How many holes with one battery do you get?

[slamminsam]

Sorry if this topic has been covered before....I looked in the archives and didn't get specific answer.  This weekend, 20v Dewalt 1/2" with 7" Mora and 11" of ice in -2 degrees of air....got about 8 holes before battery died.  Had a lot of hang ups towards bottom of hole.  (My first time using 7" blade with drill).  Other day used 5" Mora and drilled as many (15-20) on single battery...much warmer as well.  Switched over to 5" and other battery to finish day, no problems.  I'm still figuring out how to really be effective with drill system, I love it...just need some friendly advice.  And no, I'm not getting a different drill for this year....(it is brushless....maybe a Rigid next year)
Thanks guys

[hardwater diehard]

Model of drill and Amp Hour of your batteries ?

[Gills-only]

There is about 50 different answers to that question, lot of variables

[Duck-Hunter]

A lot of variables go into the equation.

I have a Milwaukee m18 Hammer drill, nils 6' auger. I get about 80 holes out of a 5amp battery cutting 6-8" of ice

[Houligan]

How old are the batteries?

Was the battery kept warm?

If your dewalt 20v is a "Max" type tool then you might want to upgrade to the 60 volt FlexVolt battery, which is a 5 or 6ah at 60v in the flesvolt tools but you will get 9ah in your 20v Max tools.

[JiggingIowa]

With a 6” Nils and 4ah 18v ridgid drill I average around 600-700” of ice on a battery

[slamminsam]

Batteries are brand new...used 2x.  Kept in house until I ventured out...both charged.    (Lith Ion)  Not sure about amps or anything else....just a basic idea of how many I should expect to get....I thought 8 was low.  Cut like butter until bottom lock.  Then drill wanted to twist hard in hand.  I'm just thinking 7" is too big...but 5" too small of holes...especially on below freezing day...those 5" soon turn to 3".

[hardwater diehard]

Batteries are brand new...used 2x.  Kept in house until I ventured out...both charged.    (Lith Ion)  Not sure about amps or anything else....just a basic idea of how many I should expect to get....I thought 8 was low.  Cut like butter until bottom lock.  Then drill wanted to twist hard in hand.  I'm just thinking 7" is too big...but 5" too small of holes...especially on below freezing day...those 5" soon turn to 3".

Without knowing the model drill or amp hour of your batteries no one can tell you with any certainty or experience what you should or should not expect from your set up.

[slamminsam]

ok, I'll look at it when I get home and get back to you all.  Thanks.  I just know its a Dewalt 20v hammer drill.  I'll check amp hours and model.  Thanks

[eriksat1]

Last winter I was getting about 24 holes with one battery through 20" of ice with 1/2"  milwaukee m-18 fuel 1200 Lbs torque. with 5ah red litium batterys. Only one time  last year I needed to get into the second battery.
8” k-drill

[Preacher_man]

 I have a 20 volt Dewalt Hammerdrill. I set it on 1 and use the hammerdrill setting. And I use a 8" lazer auger. I have drilled 27 holes with 17" of ice on one battery.

[32footsteps]

I set it on 1 and use the hammerdrill setting.

Why? Everything I’ve ever read or have heard people say is to NOT use it on hammerdrill. Curious why you do.

I can get around 700 inches with a 4ah battery on my Ryobi paired with a 6” Eskimo that has sharp blades. Blade sharpness and type of ice are important variables to consider. There are some fanboys who will be aghast upon reading that because it’s not a big bad Milwaukee drill turning a K-Drill.

[Lsranger406]

m18 kdrill and clam plate. 5.0ah batterys. I got 61 holes through 9 inches of ice.

[quickco]

this comes down to so many factors, temp, windchill, battery temp, battery size, battery age, battery composition, drill settings,drill torque. drill weight, torque conversion, ice thickness, ice hardness, blade angle, blade age, blade edge, pushing auger, pulling auger, auger weight, ice on auger, getting loose etc. i have read every single drill and auger setup info thread on here and nobody has the same experience. to the point there has been arguments.

[lefty2053]

this comes down to so many factors, temp, windchill, battery temp, battery size, battery age, battery composition, drill settings,drill torque. drill weight, torque conversion, ice thickness, ice hardness, blade angle, blade age, blade edge, pushing auger, pulling auger, auger weight, ice on auger, getting loose etc. i have read every single drill and auger setup info thread on here and nobody has the same experience. to the point there has been arguments.

So true on all of those factors.

[Gills-only]

I have a 20 volt Dewalt Hammerdrill. I set it on 1 and use the hammerdrill setting. And I use a 8" lazer auger. I have drilled 27 holes with 17" of ice on one battery.

.         Do what u want but not supposed to use on hammer drill setting, use in drill mode

[PaddyO]

Had over 30 8" holes in 16" of black ice with my Dewalt 20V Max set on 1 - and plenty of battery left...   keep the battery warm...  beers cold.

[slamminsam]

I believe it says 1.3 ah 26wh type 1 (max)   I didn't mean to cause any confusion, just thought it was awful quick for that to die. Thought I'd get more out of it. Thanks for great feedback.

[quickco]

my 20 v brushless with 1.3ah has done from 22 holes down to only 5 on a full charge. all depends

[RyanW]

I believe it says 1.3 ah 26wh type 1 (max)   I didn't mean to cause any confusion, just thought it was awful quick for that to die. Thought I'd get more out of it. Thanks for great feedback.

If it’s a 1.3ah battery, I think you’re doing great with those numbers. Drilling a 7”/8” hole takes a lot of juice. Get a bigger battery and things should be gravy.

[Loudmouth879]

The other day had about a half charged milwaukee m-18 fuel 1200 Lbs torque with a 5ah battery Temp was around 15-20 with the wind chill battery was out in the cold  with a 7" strike master laser attached with the clam plate drilled about 30-40 holes with it through 6"-10" inches of ice

[hardwater diehard]

I believe it says 1.3 ah 26wh type 1 (max)   I didn't mean to cause any confusion, just thought it was awful quick for that to die. Thought I'd get more out of it. Thanks for great feedback.

1.3 ah batteries turning an 8 in auger is asking a lot ...you need to up your game to 4 or5 ah batteries ..if your Dewalt isn't either the 995 or 996 model version it wont be long before you burn out your drill. Max auger size is 6 in ...min 750 in/lbs of torque...

[Evil Tom]

Don't take offense but DeWalt is junk.Rigid brushless 18v 5ah 20 holes thru 12" no problem.Any more than 12 I use ion.Any more than 20 I use gas jiffy.Cordless drill isn't supposed cut a 7" hole really puts beating on drill I'm on my second rigid in 10 yrs.

[Charman03]

I recently punched 32 holes testing out my rigid on 7" of ice and didn't even use half of a 2 amp battery, so I could have easily got 70+.

Running the rigid on a clam plate with 6" lazer.

[Bull_Gill_Mike]

Don't take offense but DeWalt is junk.Rigid brushless 18v 5ah 20 holes thru 12" no problem.Any more than 12 I use ion.Any more than 20 I use gas jiffy.Cordless drill isn't supposed cut a 7" hole really puts beating on drill I'm on my second rigid in 10 yrs.

HA!  How many screws do you drive with that drill before you have to switch to the corded Ridgid???  I'm a Contractor and I let the Dewalt Eat on a 9ah battery.  Didn't pull the power auger off the Ranger this weekend in 12 to 15" of ice.  I count fish not holes but I didn't switch batteries!

[slamminsam]

Great stuff....so from what I've heard I've concluded a couple things:
1. Many factors need to be taken not account... temp, ice thickness, battery amp, auger size, etc.
2.  I should get a bigger battery, more ah ( I can do that with my drill?).
3. If punching more than a few, and thicker ice, either go smaller auger or to my gas...too much stress on drill.
4. Get a better (more expensive) drill, maybe next Black Friday.

[Iceshanty]

Diehard nailed this one. Make sure you have one of those models. I tried my dcd780 dewalt, while it worked well with a 6" nils bit you could tell it was laboring at 18"+ of ice. Last season I purchased the dcd996 coupled with 2-5ah batts and it kicks butt.

1.3 ah batteries turning an 8 in auger is asking a lot ...you need to up your game to 4 or5 ah batteries ..if your Dewalt isn't either the 995 or 996 model version it wont be long before you burn out your drill. Max auger size is 6 in ...min 750 in/lbs of torque...

[hardwater diehard]

Diehard nailed this one. Make sure you have one of those models. I tried my dcd780 dewalt, while it worked well with a 6" nils bit you could tell it was laboring at 18"+ of ice. Last season I purchased the dcd996 coupled with 2-5ah batts and it kicks butt.

I started with a DCD771 ..1.3 ah batteries on a SM 6" Lazer ...4 inches of ice it worked ...at 6 inches of ice..the set up was strained to say the least ...finally burnt up after installing onto a Clam plate and was trying to make it may goto midseason/6 plus inches of ice .My next set up was a Gen 1 Clam plate ..refurbished Dewalt 995..4 ah batteries SM 6"  Lazer...worked well and was my goto auger for last season as short as it was... this year same drill and batteries ...new non chuck removal Clam Plate...8" Kdrill ...light and dependable ..this past weekend it saved the day as my buddy's SM Mag 2000 would not stay running ...didn't really keep a hole count ...but went through one 4 ah battery ..which was left out in the elements ...6F to20F.If I were to do it again ...Milwaukee 2703/2704 ...5 ah batteries Clam Plate and 8" Kdrill.
I got to see  buddy's Milwaukee drill atop a 6"Kdrill this weekend ...the side handle is just asking for trouble ..although you don't need it for drilling other then to steady it ...if subject to any downward pressure could be issues experienced by others.

[ejdelvo28]

~800 inches with my M18 fuel, 5 amp battery and 6" lazer.

[matzilla]

depending on the temperature outside, I get 10-30 holes with a 20v brushed 1.5ah Masterforce drill and a 5" lazer in 12" of ice....been using this drill with a 5" mora or lazer for 4 years on the ice now with 0 problems. I bring my extra battery every time I fish but rarely use it unless I'm hole hopping for hours when its less than 10 degrees