IceGator (and Nils) discussion

[hunters08]

What model is it? Battery? Bit? Drive?

Its the original icegator that crapped out after 3 seasons. You said quit whining you'd buy it.

[EricB86]

Its the original icegator that crapped out after 3 seasons. You said quit whining you'd buy it.

I don't see anything that resembles a answer to any of my questions???

[hunters08]

I don't see anything that resembles a answer to any of my questions???

I said it was the original icegator that quit working after 3 seasons or 6 months of use. They were 24v and did not come with an auger or bit as you call it. you had to supply your own auger. I do have an adapter that came with it that will fit a lazer auger. As I said before I will ship it to you for free.

[EricB86]

Is it the drive that went bad? Switch? Or battery?

[hunters08]

Is it the drive that went bad? Switch? Or battery?

lol.........First the switch went bad, That got fixed. Then the bushings went bad. The drive went after that. I took it to a starter place. They said they might be able to get the drive for 200 dollars. So if I did that I would have 700 dollars invested into it.  Ill sell it to you for 200 you fix it and you'll only have 400 into it...........Forgot to say I bought 2 new batteries for it 100 dollars ill send them with it.

[EricB86]

Sent you pm

[FISHFORPIKE]

Amen! I find it hard to believe they got  two bad Nils in a row. Best hand auger I've ever used.

I've got an 8" NILS and I use it, early ice, with the hand crank.  The couple weeks ago we were out on 4" of ice and my buddy picked up the NILS and he could not make it cut.  I could not believe it.  I picked it up and it cut like it was supposed to.  I watched my buddy again - he was using the offset "crank" like a straight one.  I suggested he use both arms and there it was, cutting for him as well.  I found it to be hilarious.

BTW - I have the Attacker Gator with a lithium upgrade pack (use my 8" NILs on it) - going on 7 years now; A few minor problems that were resolved quickly, either by myself or by IG.  As for the one year warranty - not a problem, nor is it a problem that support is dropped at some point after the warranty expires; see it all the time on a lot of products.  I've never found my IG unrepairable because of parts unvailability.
I do believe that the IG can be "misused" and is improperly used by some folks.  It's not a cheap way of drilling holes in ice but it is the best, most impressive way I or many others have ever witnessed.  As far as the price, very comparable to anything that could come close to it in the performance arena.
Definitly not the correct tool for some folks but it's the right one for me and many others.
Got the new 42V 9 1/2" IG coming - can't wait to put it to work!  Not sure what I will do with my Attacker, but it is still working great.  Guess I will "donate" it to one of my boys.
IMO there have been some pretty bad comparisons given in this thread.

[rl_sd]

I've got an 8" NILS and I use it, early ice, with the hand crank.  The couple weeks ago we were out on 4" of ice and my buddy picked up the NILS and he could not make it cut.  I could not believe it.  I picked it up and it cut like it was supposed to.  I watched my buddy again - he was using the offset "crank" like a straight one.  I suggested he use both arms and there it was, cutting for him as well.  I found it to be hilarious.

BTW - I have the Attacker Gator with a lithium upgrade pack (use my 8" NILs on it) - going on 7 years now; A few minor problems that were resolved quickly, either by myself or by IG.  As for the one year warranty - not a problem, nor is it a problem that support is dropped at some point after the warranty expires; see it all the time on a lot of products.  I've never found my IG unrepairable because of parts unvailability.
I do believe that the IG can be "misused" and is improperly used by some folks.  It's not a cheap way of drilling holes in ice but it is the best, most impressive way I or many others have ever witnessed.  As far as the price, very comparable to anything that could come close to it in the performance arena.
Definitly not the correct tool for some folks but it's the right one for me and many others.
Got the new 42V 9 1/2" IG coming - can't wait to put it to work!  Not sure what I will do with my Attacker, but it is still working great.  Guess I will "donate" it to one of my boys.
IMO there have been some pretty bad comparisons given in this thread.

I am not "Anti" ice gator, just purchased an ION by choice. That being said, this has to be one of the most level-headed posts on this topic... No marketing ploys, bashing, or comparisons... just straight up facts. Thanks for bringing a little sanity and value to this thread!

[hunters08]

my icegator was never misused. 80% of the holes I drilled with it had an 6" lazer auger on it. The other 20% had an lazer 8" auger. I wasn't trying to bash anyone. I was giving another opinion. I had great service when I first ordered it. I must have made 200 posts on iceshanty promoting the icegator. It was the greatest auger I had ever owned. Then it all went wrong after 3 seasons. When I called there and said it was broke nobody called me back. I called 3 times and spoke to the nicest lady all 3 times she said someone would call me back. Then I tried personal messages on here (iceshanty). Finally I emailed from there website and then was told sorry your out of luck. Well I just wanted for things to be made right and it never was.
  I had felt so strongly about the icegator and was truly disappointed in the end. Most likely the bugs are all worked out and I hope that the new gator is everything the original was but lasts more than 6 months of use.

[FISHFORPIKE]

my icegator was never misused. 80% of the holes I drilled with it had an 6" lazer auger on it. The other 20% had an lazer 8" auger. I wasn't trying to bash anyone. I was giving another opinion. I had great service when I first ordered it. I must have made 200 posts on iceshanty promoting the icegator. It was the greatest auger I had ever owned. Then it all went wrong after 3 seasons. When I called there and said it was broke nobody called me back. I called 3 times and spoke to the nicest lady all 3 times she said someone would call me back. Then I tried personal messages on here (iceshanty). Finally I emailed from there website and then was told sorry your out of luck. Well I just wanted for things to be made right and it never was.
  I had felt so strongly about the icegator and was truly disappointed in the end. Most likely the bugs are all worked out and I hope that the new gator is everything the original was but lasts more than 6 months of use.

Have you tried to fix it?  What is broken?  You got 2 years beyond the warranty.  I know I would not be happy either; probably still would be disappointed, after 7 seasons.  Don't think I would lay the blame on IG though.  If you buy a car with a 24 month warranty and the engine or transimission goes after that, you are on your own.  Have you tried to fix it on your own?  Most of the parts are available from other sources.

[EricB86]

Hunters08, I tried sending you pm. Your box is full! I got a guy that cold fix it. But we live quite the distance apart! He needs to see the motor, but I don't think that's very easy to do???

[rl_sd]

Hunters08, I tried sending you pm. Your box is full! I got a guy that cold fix it. But we live quite the distance apart! He needs to see the motor, but I don't think that's very easy to do???

@ IceGator.... If Eric can get this figured out you had better put him on your pay role!

[FISHFORPIKE]

@ IceGator.... If Eric can get this figured out you had better put him on your pay role!

Some of these problems, after warranty are just not worth putting the shipping and labor hours into a 3 year old electronic item.  Take the darned thing apart and look at it.  That's all.  It's not rocket science and I don't mind fiddling for hours or days to fix something like this.

[oldtrapper]

The Gator is by far a NOT Sunday driver.  The only reason the Tanaka gets used is if I plan on blowing over a hundred holes in a day.  My gator will do 100 through 2' of Ice.  So the Tanaka gets used after the gator battery is dead. I would say 3,000 holes a year at least.  Up until this year I worked road construction and was laid off all winter long.  I fished the last three years at least 5 days a week.   I don't think I made any argument for you.  Just cause you guide doesn't mean squat.  You go out and drill a few holes for people to fish out of. BIG DEAL.

Yeah you did make my point . When the going gets heavy you pull out the Tanaka . A hundred holes is exactly squat when guiding groups . Lets see where that gator is in 7 years  . My bet it's doing squat . The Tanaka engine is a commercial grade engine just like me and thats a BIG DEAL . lol

TD

[Phoenix]

Well, I'm gonna throw my two cents in again, I posted about this before but it disappeared for some reason. I was sold on the Icegator when it first came out. I bought one and was pleased and impressed with it for the first year or so. In fact I posted a time or two here praising the unit.

I ice fish (Maine) and drill about 200-300 holes a year. The first problem I encountered was the switch freezing up if it got a little moisture in it. I contacted Pepples, he told me he had re-designed the switch and he would send me a new one at no cost to me. Never received the switch.

I continued with it, as is, for 6-7 more seasons being careful to keep the switches dry. Then it wouldn't work at all. I contacted Pepples and he told me that the unit was not worth repairing and he couldn't get parts. This was unacceptable to me and I replaced this anchor with an Ion.

I have been more than pleased with my decision. The Ion is much lighter than the Gator was and much more convenient. When I get home I can bring the little battery in the house and charge it, leaving the rest of the unit in the garage.

 There a many other things I like about the Ion, but chief among them is that I feel more confident that should I encounter a problem there is more than just one man standing behind the product. Gregg, I said it before and I'll say it again; You started out with a great idea but you just don't have the business acumen to continue with it.