-11-1850-5-0Ah-Battery/949163663?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=7801&&adid=22222222227306525718&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=392260547232&wl4=aud-1028050746418:pla-830236653582&wl5=9019473&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=117436963&wl11=online&wl12=949163663&veh=sem

[hardwater diehard]

Since your in the Dewalt platform ...and have a charger this will work ..$159 w/free 5ah battery

https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/970436-dewalt-dcd996b-20v-max-xr-brushless-cordless-3-speed-hammer-drill-driver.html

[Crappie slammer]

Kobalt hammer drill 24v is what I use on my clam plate 6” auger on 5-6” of ice last year got almost 140 holes on a battery

[Mike Oxlon]

I’ve got a dewalt 20v Atomic. Just wondering if anyone has tried it yet on a 6” auger? It’s a 20v max but it’s their compact size so I’m a little worried about it

[hardwater diehard]

I’ve got a dewalt 20v Atomic. Just wondering if anyone has tried it yet on a 6” auger? It’s a 20v max but it’s their compact size so I’m a little worried about it

They are a picture hanging drill ..will burn up ..below make/model w/5ah battery

Dewalt DCD991

Dewalt DCD996

Dewalt DCD997

Dewalt DCD998

Dewalt DCD999

Milwaukee 2804-20

Milwaukee 2803-20

[Mike Oxlon]

It’s brushless so they won’t burn up. But I figured it might be a bit small.

[Mike Oxlon]

I’ve also seen drills with much less torque work on a 6” auger. And they weren’t brushless. Mostly looking for people who have actually tried it instead of people just assuming.🤷‍♀️ Just trying to figure out how many holes I’ll likely get per 5 or 6 amp battery

[hardwater diehard]

I have tried it ..my first set up..  when the cordless drill craze first took off(limited information available) was a DCD771 w/1.5 ah battery w/SM 6" Lazer ..it will drill holes...but mine eventually burnt up on ice ..less then 10 inches thick ..maybe if you baaaaby it and drill a limited number of holes and let the drill completely cool down between holes ..could work .  Since then I went with a DCD985 ..not brushless ...w/4ah batterys ..it was better ..but eventually went with a Milwaukee 2704-22 .. 7.5 K-Drill..atop a Clam Plate 2nd Gen ...as my first Plate was a Gen 1 ..so I made practically every misstep you could make. 

[Mike Oxlon]

Word. I already have it for work so probably just gonna slap a 5 or 6 amp battery on it and see how she runs. Won’t do any harm to the drill and if it doesn’t work I’ll just order a better one. Thanks for the tips.

[hardwater diehard]

I’ve also seen drills with much less torque work on a 6” auger. And they weren’t brushless. Mostly looking for people who have actually tried it instead of people just assuming.🤷‍♀️ Just trying to figure out how many holes I’ll likely get per 5 or 6 amp battery

The rule of thumb is 100 in/lbs of torque per in/dia of auger drill unit ..100 UWO is around 100 in/lbs ..the Atomic is 340 UWO . My DCD771 had 300 UWO

https://www.dewalt.com/products/power-tools/drills/drills-and-hammer-drills/atomic-20v-max-brushless-compact-12-in-drilldriver-kit/dcd708c2

https://www.dewalt.com/products/power-tools/drills/drills-and-hammer-drills/20v-max-lithium-ion-compact-drilldriver-kit/dcd771c2

[badger132]

I’ve also seen drills with much less torque work on a 6” auger. And they weren’t brushless. Mostly looking for people who have actually tried it instead of people just assuming.🤷‍♀️ Just trying to figure out how many holes I’ll likely get per 5 or 6 amp battery

What you really want to know is the number of inches of ice on a battery. Roughly speaking, for a given drill efficiency, you will shave a specific volume of ice for a given battery. One thing people often overlook if the drill. I have not tried them all, but I can say in my subset, a Nils is the most efficient. (low torque and high inches cut per turn). If you fish panfish, the 4.5 inch Nils will give you the most inches of ice per battery.

Go with a less efficient blade, say a Lazer, and it goes down some- not a lot.

Increase size- area goes up as D squared, so a 6 inch Lazer will get half the holes of a 4.5 inch Nils. I would say there is more difference in the blade you buy than the drill. You should not buy more than you really need. Until you have fish stuck in the hole, you don't need bigger. When we all drilled by hand, this was obvious. Now a bigger hole is an excuse to buy a bigger drill.

Brushed drills can work fine, but the current through the brushes goes up as you bog the drill down. Stalling is really hard on them. If you are careful to keep the load light, and lift up if it starts to slow. Brushless is becoming a reasonable cost adder, so I would not buy a brushed drill to save $20. If you have one, try it, but it will not last as well as brushless, or in general have as much torque.

[JTrottaNY]

I have a Milwaukee 2804 on a nils convertible 8". Works great, but like others have said. If you already have all the dewalt batteries I would stick with that system and upgrade to a brushless drill

[rlowery]

I got a set of the Kobalt XTR brushless 24v tools this spring, including the hammer drill with the aux handle. Supposedly it can hit around 1,200lbs of torque, should work for at least a 6" auger right?

I'm also thinking about trying to find the Clam plate with the gear box to rig up an 8" for fishing pike

Has anyone tried these XTR 24v Brushless for this? I know they are relatively new

[badger132]

I got a set of the Kobalt XTR brushless 24v tools this spring, including the hammer drill with the aux handle. Supposedly it can hit around 1,200lbs of torque, should work for at least a 6" auger right?

I'm also thinking about trying to find the Clam plate with the gear box to rig up an 8" for fishing pike

Has anyone tried these XTR 24v Brushless for this? I know they are relatively new

1200 in-lb should be plenty. I use a 650 in-lb drill, and it works for my 5 inch. The trick is also to see how the batteries work at cold temperatures. To get more A-H, they put more cells in parallel, which also lets them produce more current. My smallest batteries, which I assume were 1 bank of cells, would stall out when really cold. The largest battery, which has 4 banks, never has. As with most specs that have an "up-to" in them, the only way to be sure is to try, but I will be curious to know how it goes. I saw that drill this year, and the price is sure tempting.

[rlowery]

I have 2-4aH batteries currently. One is "ultimate output" and the other is "extended run", so I'd imagine they should get me through a pretty long day out there. I'm usually hole hopping for panfish so as long as I can get 30-40 holes drilled that should be all in need. If I'm drilling more than that I probably have other issues and might need to consider packing it in for the day anyhow

My biggest concern was just not wrecking the drill, which by sounds of it should be able to handle, at least a decent day's worth of drilling thru normal 12-16" of ice or so

I'll report back once we get the hard top and I'm able to wet a line

[flukeman]

I use a Rigid brushless hammer drill with 750ft lbs. of torque. It came with two 4Ah batteries and I've never gone past the first one. I also use my old 5 inch Mora which probably is not optimal. I've never had a problem and it comes with a lifetime warranty.

If you watch for sales you can get some great deals. Mine came with drillt driver, 2 batteries, charger, and another free tool. Which I got an impact driver to change tires or remove large bolts. I paid $200 for the whole set a couple years ago.

[badger132]

One thing to remember- a 4 AH 24V battery has as much energy as a 5 AH 20V battery. (Close enough) The Cobalt should do better for the same AH rating.

[Iceassin]

I use a Rigid brushless hammer drill with 750ft lbs. of torque. It came with two 4Ah batteries and I've never gone past the first one. I also use my old 5 inch Mora which probably is not optimal. I've never had a problem and it comes with a lifetime warranty.

If you watch for sales you can get some great deals. Mine came with drillt driver, 2 batteries, charger, and another free tool. Which I got an impact driver to change tires or remove large bolts. I paid $200 for the whole set a couple years ago.

This.

Let's be honest. There are dozens of drills out there that fit our requirement. It's the "style" that's most important...

We have the "residential"(picture hanger) types...

Black and Decker
Porter Cable
Harbor Freight,and a few others....Low torque, brushed, plastic (mostly) components, low Ah batteries. We know the likes.

Then the "constrution" types...

Milwaukee
DeWalt
Ryobi
Rigid
Bosch...High torque, brushless, metal clutch and chuck, high Ah batteries...you get the picture.

Bottom line...find the best deals of these last 5 and you'll drill holes 'til you can't drill no more. Period.

But the number one criteria no matter what you choose...100# of torque per inch of auger. It'll get the job done.

[pieman1998]

I have a Milwaukee  on a nils convertible 8".going to try this year

[Mike Oxlon]

Did a lot of thinking and bought one of the new flexvolt dewalts with a 6amp battery. Over 1500lbs of torque. Now I can turn my 6” and 8” nils. Bring on the ice. Thanks for the help everyone.

[hardwater diehard]

Did a lot of thinking and bought one of the new flexvolt dewalts with a 6amp battery. Over 1500lbs of torque. Now I can turn my 6” and 8” nils. Bring on the ice. Thanks for the help everyone.

Good luck with your purchase. Was it a Deal or a Steal by chance?

[Mike Oxlon]

6amp battery and charger was free if you bought the drill at the home depot